Bucci & Dix

Auto Accident Lawsuit Found To Be Timely Filed

A Hanover Circuit Court judge has found that a lawsuit arising from an automobile accident in Hanover was timely filed after  it appeared that the statute of limitaitons may have expired, because there was an earlier lawsuit that was filed in Ohio before the statute of limitations expired.  In a typical car accident case, there is a 2 year statute of limitations to file a lawsuit.  Also, there are usually several different venues that a personal injury lawyer can file a lawsuit.  Most personal injury lawsuits arising from auto accidents do not have to be filed in a mandatory venue.  Rather, there are usually several different permissible venues from which a plaintiff's lawyer can chose to file a lawsuit.

In the Hanover County case, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit in an Ohio court even though the accident occurred in Virginia, one day before the 2 year statute of limitations expired.  Then, after the statute of limitations expired, the plaintiff filed another lawsuit in Norfolk.  The Ohio court then transferred the case to Norfolk, and the Norfolk judge dismissed the first lawsuit, and transferred the second lawsuit to Hanover.

The defendant moved to dismiss the case because the second lawsuit was filed after the expiration of the statute of limitations.  However, the judge found that under Virginia law the statute of limitations was "tolled," or delayed, while the first suit was pending.  Accordingly, it was not too late to file the second suit in Norfolk.