The Subrogation Strategist

In Haire-Cochran v. 24 Restore, Inc., No. A25-1206, 2026 Minn. App. LEXIS 153, the Court of Appeals of Minnesota (Court of Appeals) addressed whether construction work performed after a fire loss to a property constituted an “improvement to real property” under Minnesota Statute of Limitations, section 541.051, subdivision 1(a). The statute sets forth a reduced two-year limitations period for claims arising out of “the defective and unsafe condition of an improvement to real property.” The lower court dismissed the plaintiff’s case on grounds of the two-year statute ... Continue Reading

In Clearfield County v. Transystems Corp., No. 10 WAP 2025, 2026 Pa. LEXIS 774, Clearfield County (the County) filed suit against Transystems Corporation (Transystems Corp.) based on architectural and engineering plans for a jail completed in 1977. Transystems Corp. filed an Answer that asserted a defense that the trial court lacked jurisdiction because, pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 5536, the County did not file its complaint within 12 years of completion of the jail. The County filed preliminary objections contending that, among other things, the doctrine of nullum tempus occurrit ... Continue Reading

In City of N. Tonawando v. Penn Power Group, LLC, 77 CA 24-01685, 2026 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 1800 (4^th Dept. Mar. 20, 2026), the Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division, Fourth Department (Appellate Court), considered whether the defendant’s motion to dismiss should be granted on the grounds that the breach of warranty was time-barred by the statute of limitations and the plaintiff’s negligence claims were barred by the economic loss doctrine (ELD). The Appellate Court agreed with the defendant that the breach of warranty claim was barred by the statute of limitations and ... Continue Reading

In Morningside Ministries v. Koontz McCombs Construction, Ltd., No. 08:23-00332-cv, 2025 Tex. App. Lexis 3584 (Morningside), the Court of Appeals of Texas (Court of Appeals) considered whether the plaintiff’s construction defect claims were “inherently undiscoverable,” thereby tolling the applicable limitations period under the discovery rule. The lower court granted the defendants’ summary judgment motions, finding that the plaintiff’s breach of contract and breach of express warranty claims were brought outside of the four-year limitations period. On ... Continue Reading

The discovery rule applies to latent injuries, such that the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the plaintiff knows of or should have known of the injury. In Western World Ins. Group v. KC Welding, LLC, No. 2022-CA-00527-SCT, 2023 Miss. LEXIS 278 (KC Welding), a majority of the justices on the Supreme Court of Mississippi (Supreme Court) affirmed the trial court’s ruling that Western World Insurance Group (Insurer) filed its lawsuit one day late. Thus, the statute of limitations barred Insurer’s lawsuit.

In KC Welding, on July 12, 2018, KC Welding, LLC (KC Welding) sent an employee to Sunbelt Shavings, LLC (Sunbelt) to repair the door of a box containing wood chips. Sunbelt’s employees discovered that KC Welding employees were welding a storage bin that had not been emptied of wood chips and Sunbelt’s employees asked KC Welding’s employees to leave. After that, Sunbelt’s employees attempted to soak the area with water. Later than night, a fire started on Sunbelt’s property, apparently as the result of smoldering wood shavings, a fire that was extinguished on July 13, 2018.Continue Reading

In Am. Auto. Ins. Co. v. FDH Infrastructure Servs. LLC., No. 3D22-1143, 2023 Fla. App. LEXIS 3662, the Court of Appeals of Florida, Third District (Court of Appeals) addressed whether Florida’s two-year statute of limitations governing professional malpractice actions or  four-year statute of limitations governing improvements to real property was applicable to a claim involving a construction accident due to erroneous structural engineering calculations. The Court of Appeals determined that the four-year statute governing improvements to real property was more specific and governed only construction-based claims and, thus, was the appropriate governing statute.

On April 13, 2023, Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, signed into law SB 360 which, among other things, shortens the statute of repose period for improvements to real property. The law also revises the date on which the statute of limitations period runs for these types of damage claims. Florida’s revision of this law provides further evidence of the state’s tort reform efforts.Continue Reading

On Friday, March 24, 2023, Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, signed into law a tort reform bill, HB 837.  The bill impacts, among other things, bad faith actions and attorney’s fee awards.  Of particular importance to subrogation professionals are provisions impacting comparative fault, the statute of limitations and premises liability with respect to the criminal acts of third persons.

With respect to the statute of limitations, the bill amended Fla. Stat. § 95.11(3) and (4), to reduce the statute of limitations for negligence actions from four (4) years to two (2) years.

As for comparative fault, Fla. Stat. § 768.81 was amended to move Florida from a pure comparative fault jurisdiction for negligence actions to a modified comparative fault jurisdiction.  Pursuant to § 768.81(6), as revised, in a negligence action subject to that section, “any party found to be greater than 50 percent at fault for his or her own harm may not recover any damages.”  Section 768.81(6), however, does not apply to actions for damages for personal injury or wrongful death arising out of medical negligence.Continue Reading

In construction or similar ongoing projects, problems often pop up. Sometimes they can pop up again and again. Making things even more complicated, one problem may affect another, seemingly new problem. When these construction problems result in property damage, timelines tend to overlap and determining when a statute of limitation begins to run for a particular claim can be difficult. Especially in states with short statute of limitations for tort claims like Texas, knowing when a statute begins to run is crucial for a subrogation professional.Continue Reading

In Wascher v. ABC Ins. Co., No. 2020AP1961, 2022 Wisc. App. LEXIS 110 (Feb. 9, 2022), the Court of Appeals of Wisconsin considered whether the plaintiffs were barred — by Wisconsin’s 10-year statute of repose for improvements to real property claims and the six-year statute of limitations for breach of contract claims — from bringing a lawsuit against the original builders of their home. The plaintiffs alleged negligence and breach of contract against the masonry subcontractors, asserting that they improperly installed the exterior stone cladding. The court found that the plaintiffs’ claims against the original builders were time-barred.Continue Reading