The Missouri legislature has made progress in addressing the state’s reputation for frivolous claims, junk science, and jackpot verdicts. The state’s legal system, however, still exposes businesses to personal injury lawsuits for a longer period of time than nearly any other state. That hurts confidence in Missouri’s civil justice system and damages the state’s ability to compete for business on even footing with other states.
Statutes of limitations are meant to ensure that judges and juries decide cases based on the best evidence available. As time passes, the factfinder’s job becomes difficult as memories fade, witnesses move or pass away, and documents are misplaced or lost in the ordinary course of business.
Missouri has a five-year statute of limitations for most personal injury claims. Enacted in 1939, this Missouri law has never been amended. Forty-six states require plaintiffs’ lawyers to file personal injury claims in a shorter period than Missouri. In fact, over half of the states have a limitations period of two years or less.
Imagine, for example, that you operate a convenience store. A person shows up at your door, declares “you’ve been served,” and hands you a complaint. The lawsuit alleges that the plaintiff, a name you do not know, slipped and fell on a wet floor on April 1, 2017. The plaintiff claims he has been in therapy for an injured back – and this is the first you have heard about it.
Unfortunately, you no longer have records of who worked at the store that day and the staff has turned over since that time. You might track down your former employees, only to find that they have no recollection of this person or anyone falling in the store.
Is it a valid claim? Is it fraudulent? If a fall did occur, was it your fault? Those questions are difficult to answer given the passage of time. A business may feel compelled to settle a meritless claim, given the lack of evidence needed for a defense.
Shorter limitations periods work fairly and effectively in other states: individuals and their lawyers routinely meet filing deadlines, and there has been no outcry that plaintiffs are denied justice. In fact, there have been no serious efforts at the state or national levels to lengthen the period to file ordinary personal injury claims.
Legislation pending before the General Assembly – S.B. 631 and H.B. 2206 – would amend Missouri’s outlier statute of limitations and bring the state into the mainstream.
The bills adjust Missouri’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims from five years to two years. The bills are not retroactive; they will apply only to claims resulting from injuries that take place after the law goes into effect. Missouri already has a two-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice actions and for COVID liability claims.
Passage of statute of limitations reform will help Missouri juries decide cases when evidence is still fresh and will bring Missouri law into alignment with nearly every other state in the country.
Enacting this legislation will also help bolster Missouri’s reputation among job creators.
Despite its growing economy, Missouri has consistently appeared on the American Tort Reform Foundation’s “Judicial Hellhole” list as one of the most imbalanced legal systems in the nation. Since 2015, corporate executives and general counsel have ranked Missouri as having one of the least business-friendly legal climates in the country, according to surveys commissioned by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform.
Adopting a statute of limitations period in line with other states will help the business community feel more comfortable investing in Missouri—this is particularly true of senior executives who make decisions about where to locate facilities and operations. With a shorter limitations period, Missouri’s hostile legal environment would be another step closer to transforming into a welcoming atmosphere for business to grow.
Mark Behrens co-chairs the Public Policy Group of Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P., an international law firm that represents defendants in complex litigation.