On extremely rare occasions, counsel may be consulted on behalf of a horribly damaged cognitively impaired person who seeks to commence an action after the normal statute of limitations has run. Before rejecting the case outright, counsel should investigate whether there may be a permissible tolling of the statute of limitations for “insanity,” within the scope of CPLR §208, which will allow the action to be timely commenced. In this article we will discuss basic concepts with respect to this toll, how the term “insanity” has been defined by the courts, and when the toll may be applicable.” Insanity” as defined by the courts may or may not have the meaning that we ordinarily attribute to the word.
Reliance upon tolling the statute for insanity should be approached with extreme caution. In accordance with the legislative intent, its applicability has been very narrowly construed by the courts and such tolling should never be relied upon lightly to extend a statute of limitations. This toll is far less clearly defined than the toll for infancy and has been largely defined by judicial interpretation.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]