General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5570
February Session, 2014 LCO No. 2500
*02500_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 5570
February Session, 2014
LCO No. 2500
*02500_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE APPLICABILITY OF STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS TO ACTIONS BROUGHT BY THE STATE OR A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THE STATE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 52-576 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2014, and applicable to actions filed on or after said date):
(a) No action for an account, or on any simple or implied contract, or on any contract in writing, shall be brought but within six years after the right of action accrues, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) Any person legally incapable of bringing any such action at the accruing of the right of action may sue at any time within three years after becoming legally capable of bringing the action.
(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to actions upon judgments of any court of the United States or of any court of any state within the United States, or to any cause of action governed by article 2 of title 42a.
(d) The provisions of this section shall apply to actions brought on or after October 1, 2014, in the name of the state or any political subdivision of the state, or for the benefit of the state or any political subdivision of the state, in the same manner as to actions brought by private persons.
Sec. 2. Section 52-577 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2014, and applicable to actions filed on or after said date):
(a) No action founded upon a tort shall be brought but within three years from the date of the act or omission complained of.
(b) The provisions of this section shall apply to actions brought on or after October 1, 2014, in the name of the state or any political subdivision of the state, or for the benefit of the state or any political subdivision of the state, in the same manner as to actions brought by private persons.
Sec. 3. Section 52-577a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2014, and applicable to actions filed on or after said date):
(a) No product liability claim, as defined in section 52-572m, shall be brought but within three years from the date when the injury, death or property damage is first sustained or discovered or in the exercise of reasonable care should have been discovered, except that, subject to the provisions of subsections (c), (d) and (e) of this section, no such [action] claim may be brought against any party nor may any party be impleaded pursuant to subsection (b) of this section later than ten years from the date that the party last parted with possession or control of the product.
(b) In any [such] action on such claim, a product seller may implead any third party defendant who is or may be liable for all or part of the claimant's claim, if such third party defendant is served with the third party complaint within one year from the date the cause of action brought under subsection (a) of this section is returned to court.
(c) The ten-year limitation provided for in subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to any product liability claim brought by a claimant who is not entitled to compensation under chapter 568, provided the claimant can prove that the harm occurred during the useful safe life of the product. In determining whether a product's useful safe life has expired, the trier of fact may consider among other factors: (1) The effect on the product of wear and tear or deterioration from natural causes; (2) the effect of climatic and other local conditions in which the product was used; (3) the policy of the user and similar users as to repairs, renewals and replacements; (4) representations, instructions and warnings made by the product seller about the useful safe life of the product; and (5) any modification or alteration of the product by a user or third party.
(d) The ten-year limitation provided for in subsection (a) of this section shall be extended pursuant to the terms of any express written warranty that the product can be used for a period longer than ten years, and shall not preclude any action against a product seller who intentionally misrepresents a product or fraudulently conceals information about [it] a product, provided the misrepresentation or fraudulent concealment was the proximate cause of harm of the claimant.
(e) The ten-year limitation provided for in subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to any product liability claim, whenever brought, involving injury, death or property damage caused by contact with or exposure to asbestos, except that (1) no such action for personal injury or death may be brought by the claimant later than eighty years from the date that the claimant last had contact with or exposure to asbestos, and (2) no such action for damage to property may be brought by the claimant later than thirty years from the date of last contact with or exposure to asbestos.
(f) The definitions [contained] in section 52-572m shall apply to this section.
(g) The provisions of this section shall apply to all product liability claims brought on or after October 1, 1979.
(h) The provisions of this section shall apply to actions brought on or after October 1, 2014, in the name of the state or any political subdivision of the state, or for the benefit of the state or any political subdivision of the state, in the same manner as to actions brought by private persons.
Sec. 4. Section 52-584 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2014, and applicable to actions filed on or after said date):
(a) No action to recover damages for injury to the person, or to real or personal property, caused by negligence, or by reckless or wanton misconduct, or by malpractice of a physician, surgeon, dentist, podiatrist, chiropractor, hospital or sanatorium, shall be brought but within two years from the date when the injury is first sustained or discovered or in the exercise of reasonable care should have been discovered, and except that no such action may be brought more than three years from the date of the act or omission complained of, except that a counterclaim may be interposed in any such action any time before the pleadings in such action are finally closed.
(b) The provisions of this section shall apply to actions brought on or after October 1, 2014, in the name of the state or any political subdivision of the state, or for the benefit of the state or any political subdivision of the state, in the same manner as to actions brought by private persons.
Sec. 5. Section 52-584a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2014, and applicable to actions filed on or after said date):
(a) No action or arbitration, whether in contract, in tort, or otherwise, (1) to recover damages (A) for any deficiency in the design, planning, contract administration, supervision, observation of construction or construction of, or land surveying in connection with, an improvement to real property; (B) for injury to property, real or personal, arising out of any such deficiency; (C) for injury to the person or for wrongful death arising out of any such deficiency, or (2) for contribution or indemnity which is brought as a result of any such claim for damages shall be brought against any architect, professional engineer or land surveyor performing or furnishing the design, planning, supervision, observation of construction or construction of, or land surveying in connection with, such improvement more than seven years after substantial completion of such improvement.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, in the case of such an injury to property or the person or such an injury causing wrongful death, which injury occurred during the seventh year after such substantial completion, an action in tort to recover damages for such an injury or wrongful death may be brought within one year after the date on which such injury occurred, irrespective of the date of death, but in no event may such an action be brought more than eight years after the substantial completion of construction of such an improvement.
(c) For the purposes of subsections (a) and (b) of this section, an improvement to real property shall be considered substantially complete when (1) it is first used by the owner or tenant thereof or (2) it is first available for use after having been completed in accordance with the contract or agreement covering the improvement, including any agreed changes to the contract or agreement, whichever occurs first.
(d) The limitation prescribed by this section shall not be asserted by way of defense by any person in actual possession or the control, as owner, tenant or otherwise, of such an improvement at the time any deficiency in such an improvement constitutes the proximate cause of the injury or death for which it is proposed to bring action.
(e) The provisions of this section shall apply to actions brought on or after October 1, 2014, in the name of the state or any political subdivision of the state, or for the benefit of the state or any political subdivision of the state, in the same manner as to actions brought by private persons.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2014, and applicable to actions filed on or after said date 52-576
Sec. 2 October 1, 2014, and applicable to actions filed on or after said date 52-577
Sec. 3 October 1, 2014, and applicable to actions filed on or after said date 52-577a
Sec. 4 October 1, 2014, and applicable to actions filed on or after said date 52-584
Sec. 5 October 1, 2014, and applicable to actions filed on or after said date 52-584a
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2014, and applicable to actions filed on or after said date
52-576
Sec. 2
October 1, 2014, and applicable to actions filed on or after said date
52-577
Sec. 3
October 1, 2014, and applicable to actions filed on or after said date
52-577a
Sec. 4
October 1, 2014, and applicable to actions filed on or after said date
52-584
Sec. 5
October 1, 2014, and applicable to actions filed on or after said date
52-584a
Statement of Purpose:
To address the holding in State of Connecticut v. Lombardo Brothers Mason Contractors, Inc., et al. by abrogating the common law doctrine of nullum tempus occurrit regi (no time runs against the king) in specific tort, product liability and contract actions for the purpose of extending the statutes of limitations for bringing a claim in those actions to the state and any political subdivision of the state.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]