Statute of Limitations for Civil Engineering Liability

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the statutes of limitations as applied to design professional (civil engineer) negligence. There are two main statutes of limitations that affect design professionals. The first statute of limitations is based on the date of completion of work. For latent property defects, the statute of limitations in California is 10 years after completion of the design professional's work on the project. There can be exceptions to the statutes of limitations, which would suspend (or “toll”) the running of the time period. Examples include willful misconduct, reckless misconduct, and/or fraudulent concealment. The second statute of limitations is based on accrual (i.e., the date of damage discovery). For property damage, a lawsuit must be filed within two years after the damage is first discovered or reasonably should have been discovered. The statutes of limitations are important because they specify the period of time during which a civil engineer may be sued. A lawsuit will be time-barred by whichever period of limitation lapses first. Tort reform is a high priority in the United States. Civil engineers and their associations should actively seek to develop national standards, which limit exceptions to the statutes of limitations and define reasonable periods of time during which the civil engineer will be legally liable for his or her work on the project.