Statutes of Limitation

This is the first in a series of articles on Mississippi statutes of limitation. These articles focus upon limitations in civil lawsuits. Click here to read the other articles in the series.

Statutes of limitation applicable to civil lawsuits can be found scattered throughout the Mississippi Code. Yet, most of them are in Title 15, Chapter 1, of the Code. So, let us start by looking at some of those.

You may have heard the phrase “adverse possession.” This refers to a person using someone else’s land in an open and adverse manner. If the landowner allows this to go on for too long, the other person will acquire title by adverse possession.

So, the landowner must bring a lawsuit within 10 if years from the time it starts. If the landowner does not, then the statute will bar him from doing so later.

If your land is sold to someone at a tax sale, you generally have two years in which to pay the taxes and penalties and get the title to your land back.

In addition, if the tax sale is defective, you may be able to have the tax sale set aside for that reason.

But, assume the buyer or someone claiming through the buyer occupies the land for three years after the initial two years. In that event, you cannot bring suit to set aside a defective tax sale.

Deficiency lawsuits

As we discussed in an previous article , after a bank forecloses on property, it may file a lawsuit against the borrower for more money.

The bank’s claim is called a lawsuit for a deficiency judgment. The bank is saying that the price it got at foreclosure was not enough to fully repay the loan.

In Mississippi, the deadline for filing a deficiency judgment lawsuit is very short. The lender only has one year in which to bring that lawsuit against the borrower.

Certain creditors of a deceased person are allowed to file a lawsuit against the executor or administrator of that person’s estate.

The law requires that the suit be brought within four years after the qualification of such executor or administrator.

But, another statute states that no such lawsuit can be filed until 90 days after the executor or administrator qualified. So, the four-year statute begins to run at the end of the 90 day moratorium.

If you believe you have a claim, do not let the statute of limitation run. Contact the Panter Law Firm for a consultation. 601-607-3156.

Panter Law Firm, PLLC, 7736 Old Canton Road, Suite B, Madison, MS 39110.

www.craigpanterlaw.com

Craig Painter

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