Statutes of limitations set out the time frame for bringing a lawsuit. File after the established time and you’ll be out of luck. It is therefore important to properly analyze the facts of your claim so you can select and calendar the correct time period within which to file. Sometimes, however, the applicable circumstances do not easily allow for such a calculation. When a builder made a claim against the plumber’s surety on a performance bond, it believed it was doing so within the applicable statute of limitations.

The builder calculated that began to run from the date final payment was made to the plumber, but the plumber countered that the statute didn’t begin to run until the entire project was completed and accepted by the owner. The court sided with the plumber. As this was an action on a subcontract, the date of the entire project’s completion was inconsequential. It was the date the plumber’s work was done that mattered here.