Even for seasoned litigators, a “statute of repose” may be a foreign concept. Not only does it sound somewhat archaic, but outside certain practice areas it may not be an issue that comes up on a regular basis. This is certainly true when compared to a statute of limitation, which is a concept that may be familiar to even non-attorneys.

A statute of repose is in effect a statute of limitations on steroids. While there can be many defenses that can be asserted in response to an alleged failure to comply with the applicable statute of limitation, there are typically very few defenses to a failure to comply with the statute of repose. Thus, where it applies, the statute of repose is a big deal.