Legal Alerts

July 30, 2021

COVID-19’s Impact on Statutes of Limitations for Civil Actions in Missouri and Kansas

The Supreme Courts of Missouri and Kansas took two different approaches toward their treatment of statutes of limitations and deadlines in light of the COVID-19 Pandemic.  The different approaches of each court are important to be aware of for potential plaintiffs and defendants because it will directly impact whether a party is able to bring a claim within a certain amount of time after the events giving rise to the claim occurred, whether it be a personal injury claim, construction defect claims, breach of contract claims, or any other matter brought in a civil action.  Please note the scope of this article does not include statutes of limitations applicable to criminal matters.  Always seek out the advice of a licensed attorney in your state if you have questions or concerns related to a specific matter.

Missouri

In Missouri, the Missouri Supreme Court issued its “Order dated July 24, 2020, re: Operational Directives for Easing COVID-19 Restrictions on In-Person Proceedings” which extended its initial Order entered on March 22, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.  The Order states:

During the duration of this Order, judges presiding over a civil case or matter may exercise their discretion to waive, for good cause shown, any filing deadlines or time limitations set though Missouri’s e-filing system or by court order, local rule, or Missouri Supreme Court Rules 41 through 81.  This authorization does not apply to any deadline or time limitations set by a statutory or constitutional provision. 

The Missouri Supreme Court further stated that “This Order will remain in effect until rescinded or amended by order of this Court as circumstances warrant.”

This means that Missouri has not altered or modified its statutory or constitutional deadlines or time limitations, meaning that all applicable statutes of limitations will still run and are unaffected by the Missouri Supreme Court’s Order.  Instead, it elected to give trial courts greater discretion over filing deadlines and time limitations for cases that have already been filed in their courts.

Missouri’s statutes of limitations may be found at RSMo. § 516, but notably provide a five-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims and claims related to damage of personal property.

Kansas

Kansas took a decidedly different approach toward statutes of limitations in Kansas.  In contrast to Missouri, Kansas suspended its applicable statutes of limitations from March 19, 2020, through April 15, 2021.  The Kansas Supreme Court and Chief Justice Marla Luckert issued a series of Administrative Orders pursuant to legislation passed in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Governor Laura Kelly’s state of disaster declaration giving the Court the authority to suspend statutory deadlines.  The series of Orders and related legislation present a confusing path to follow.  The Orders relevant to civil statutes of limitations are presented here in chronological order to clarify the current status of such statutes of limitations in Kansas, and the authority on which they are or were based.

On March 18, 2020, in Administrative Order 2020-PR-016, paragraph No. 15, the Kansas Supreme Court, via Chief Justice Luckert, stated that:

Effective upon publication of 2020 House Substitute for Senate Bill No. 102, all statutes of limitations and statutory time standards or deadlines applying to the conduct or processing of judicial proceedings is suspended until further order.  During the effective dates of this Administrative Order, no action shall be dismissed for lack of prosecution.

House Substitute for SB 102, “Allowing the chief justice of the Kansas supreme court to extend or suspend deadlines or time limitations to secure the health and safety of court users, staff and judicial officers” was passed and became effective on March 19, 2020.

The Kansas Supreme Court amended Administrative Order 2020-PR-016 in its subsequent Administrative Order 2020-PR-032.  It modified the previous paragraph No. 15, making it paragraph No. 17, and was altered to read:

As of the publication of 2020 House Substitute for Senate Bill No. 102 on March 19, 2020, all statutes of limitations and statutory time standards or deadlines applying to the conduct or processing of judicial proceedings are suspended until further order.  During the effective dates of this Administrative Order, no action shall be dismissed for lack of prosecution.  Parties are encouraged to meet all deadlines that do not require in-person proceedings.

On May 1, 2020, the Court issued Administrative Order 2020-PR-047, which stated:

1. All statutes of limitation and statutory time standards or deadlines applying to the conduct or processing of judicial proceedings are suspended until further order or the termination of this order under the terms of H. Sub. For S.B. 102.

3. Except as to a statute of limitation or any proceeding covered by Governor Laura Kelly’s Executive Order No. 20-10 temporarily prohibiting certain foreclosures and evictions, any district court judge, appellate judicial officer, or hearing officer may exempt a case from the suspension of a statutory or other deadline by (a) entering an order in a case or issuing a notice of hearing that imposes a deadline or time requirement and (b) specifically stating that the deadline or time requirement is not subject to the suspension of time in this order.

4. No action may be dismissed for lack of prosecution or for the failure to meet a deadline, except when a court has (a) invoked the exception in paragraph 3 and (b) issued an order to show cause why the action should not be dismissed. 

On May 27, 2020, the Court issued Administrative Order 2020-PR-058, which effectively extended the above language in Administrative Order 2020-PR-047.

On June 16, 2020, the Court issued Administrative Order 2020-PR-075, which relied on the language of H. Sub. For S.B. 102 (“House Substitute for SB 102 by Committee on Judiciary – Allowing the chief justice of the Kansas supreme court to extend or suspend deadlines or time limitations to secure the health and safety of court users, staff and judicial officers.”) and stated:

To secure the health and safety of court users, staff, and judicial officers, all Administrative Orders I have issued under 2020 House Substitute for Senate Bill 102, § 1 continue in existence for the terms provided under 2020 House Substitute for Senate Bill 102 and 2020 Spec. Sess. House Bill 2016, § 24, and amendments thereto.

On September 15, 2020, the Court issued Administrative Order 2020-PR-101, which again continued Administrative Orders 2020-PR-016, and its amendments in 2020-PR-032, 2020-PR-047, 2020-PR-058, and 2020-PR-075, “suspending statutes of limitation, statutory time standards, deadlines, and time limitations”.  The Court further stated that 2020-PR-058 controls any conflicts between 2020-PR-016, paragraph No. 15, 2020-PR-032, paragraph No. 17, 2020-PR-047, and 2020-PR-058 “regarding suspending statutes of limitation and statutory time standards or deadlines applying to the conduct or processing of judicial proceedings.”  The Court also clarified that the above will remain in effect until further order from the Court or the Order’s expiration under the terms of the legislation giving it effect.

The Court continued Administrative Order 2020-PR-101 via additional Administrative Orders on the following dates:

On January 26, 2021, the Court issued Administrative Order 2021-PR-009, which stated:

Each Administrative Order listed in the bulleted list in numbered paragraph 1 of Administrative Order 2020-PR-101 suspending statutes of limitation, statutory time standards, deadlines, and time limitations—including those suspending the time to bring a defendant to trial established by K.S.A. 2020 Supp. 22-3402, and amendments thereto, and K.S.A. 12-4501—continues in existence under 2021 Senate Bill 14’s ratification and continuation of the state of disaster emergency declaration through March 31, 2021.

On February 26, 2021, the Kansas Supreme Court announced that Chief Justice Luckert will reinstate most statutes of limitation and statutory time standards or deadlines that apply to judicial proceedings on April 15, 2021.  The announcement explained that the Kansas Legislature was considering House Bill 2227, and how to calculate time for statutes of limitations when suspensions lift.  The proposed bill stated:

(d) (1) For a deadline or time limitation that was extended or suspended because of an order issued pursuant to subsection (a), on the date such order terminates, a person shall have the same number of days to comply with the deadline or time limitation as the person had when the deadline or time limitation was extended or suspended; and

(2) for a deadline or time limitation that did not begin to run because of an order issued pursuant to subsection (a), on the date such order terminates, a person shall have the full period provided by law to comply with the deadline or time limitation.

House Bill 2227 was approved by Governor Kelly on March 26, 2021, and became effective law on March 30, 2021. The Bill was codified into law, as found in K.S.A. 20-172.

On March 31, 2021, Chief Justice Luckert issued Administrative Order 2021-PR-020 reinstating most time limitations and deadlines for court proceedings, effective April 15. As part of the Kansas Judicial Branch’s announcement of Chief Justice Luckert’s issuance of Administrative Order 2021-PR-020, she “stressed that once time limitations and deadlines are reinstated, courts, attorneys, and self-represented parties must be ready to move cases forward. Missing deadlines or statutes of limitations can cause cases to be dismissed.” The announcement also indicated that the Order continued the following suspensions:

  • Statutory speedy trial deadlines under K.S.A. 22-3402 in the Code of Criminal Procedure;
  • Statutory trial and hearing deadliens under K.S.A. 22-4303 in the Uniform Mandatory Disposition of Detainers Act;
  • Time requirements for filing actions under K.S.A.. 60-1501 and K.S.A. 60-1507; and
  • Time requirements for a defendant’s appearance in limited action cases under K.S.A. 61-3002(b).
  • Constitutional speedy trial protections remain in place.

On July 1, 2021, Chief Justice Luckert signed Administrative Order 2021-PR-100 that reinstated additional statutory deadlines and time limitations for court proceedings beginning August 2, 2021, for the following:

  • Statutory trial and hearing deadlines under K.S.A. 22-4303 in the Uniform Mandatory Disposition of Detainers Act;
  • Time requirements for filing actions under K.S.A.. 60-1501 and K.S.A. 60-1507; and
  • Time requirements for a defendant’s appearance in limited action cases under K.S.A. 61-3002(b).

What does this mean for the Statutes of Limitations in Kansas?

What this series of Administrative Orders effectively means is that from March 18, 2020, through April 15, 2021, the State of Kansas has not had statutes of limitations, statutory time standards, deadlines, or time limitations applying to the conduct or processing of judicial proceedings.  However, if judges and courts issued case management orders or deadlines for existing cases, those are very likely controlling and should be followed by the parties.

The Orders’ and related legislation’s impact on civil litigation in Kansas means that if a case’s statute of limitations would have run from March 19, 2020, through April 15, 2021, they now have a corresponding number of remaining days that they would have had if not for the nearly year-long hiatus. As an example, if the statute of limitations would have run twenty-one (21) days after March 19, 2020, a party now has twenty-one (21) days beginning on April 15, 2021, to comply with the applicable statute of limitations.

Only time will tell how Kansas courts will apply and interpret these Administrative Orders and their enforceability against claims whose statutes of limitations would have ordinarily ran between March 19, 2020, through April 15, 2021, or however long the suspension remains in effect.  Parties bringing or litigating cases in Kansas that were impacted by COVID-19 will undoubtedly want to pull out their calendars and calculate the amount of time left under these Orders when determining whether the applicable statute of limitations applies to their particular case.

Kansas’ statute of limitations may be found at K.S.A. § 60-500, et seq., but notably include a two year statute of limitations for most personal injury and personal property damage claims and five years for written breach of contract claims.