UConn Law Library Can Sue Contractors after Statute of Limitations Expired

In an interesting case that reached the Supreme Court of Connecticut, the Court reversed a lower court ruling which had prohibited the state from seeking damages from contractors that the state claimed were responsible for extensive construction and design problems with the building of University of Connecticut School of Law Library.  The state is now able to seek recovery from contractors and architects for over $15 million. The state had initially sued the builders and designers of the library in 2008.  However, the defendants believed the lawsuit should be thrown out because the state had waited 12 years before suing.  The state successfully argued that it did not have to adhere to the normal six-year statute of limitations, basing its argument on an old English legal doctrine.  The Connecticut Supreme Court sided with the state.  It remains to be seen whether future cases will be affected by the Court's ruling which essentially allowed the state to be immune from the statute of limitations normally applied to construction contracts.

A link to the Courant article on the current can be found here: http://articles.courant.com/2012-11-02/news/hc-uconn-library-legal-battle-1103-20121102_1_time-limit-nullum-tempus-liability