What is the Property Damage Statute of Limitations in Texas?

If you've had your property damaged in Texas, you could be thinking about filing a lawsuit over what happened. If so, it's important to understand the Texas statute of limitations for property damage claims, whether your potential case involves real property (damage to your house or your land) or personal property (including vehicle damage).

In case you're not familiar with the term, a "statute of limitations" is a state law that affects your right to file a lawsuit over any kind of legal dispute or harm suffered, by putting a limit on how much time can pass before you file the case in court. Every state has passed these laws, and the time limits vary depending on the subject matter of the lawsuit.

The Filing Deadline in Texas

In Texas, a two-year filing deadline applies to any lawsuit seeking the repair or replacement of damaged or destroyed property, whether it's real property or personal property. You'll find this law codified at Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code section 16.003, which says, "[A] person must bring suit for trespass for injury to the estate or to the property of another...not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues."

That last part just means the case must be started within two years of the day on which the property is damaged or destroyed.

It's important to note that this two-year deadline applies any time you're asking a court to award you monetary compensation for damaged or destroyed property, whether that claim is part of a larger legal action (a car accident case that includes claims for both personal injury and vehicle damage, for example) or a standalone lawsuit.

Missing the Filing Deadline

If the two-year filing deadline has passed, but you try to file your property damage lawsuit anyway, the defendant (the person or organization you're trying to sue) will almost certainly make a motion asking the court to dismiss the case. And, except in rare cases where an exemption from the deadline applies (more on these exceptions in the next section), the court will grant the dismissal. If that happens, you've essentially lost your right to any legal remedy for your damaged property. So, even if you're pretty sure your property damage case will settle, you still want to leave yourself plenty of time to file a lawsuit if you need to.

Extending the Statute of Limitations Deadline in Texas

In a Texas property damage lawsuit -- and most other kinds of civil lawsuits, for that matter -- a number of situations could pause ("toll" in legalese) or extend the lawsuit filing deadline set by the statute of limitations. These include:

• if the defendant is absent from the state of Texas for any part of the two-year period, the running of the statute of limitations "clock" is suspended for the length of that absence (Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code section 16.063), and
• if the property owner is "under a legal disability" (for example, he or she is under the age of 18 or has been declared "of unsound mind") at the time the property damage occurs, the time of the disability is not included in the two-year period. (But note that if a legal disability comes up after the limitations period has already started, that will not suspend the running of the period.) (Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code section 16.001)

Other exceptions may also apply to extend the Texas statute of limitations time limit, but they're too complex to cover in this article. To learn the details of exceptions to the statute of limitations, especially if the filing deadline has passed on your property damage lawsuit -- or if the filing deadline is fast approaching -- talk with an experienced Texas attorney.