What Is A Statute of Repose?

A statute of repose is an arbitrary time limit that cuts off liability for products beyond a certain age. For instance, a 15 year statute of repose would wipe out a corporation's responsibility for putting a faulty product on the market if the fault does not show up for 15 years. If the fault injures a person in the 16^th year, the negligent manufacturer or designer cannot be held accountable. This is the case even with products (such as machine tools) that have a useful life of 30 years or more.

Case Study: A Statute of Repose Would Let Corporate Criminals Off the Hook

Steven J. Sharp of Richland, Oregon, lost both of his arms in 1992 to a defective tractor hay baler. The tractor that provided power to the hay baler self-started and literally sucked Steven into the baler.

At trial, Steven's attorney discovered the tractor model had a long history of self-starting and that other people had been similarly injured. Yet the tractor manufacturer never warned its customers of the danger. The baler that injured Steven was more than 15 years old.

Had a statute of repose been the law of the land, Steven would have been barred from bringing his claim against the baler manufacturer.

Updated August 2005