Tolling Agreement
(Statute of Repose) (PA)

Summary

This template tolling agreement is used to toll a statute of repose applicable to specified existing claim(s) in a Pennsylvania civil action. By executing this agreement, the parties agree that the party bringing the claim(s) will have additional time beyond the time period provided by statute and/or by law. This template includes practical guidance and drafting notes. From a practical standpoint, this type of agreement serves the purpose of postponing litigation so that the parties may explore alternative resolutions to dispose of the claims and/or controversies pre-litigation. Parties may enter this type of agreement when they both wish to avoid the time and expense associated with litigation and are willing to provide an opportunity to discuss potential alternatives to resolving the claim without litigation by postponing the expiration of the statute of repose. A statute of repose limits the time within which a party may bring an action and is not related to the accrual of any cause of action. Unlike a statute of limitations, which begins running upon accrual of the claim, the period set by a statute of repose begins when a specific event occurs, regardless of whether a cause of action has accrued or whether any injury has resulted. Westinghouse Elec. Corp./CBS v. Worker's Comp. Appeal Bd., 883 A.2d 579, 588 (Pa. 2005) (for workers' compensation claim, triggering event for statute of limitations is disability of the employee which defines accrual of action, but the statute of repose triggering event is the work-related incident/injury, regardless of whether disability results at that time). A statute of repose operates as substantive law by extinguishing a cause of action outright and precluding its revival, while a statute of limitations is a form of procedural law that bars recovery on an otherwise viable cause of action. Graver v. Foster Wheeler Corp., 96 A.3d 383, 387, 390 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2014), appeal denied, 113 A.3d 280 (Pa. 2015); see also Abrams v. Pneumo Abex Corp., 981 A.2d 198, 211–12 (Pa. 2009). The scope of a statute of repose is jurisdictional and is a question of law for a court to determine. Gilbert v. Synagro Cent., LLC, 131 A.3d 1 (Pa. 2015). For a full listing of key content covering fundamental civil litigation tasks throughout a Pennsylvania state court litigation lifecycle, see Civil Litigation Fundamentals Resource Kit (PA). For additional guidance on statutes of repose, see Commencing a Lawsuit: Evaluating Whether to File Suit (PA). For a tolling agreement for statutes of limitations, see Tolling Agreement (Statute of Limitations) (PA).