More good claims are lost to delay than to bad facts.

A client comes to us with a strong case, complete documents and an obviously dishonest opponent — and the first question we have to ask is when the cause of action arose, because if it arose too long ago, none of the rest matters.

The rule

The Limitation Act 1908 prescribes periods within which suits, appeals and applications must be brought. Where a suit is filed after the period, the court is required to dismiss it — even if the other side does not take the point.

Time generally runs from the date the cause of action accrued: the date of breach, of dispossession, of refusal, of the wrongful act. Not from when you found a lawyer, and not from when negotiations broke down.

Special statutes impose their own, usually much shorter, periods — and those displace the general law. Consumer claims, family appeals, labour references, tax and customs appeals, carriage of goods claims, company matters and constitutional petitions all have their own clocks.

Common periods, in outline

These are indicative, to show the shape of the scheme. The period for your claim depends on how it is framed and on any special statute, and that must be confirmed, not assumed.

| Claim | Typical period, running from | |---|---| | Money due on a contract, price of goods, unpaid loan | 3 years from when payment fell due | | Breach of contract generally | 3 years from breach | | Compensation for a wrongful act | 1–3 years, depending on the wrong | | Specific performance of a contract | 3 years from the date fixed for performance, or refusal | | Cancellation of an instrument | 3 years from knowledge of the facts | | Recovery of immovable property | 12 years from dispossession | | Recovery of possession by a landlord from a tenant | 12 years from determination of the tenancy | | Suit on a mortgage | Longer periods apply | | Setting aside an ex parte decree, or an execution application | Short, application-specific periods | | Appeals | Short — commonly measured in weeks, sometimes days |

Two features deserve emphasis.

Property claims are long; money claims are short. Businesses lose receivables constantly because a ledger balance quietly aged past three years while everyone was "following up".

Appeals are the shortest of all. By the time most people decide to appeal, a significant part of the period has gone. See appealing a Family Court decision and customs appeals.

What stops or restarts the clock

Acknowledgement in writing. Where the person liable acknowledges the liability in writing, signed, before the period expires, a fresh period runs from the acknowledgement. This is the single most useful provision in the Act for businesses.

In practice: get your customers to sign the statement of account periodically. A signed balance confirmation resets the clock and makes the debt provable at the same time.

Part payment. A part payment of principal, in the prescribed manner, can likewise give a fresh start.

Fraud or concealment. Where the right to sue is concealed by fraud, time may run from when the fraud was, or could reasonably have been, discovered. This matters in inheritance and property cases where a transfer was hidden from an heir. See property scams against overseas Pakistanis.

Legal disability. Where a person entitled to sue is a minor or otherwise under disability, the period may run from when the disability ceases — the reason a child whose property was sold can litigate long after. See guardian certificates and a minor's property.

Time properly excluded, such as the period spent obtaining a certified copy of a judgment for an appeal — but only if you actually applied for it.

Proceedings in a wrong court, pursued in good faith, may in defined circumstances be excluded.

What does not stop the clock, contrary to universal belief:

  • Ongoing negotiations
  • Sending a legal notice
  • The other side promising to pay "next month" verbally
  • A police complaint or an FIR
  • Waiting for a related case to be decided
  • Being abroad

The most expensive habit in Pakistani business

Waiting to see whether the relationship recovers.

A supplier is owed money. Instead of suing, they keep supplying, keep asking, and keep hoping. Three years later the debt is unenforceable and the "customer" knows it. The same pattern runs through partnership disputes, dishonoured cheques, family property and unpaid rent.

You do not have to sue to protect the position. A signed acknowledgement of the balance costs nothing and buys three more years.

See recovering money owed, cheque dishonour and dealership and distribution agreements.

Where the period is very short

Some deadlines are measured in days or weeks and are strictly applied:

  • Appeals in family, labour, tax, customs and civil matters
  • Setting aside an ex parte decree
  • Consumer claims under provincial statutes, with a mandatory notice first. See consumer protection claims
  • Cargo claims against a carrier — commonly a one-year bar under the applicable carriage regime. See bills of lading and charterparty disputes
  • Schengen and other visa appeals, which run under foreign law but are just as final. See Schengen refusal and appeal
  • Constitutional petitions, where delay ("laches") can defeat a petition even though no fixed period applies

Condonation of delay

Where a period has expired, an application to condone the delay can be made in defined circumstances, on showing sufficient cause for each day of the delay.

Be realistic: it is discretionary, it requires an explanation of the whole period, and "I did not know the deadline" is not sufficient cause. Illness, a pending certified copy, or a genuine mistake pursued diligently may be. Assume you get one chance and it is not a good one.

For overseas Pakistanis

Being abroad does not extend the period. This is where overseas families lose inheritance and property claims — a transfer happens in Pakistan, nobody tells the heir abroad, and by the time they hear of it years have passed.

The protection is knowledge: check the record periodically, and act on the first sign that something has changed rather than on your next visit. Nearly everything can be started from abroad under a power of attorney. See powers of attorney from abroad and succession certificates for overseas heirs.

How the firm can help

We assess, quickly and without cost disproportionate to the question, whether a claim is still in time and how it should be framed — because how a claim is pleaded can determine which period applies.

Where a deadline is near, we file to protect the position and argue the detail afterwards. Where one has passed, we advise honestly on whether condonation is realistic, and on what alternatives remain.

If you are wondering whether it is too late, contact the firm now rather than later. The question only gets worse with time.