Plaintiffs do not have an indefinite period of time in which to sue someone for a perceived wrong. If the plaintiff is suing you about an event that happened in the hazy past, check Chapter 5 to see whether the plaintiff has missed the deadline (statute of limitations) for suing. The statutes of limitations are different for different types of lawsuits but are never less than one year from the date of the incident. The main exception to this rule is if the plaintiff is suing a government agency, in which case the plaintiff must file an administrative claim form with the government within a shorter period of time.