Tolling Agreement
(Statute of Repose) (MO)

Summary

This tolling agreement template can be used to toll a statute of repose 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 stop the clock on a plaintiff's deadline to bring a lawsuit. A tolling agreement extends the filing deadline and allows parties to negotiate and possibly resolve their dispute without litigation. A statute of repose eliminates the cause of action altogether after a certain period of time following a specified event. Grosshart v. Kan. City Power & Light Co., 623 S.W.3d 160, 168 (Mo. App. W.D. 2021). For example, in a tort action brought against architects, engineers, or builders of a defective improvement to real property, the statute of repose requires an action to be brought within 10 years of the date that the improvement to the property was completed. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.097. Statutes of limitations and statutes of repose are typically contained together in a statute. In cases of medical malpractice, the statute of limitations is two years from date of discovery or when it reasonably ought to have been discovered, and the statute of repose is a date certain 10 years from date of occurrence. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.105. If you need to toll a statute of limitations rather than a statute of repose, see Tolling Agreement (Statute of Limitations) (MO).