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Maryland Statutes of Limitations

What is the statute of limitations for your legal rights in Maryland?


Maryland Statute of Limitation

Statute of Limitation Laws in Maryland

Maryland State SealIn order to convict you of an offense or sue you for monetary gain, your crime, tort or contractual agreement must fall within a certain time-line allowed by law. An Maryland law on statute of limitations is simply that time which is allotted by the law as written by the state of Maryland within which you can be convicted or held liable for a debt.

Below is the Maryland statute of limitations listings for a number of different offenses and torts. While this list is updated regularly, often-times laws in every state get modified, repealed, amended or changed by legislation. Please consult with a qualified Maryland attorney in this and any other legal matter.

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MARYLAND STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

Type of Offense Length of Statute
Any capital offense:No Limit
Rape:No Limit
Drug trafficking:3 Years
Forgery (felony):3 Years
Counterfeiting(felony):3 Years
Contracts:3 years; or 12 years if under seal
Injury to personal property:6 Years
Open accounts for debt collections:3 Years
Wrongful Death:3 Years
Medical Malpractice Actions:The statute of limitations for medical malpractice lawsuits in Maryland is five (5) years. If an injury is not detected immediately, the victim has 3 years from the date to which it is found to file. The statute of limitation for wrongful death due to malpractice is 3 years. Minors 15 years old and younger who suffer a reproductive injury or an injury from a foreign object left in their body due to negligence have 5 years to file a lawsuit beginning on their 16th birthday.
Code Section § 5-109
Fraud:3 years from when the fraud was or reasonably should have been discovered.
Intentional Torts:1 Year
Oral Agreements:3 Years
Libel | Slander | Defamation:1 Year
Personal Injury Actions:3 years from the date of injury
Rules for Minors:Limitation period begins to run on the minors 18th birthday, except in cases of medical malpractice or wrongful death
Products Liability Actions:Within 3 years of the date of discovery
Complete Maryland criminal revised statute of limitations can be found on the Maryland Criminal Statute of Limitations page.
Disclaimer: Statute of Limitation laws in every state get modified, repealed, amended, and/or changed by the legislature of that states jurisdiction. The authors and webmaster of StatuteofLimitation.info have made every effort to post the most current laws. Please use this site as a general reference and for comparison purposes. Do not substitute any information from this site for advice you would get from a qualified legal professional

Maryland Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

In order for an Maryland debt collector or debt buyer to sue you to collect a debt they have to do that within the time limits that the state of Maryland law requires. This is what is known as the statute of limitations. If they sue you outside of that statute of limitations then that may violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Even threatening to sue you beyond the statute of limitations can also be considered a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) violation.

If you are dealing with an unscrupulous Maryland debt collector that is threatening you with a lawsuit, whether verbal or written, for an old debt, then you need to look at the Maryland statute of limitations if that debt collector has a potential case against you or has potentially violated the FDCP Act.

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