Kansas Civil Statute of Limitations Laws
By Susan Buckner, J.D. | Legally reviewed by FindLaw Staff | Last reviewed October 02, 2024
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The Kansas statute of limitations for civil actions, like other statutes of limitations, sets a time limit on how long plaintiffs have to bring a cause of action. Statutes of limitation ensure that plaintiffs file claims as soon as reasonably possible. Statutes of limitation exist for civil and criminal law. Criminal statutes limit the time a prosecutor has to file some criminal cases.
Under Kansas law, an injured party has a certain amount of time to file a claim. Once that period expires, they can't file their claim. A claimant has two years to file in tort cases, such as personal injury claims. In other claims, a plaintiff may have five years or more.
Like some other states, Kansas has a statute of repose built into its product liability statute of limitations (K.S.A. § 60-3303). A statute of repose is a limitation period on the public's ability to make a claim against a manufacturer for an improperly designed or manufactured product. A statute of repose presumes that a product has a "useful safe life" beyond which it is no longer warrantied.
Unless a manufacturer guarantees an item past a presumptive "safe life," users can't sue if the product causes injury. In Kansas, the "safe life" is 10 years. Pausing, or "tolling," the statute may be possible in cases where the plaintiff could not discover the injury earlier.
Statutes of Limitations in Kansas
The details of Kansas's civil statutes of limitations are below.
Code section |
Kansas Statutes Annotated § 60-501 et seq.: Limitations of Actions |
|---|---|
One year |
Libel/slander (K.S.A. § 60-514(a)) Assault/battery (K.S.A. § 60-514(b)) Malicious prosecution (K.S.A. § 60-514(b)) |
Two years |
Fraud (K.S.A. § 60-513(a)(3)) Damage to personal property (K.S.A. § 60-513(a)(2)) Professional malpractice (K.S.A. § 60-513(a)(7)) Trespass (K.S.A. § 60-513(a)(1)) Personal injury (K.S.A. § 60-513(a)(4) and (5)) Wrongful death (K.S.A. § 60-513(a)(5)) |
Three years |
Enforcement of oral contracts (K.S.A. § 60-512(1)) |
Five years |
Enforcement of written contracts (K.S.A. § 60-511(1)) Covenants on real property (K.S.A § 60-511 (2)-(5)) Debt collections (K.S.A. § 60-511(1)) Judgments (K.S.A. § 60-2403) |
| 10 years | Product liability (K.S.A. § 60-3303) |
Visit FindLaw's section on Statutes of Limitations for more articles and information on this topic.
Note: State laws are subject to change through the passage of new legislation, court rulings (including federal decisions), ballot initiatives, and other means. FindLaw strives to provide the most current information available. You should consult an attorney or conduct your own legal research to verify the state laws before making any legal decisions.
Get Legal Advice from a Kansas Civil Litigation Attorney
Kansas' statutes of limitations laws cover practice areas from medical malpractice to real estate transactions. If you don't file your case by the statutory deadline, you could lose the right to file a claim. Get legal advice from an experienced Kansas personal injury lawyer for a case evaluation and help with getting your case to court on time.
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