Tolling Agreement
(Statute of Limitations) (MO)

Summary

This tolling agreement template can be used to toll a statute of limitations applicable to existing claims in a Missouri civil action. This template includes practical guidance, drafting notes, and an alternate clause. The purpose of a tolling agreement is to suspend the period of time in which parties must legally bring a lawsuit. A tolling agreement extends the filing deadline and allows parties to negotiate and possibly resolve their dispute without litigation. In Missouri, the statute of limitations begins to run when the evidence was such to place a reasonably prudent person on notice of a potentially actionable injury. Powel v. Chaminade College Preparatory, Inc., 197 S.W.3d 576, 582 (Mo. 2006). The test to be applied is "when a reasonable person would have been put on notice that an injury and substantial damages may have occurred and would have undertaken to ascertain the extent of the damages." State ex rel. Marianist Province of the United States v. Ross, 258 S.W.3d 809, 811 (Mo. 2008). Missouri courts have held that accrual does not depend on when the plaintiff actually discovers the injury or wrongful conduct, but on when the wrong can be discovered or is made known. Id. For actions based upon a contract, obligation, or liability, if based on a written instrument, the statute of limitations is 10 years. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.110(1). For actions based upon a contract, obligation, or liability, if based on an unwritten instrument, the statute of limitations is five years. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120(1). For actions based upon contracts for sale, the statute of limitations is four years, also with the cause of action accruing when the breach occurs. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 400.2-725(1). For more information on statute of limitations in Missouri, see Statutes of Limitations: Rules and Compliance (MO). If you need to toll a statute of repose rather than a statute of limitations, see Tolling Agreement (Statute of Repose) (MO).