Time is a crucial factor in lawsuits. Over time, evidence is lost and witnesses disappear, and people move on with their lives not expecting court cases from past events. This is exactly why statutes of limitations exist.

Referred to as prescrição in Brazil, statutes of limitations are laws that set a time limit for filing lawsuits. Miss the deadline and you’re barred from bringing a claim. So what’s the timeframe you ask? Well, like most things legal, it depends.

The general rule in Brazil is that civil claims have a ten year statute of limitations. However, certain types of civil claims have shorter periods. For example, claims against insurance companies are barred after one year and car accident claims are barred after three years.

Naturally, the question is, “X years from when?” Again, it depends. In some cases, the time period is counted from the date of the event itself, like claims for alimony. In others, it’s from the date of discovery, such as the case of a defect in a manufactured good.

There are also cases where the time for prescrição isn’t all that clear. Imagine a debtor owes you money under a promissory note. The statute of limitations to bring a claim can be three or five years depending on the type of lawsuit you file.

The most important takeaway here is to always keep the statute of limitations in mind. If you wait too long, you might just find that you have no claim at all.