Limitation of Certain Actions - Legal Affairs

1 LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGOAct36 of 1997 Amended by2 of 2000 Current Authorised PagesPagesAuthorised(inclusive)by OF Certain Actions ACTCHAPTER 7:09 MINISTRY OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND Legal VERSION UPDATED TO 31ST DECEMBER 2016 LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO2 Chap. 7:09 Limitation of Certain ActionsNote on Subsidiary LegislationThis Chapter contains no subsidiary on section 20 ASee section 3 of the Limitation of Certain Actions (Amendment) Act, 2000 (Act No. 2of 2000) for the operation of section reference to the year 1999 in section 20A should read 2000 since Act No. 2 of2000 was in the year 1999 and was assented to on 13th January 2000 (which is thedate of the commencement of Act No.)

2 2 of 2000).MINISTRY OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND Legal VERSION UPDATED TO 31ST DECEMBER LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGOL imitation of Certain ActionsChap. 7:093 CHAPTER 7:09 Limitation OF Certain Actions ACTARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONSSECTION1. Short Limitation of Actions on contract and in tort, Contribution between Limitation for personal Time limit for Actions under Compensation for Injuries Date of knowledge, etc., in sections 5 and Dependents subject to different periods of Court s power to override Limitation Limitation in case of successive conversions and extinction of title ofowner of Extension of Limitation period in case of Fresh accrual action on acknowledgment of part Formal provisions as to acknowledgment and part Postponement of Limitation period in case of fraud.

3 Mistake Application of Act and other Limitation enactments to Provisions as to set-off or Application to the Saving for other Limitation Transitional for workmen s compensation Barred OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND Legal VERSION UPDATED TO 31ST DECEMBER 2016 LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO4 Chap. 7:09 Limitation of Certain ActionsCHAPTER 7:09 Limitation OF Certain Actions ACTAn Act to make provisions for the Limitation of time forbringing Certain Actions .[17TH NOVEMBER 1997] Act may be cited as the Limitation of CertainActions (1) In this Act action means any civil proceedings in a Court of law other thanthose relating to real property; arbitration agreement has the same meaning that it has in theArbitration Act; personal estate and personal property do not includechattels real; personal injuries includes any disease and any impairment of aperson s physical or mental condition and injury andcognate expressions shall be construed accordingly.

4 (2) Periods of Limitation prescribed by this Act, shall besubject to the provisions for extension or postponement of suchperiods in the case of disability, acknowledgement, part payment,fraud, concealment or mistake.(3) For the purposes of this Act, a person shall be treatedas under a disability while he is (a)an infant;(b)suffering from a mental disorder;(c)receiving treatment as an inpatient in any mentalhospital within the meaning of the Mental HealthAct, without being liable to be detained in thesaid hospital; or(d)mentally ill within the meaning of the said MentalHealth of 5 28 OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND Legal VERSION UPDATED TO 31ST DECEMBER LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGOL imitation of Certain ActionsChap.

5 7:095(4) In furtherance of subsection (3), the treatment shallbe such that follows without any interval, a period during whichthe person was liable to be detained in the mental hospital inaccordance with that (1) The following Actions shall not be brought after theexpiry of four years from the date on which the cause of actionaccrued, that is to say:(a) Actions founded on contract (other than a contractmade by deed) on quasi-contract or in tort;(b) Actions to enforce the award of an arbitrator givenunder an arbitration agreement (other than anagreement made by deed); or(c) Actions to recover any sum recoverable by virtueof any enactment.(2) An action shall not be brought upon any judgmentafter the expiry of twelve years from the final judgment and noarrears of interest in respect of any judgment debt, shall berecovered after the expiry of twelve years from the date of thefinal judgment.

6 (3) This section shall not apply to any (a)claim for specific performance of a contract orfor an injunction or for other equitable relief;(b) action to which section 8 applies; or(c) action under the Compensation for Injuries (1) Where an action for damages is brought as result of atort and a tortfeasor (in this section referred to as the firsttortfeasor ) is entitled to recover a contribution in respect of thedamages from another tortfeasor who is not a party to the action ,no action to recover such contribution shall be brought by the firsttortfeasor after a period of two years from the date on which thefirst tortfeasor is held liable for the damages by a judgment givenin civil proceedings or an award made by an arbitrator.

7 (2) Where the first tortfeasor admits liability in favour ofone or more persons in respect of damages, the date on which hisLimitation ofactions oncontract and intort, 8 OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND Legal VERSION UPDATED TO 31ST DECEMBER 2016 LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO6 Chap. 7:09 Limitation of Certain Actionsright to recover a contribution accrues, is the earliest date on whichthe amount to be paid by him in discharge of that liability is agreedupon by or on behalf of the first tortfeasor and that person or eachor those persons, as the case may be.(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), no account shallbe taken of any judgment or award given or made on appeal in sofar as it varies the amount of damages awarded against thefirst (1) Subject to subsection (6), this section applies to anyaction for damages for negligence, nuisance or breach of dutywhether the duty exists by virtue of a contract or any enactment orindependently of any contract or any such enactment where thedamages claimed by the plaintiff for the negligence, nuisance orbreach of duty consist of or include damages in respect of personalinjuries to the plaintiff or any other person.

8 (2) Subject to subsection (3), an action to which thissection applies shall not be brought after the expiry of fouryears from (a)the date on which the cause of action accrued; or(b)the date on which the person injured first acquiredknowledge of the accrual of the cause of action .(3) Where the person injured dies before the expiry ofthe period prescribed by subsection (2), the period with respect tothe survival of the cause of action for the benefit of the estate ofthe deceased by virtue of section 28 of the Supreme Court ofJudicature Act, shall be four years from (a)the date of death; or(b)the date on which the personal representative firstacquired knowledge of the accrual of the causeof action whichever is the later.

9 (4) Where there is more than one personal representativeand their dates of knowledge are different, subsection (3) shall beconstrued as referring to the earlier or earliest of those dates.(5) F o r t h e p u r p o s e s o f t h i s s e c t i o n p e r s o n a lrepresentative includes any person who is or has been aLimitation 4 OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND Legal VERSION UPDATED TO 31ST DECEMBER LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGOL imitation of Certain ActionsChap. 7:097personal representative of the deceased and regard shall be hadto any knowledge acquired by any such person while being apersonal representative.(6) This section does not apply to an action under theCompensation for Injuries (1) An action under the Compensation for Injuries Actshall not be brought if the death occurred when the injured personcould no longer maintain an action and recover damages in respectof the injury, because of a time limit in this Act or in any otherenactment or for any other reason.

10 (2) Where any such action by the injured person wouldhave been barred by the time limit in section 8, no account shall,for the purposes of this subsection, be taken of the possibility ofthat time limit being overridden under section 11.(3) An action under the Compensation for Injuries Actshall not be brought after the expiry of four years from (a)the date of death; or(b)the date of knowledge of the person for whosebenefit the action is brought whichever is later.(4) This section has effect subject to section (1) In this Act, a person first acquired knowledge whenhe first became aware of any of the following facts:(a)that the injury in question was significant;(b)that injury was attributable in whole or in part tothe act or omission which is alleged to constitutenegligence, nuisance or breach of duty;(c)the identity of the defendant;(d)where it is alleged that the act or omission wasthat of a person other than the defendant, theidentity of that person and the additional factssupporting the bringing of an action against thedefendant.