Michigan Statute of Limitations for Civil Cases
Michigan Statutes of Limitations for Civil Cases: A Comprehensive Guide
Statutes of limitations establish strict deadlines for filing civil lawsuits. Missing these deadlines typically results in permanent loss of your right to sue. Michigan's limitations framework is codified primarily in MCL 600.5801 et seq. (the Revised Judicature Act), with specific rules varying dramatically by cause of action. Understanding these timelines is critical for any litigant.
Personal Injury
Limitation Period: 3 years
Statute Citation: MCL 600.5805(1)
When the Clock Starts: The cause of action accrues when the injury occurs, not when it is discovered. However, Michigan applies the discovery rule in certain circumstances (discussed below).
Personal injury claims encompassing bodily harm from negligence, assault, battery, and similar torts must be filed within three years from the date of injury. For example, if you are injured in a car accident on January 15, 2024, you must file suit by January 15, 2027, or lose the right to sue.
Breach of Written Contract
Limitation Period: 6 years
Statute Citation: MCL 600.5807
When the Clock Starts: The cause of action accrues when the breach occurs. For installment contracts, each missed payment constitutes a separate breach, potentially allowing multiple claims within the six-year window.
Written contracts��including purchase agreements, service agreements, and loan documents—enjoy an extended six-year limitations period. This longer window reflects the formality and deliberation typically involved in written agreements. If a vendor fails to deliver services promised in a written contract signed on June 1, 2023, suit must be filed by June 1, 2029.
Breach of Oral Contract
Limitation Period: 6 years
Statute Citation: MCL 600.5807
When the Clock Starts: The cause of action accrues when the breach occurs.
Surprisingly to many practitioners, oral contracts receive the same six-year period as written contracts under Michigan law. This is a notable divergence from the UCC statute of frauds, which requires certain contracts to be in writing. However, proving the terms of an oral contract is significantly more challenging and often requires corroborating testimony or evidence of partial performance.
Fraud
Limitation Period: 6 years
Statute Citation: MCL 600.5813
When the Clock Starts: The cause of action accrues when the fraud is discovered (or should have been discovered with reasonable diligence), not when it occurred. This is a critical distinction from personal injury.
Fraud claims receive a six-year window, but the discovery rule applies. If you purchased a property in 2018 based on fraudulent misrepresentations about its condition, and you did not discover (or could not have reasonably discovered) the fraud until 2022, the clock begins running in 2022. You would have until 2028 to file suit. Michigan courts strictly construe fraud claims and require clear and convincing evidence.
Property Damage
Limitation Period: 3 years
Statute Citation: MCL 600.5805(1)
When the Clock Starts: The cause of action accrues when the damage occurs.
Property damage caused by negligence, vandalism, or other tortious conduct follows the same three-year deadline as personal injury claims. For damage to real property (land and structures), the clock typically starts when the damaging event occurs. For example, if a contractor negligently damages your home's foundation on March 10, 2024, suit must be filed by March 10, 2027.
Medical Malpractice
Limitation Period: 2 years (with absolute repose period of 4 years)
Statute Citation: MCL 600.5838
When the Clock Starts: The cause of action accrues when the medical professional's negligence is discovered or should have been discovered.
Medical malpractice claims in Michigan are subject to one of the nation's strictest repose periods. You have two years from discovery of the malpractice to file suit. However, no lawsuit may be filed more than four years after the negligent act occurred, regardless of when discovery took place. This creates a hard cap on liability.
Example: A surgeon performs negligent surgery on January 1, 2023. You do not discover the malpractice until March 1, 2025 (22 months later). You have two years from discovery to file (until March 1, 2027). However, because more than four years will have elapsed by March 2027, the four-year absolute repose period does not bar suit if filed by January 1, 2027. But if you do not discover the malpractice until January 15, 2027 (more than four years after the surgery), you have lost all rights.
The medical malpractice repose period is notoriously unforgiving and has been the subject of constitutional challenges, though it remains valid. MCL 600.5838(6) provides limited exceptions for cases involving fraud or concealment, but these are narrowly construed.
Wrongful Death
Limitation Period: 3 years
Statute Citation: MCL 600.5805(10)
When the Clock Starts: The cause of action accrues when the death occurs.
Wrongful death claims—brought by the decedent's estate or surviving family members—must be filed within three years of death. This runs parallel to the personal injury clock. If a hospital's negligence causes a patient's death on May 1, 2024, the wrongful death suit must be filed by May 1, 2027.
Defamation, Libel, and Slander
Limitation Period: 1 year
Statute Citation: MCL 600.5814
When the Clock Starts: The cause of action accrues when the defamatory statement is published (for libel) or spoken (for slander).
Michigan imposes a notably short one-year limitations period for defamation claims. This is significantly shorter than the federal constitutional standard and many other states. The period runs from the date of publication or communication, not from when reputational harm is discovered.
Example: A false statement about your business is published in a newspaper on September 15, 2024. You must file a defamation suit by September 15, 2025. Missing this deadline bars recovery entirely.
Trespass
Limitation Period: 3 years
Statute Citation: MCL 600.5805(1)
When the Clock Starts: The cause of action accrues when the trespass occurs.
Both trespass to land and trespass to chattels (personal property) follow the three-year limitations period applicable to general tort claims. Each day of continuing trespass may be treated as a separate actionable trespass, though courts are cautious about allowing plaintiffs to circumvent the statute by reframing one continuous trespass as multiple violations.
Debt Collection and Promissory Notes
Limitation Period: 6 years
Statute Citation: MCL 600.5807
When the Clock Starts: The cause of action accrues when payment becomes due. For open accounts, each charge or payment may restart the period.
Debts, including promissory notes, checks, and open-account balances, are governed by the six-year contract limitations period. In debt collection cases, creditors must be mindful that the clock is running; once six years pass from the last payment or acknowledgment of debt, the claim is time-barred. However, a written acknowledgment of the debt (even a partial payment) can restart the clock.
The Discovery Rule: Critical Applications and Limits
MCL 600.5805 and related statutes incorporate Michigan's discovery rule, which allows the limitations period to run from when the plaintiff discovers (or reasonably should discover) the injury or damage, not from when it actually occurred.
This rule applies most broadly to latent injuries—those not immediately apparent. Common examples include:
However, Michigan courts strictly limit discovery rule application. The plaintiff must demonstrate that the injury was not reasonably discoverable at the time it occurred. If a reasonable person in the plaintiff's position would have recognized the injury, the discovery rule does not apply.
For medical malpractice specifically, even though the discovery rule applies, the four-year absolute repose period cannot be extended.
Tolling Provisions: When the Clock Stops
Michigan law provides several circumstances under which the limitations period is suspended ("tolled"):
Minority
MCL 600.5851(1): If the plaintiff is a minor when the cause of action accrues, the limitations period does not begin until the plaintiff reaches age 18. A child injured in a 2020 accident would have until three years after turning 18 to file suit.
Mental Incapacity
MCL 600.5851(1): Similarly, if the plaintiff is legally declared mentally incapacitated, the period is tolled until restoration of capacity.
Absence from Michigan
MCL 600.5851(2): If the defendant is absent from Michigan with no agent or representative to accept service, the limitations period is tolled during the absence. This rarely applies today given modern service mechanisms.
Military Service
MCL 600.5851(3): Service members on active duty may toll certain limitations periods.
Continuing Injury
MCL 600.5805: For installment contracts and ongoing torts (like continuing trespass), each actionable event may reset the clock.
Important caveat: Tolling is narrowly construed. Mere difficulty locating a defendant or avoiding service does not toll the statute.
What Happens When You Miss the Deadline
If a complaint is filed after the limitations period expires, the defendant will typically move to dismiss under MCR 2.116(c)(7) (failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted) or file a summary disposition motion. The statute of limitations is an affirmative defense per MCR 2.111(c)(2), but it is increasingly raised at the pleading stage.
Once the statute of limitations expires, the claim is barred forever—no exceptions apply (except in narrow tolling circumstances already addressed). Courts have no discretion to extend limitations periods based on equitable grounds, fairness, or hardship.
Calculating the Deadline Accurately
Michigan courts calculate limitations periods by counting from the accrual date. If a three-year claim accrues on January 15, 2024, it expires on January 15, 2027, at the end of the day.
Best practices: