Limitation of Actions Consultation - Law Commission

(5) actions on a judgment or arbitration award; and
(6) actions on a statute.
1.49 We also provisionally propose that the core regime would extend, but with some
qualifications, to the following actions:
(1) Actions under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934 and
the Fatal Accidents Act 1976;
(2) Conversion;
(3) Actions by a subsequent owner of damaged property;
(4) Actions for a contribution or an indemnity;
(5) Actions to recover land and related claims (a fundamental qualification
here being that the initial limitation period would not apply to actions to
recover land).
1.50 We further provisionally propose that actions against public authorities should not
be subject to special (shorter) limitation periods; that the core regime should apply
to applications under section 459 of the Companies Act 1985; that where the core
regime applies to common law remedies for a cause of action, it should also apply
to equitable remedies for that cause of action; and we set out a number of options
for the treatment of the doctrine of laches. Subject to a few exceptions, we do not
propose to alter specific limitation periods laid down in enactments other than the
Limitation Act 1980. We provisionally propose to include a “sweeping-up”
provision, under which the core regime would apply to all actions unless excluded
by another provision of the proposed Bill (or any other enactment).
(3) Additional Issues 97
1.51 We provisionally propose that:
(1) Subject to the normal rules on the validity of contractual terms, parties
would be free to alter the length or the starting date of initial limitation
period by contract. (We seek consultees’ views as to whether they should
be able to extend the long-stop or change the long-stop starting date).
(2) As under the present law, the limitation period would stop running when
proceedings were issued by the plaintiff.
(3) Plaintiffs would be able to add new claims in existing actions where they
were sufficiently related to the original cause of action, even where the
limitation period had expired since the proceedings were started.
(4) With one exception relating to conversion, no change should be made to
the present law on the effect of the expiry of the limitation period.
97 See Part XIV below.
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