## How the limitation period applies

The controlling primary authority for child-sexual-abuse-civil is **NMSA 1978 § 37-1-30**.

> **NMSA 1978 § 37-1-30.** three years from the date that a person first disclosed the person's childhood sexual abuse to a licensed medical or mental health care provider in the context of receiving health care from the provider

## Use the calculator

DocketMath's statute-of-limitations tool can model these timelines once you identify the controlling claim type and accrual date. Use the source panel for the verified primary-source citations.

[Open the Statute of Limitations calculator](/tools/statute-of-limitations)

## Sources

- [NMSA 1978 § 37-1-30 — ACTION FOR DAMAGES DUE TO CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE--LIMITATION ON ACTIONS](https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/26%20Regular/bills/house/HB0069.html)
- [NMSA 1978 § 37-1-30 — ACTION FOR DAMAGES DUE TO CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE--LIMITATION ON ACTIONS](https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/26%20Regular/bills/house/HB0151.html)

All sources are official primary law published by `www.nmlegis.gov`.

**Corroboration method:** subagent_dual_fetch_corroboration.


In New Mexico, a civil lawsuit for child sexual abuse generally faces a short statute of limitations (“SOL”). Under the general rule, the clock runs for...

Statute of Limitations for Child Sexual Abuse (civil) in New Mexico

Those founded upon accounts and unwritten contracts; those brought for injuries to property or for the conversion of personal property or for relief upon the ground of fraud, and all other actions not herein otherwise provided for and specified within four years.

A. Actions founded upon any bond, promissory note, bill of exchange or other contract in writing shall be brought within six years. If the payee of any bond, promissory note, bill of exchange or other contract in writing enters into any contract or agreement in writing to defer the payment thereof, or contracts or agrees not to assert any claim against the payor or against the assets of the payor until the happening of some contingency, the time during the period from the execution of the contract or agreement and the happening of the contingency shall not be included in computing the six-year period of limitation provided in this subsection.

three years from the date that a person first disclosed the person's childhood sexual abuse to a licensed medical or mental health care provider in the context of receiving health care from the provider

No action to recover damages for any injury to property, real or personal, or for injury to the person, or for bodily injury or wrongful death, arising out of the defective or unsafe condition of a physical improvement to real property, nor any action for contribution or indemnity for damages so sustained, against any person performing or furnishing the construction or the design, planning, supervision, inspection or administration of construction of such improvement to real property, and on account of such activity, shall be brought after ten years from the date of substantial completion of such improvement; provided this limitation shall not apply to any action based on a contract, warranty or guarantee which contains express terms inconsistent herewith.

Any person who suffers any loss of money or property, real or personal, as a result of any employment by another person of a method, act or practice declared unlawful by the Unfair Practices Act may bring an action to recover actual damages or the sum of one hundred dollars ($100), whichever is greater. The court may award attorney fees and costs to the party complaining. Such an action shall be brought within four years after the cause of action accrues.

Actions must be brought against sureties on official bonds and on bonds of guardians, conservators, personal representatives and persons acting in a fiduciary capacity, within two years after the liability of the principal or the person for whom they are sureties is finally established or determined by a judgment or decree of the court, and for an injury to the person or reputation of any person, within three years.

See NMSA 1978, § 37-1-4 (four years, unspecified actions); NMSA 1978, § 37-1-8 (three years, injury to person or reputation). The court expressly rejected the two-year limitations period provided in Section 41-4-15 of the New Mexico Tort Claims Act as inappropriate, reasoning that state tort claims acts are based on concepts of sovereign immunity alien to the purposes served by the Civil Rights Act. This court subsequently rejected the reasoning of the federal district court; we concluded that either the three-year limitations period in Section 37-1-8 for personal injuries or the two-year period in Section 41-4-15 of the Tort Claims Act was a more appropriate limitations period.

No claim for malpractice may be brought against a health care provider unless filed within three years after the date that the act of malpractice occurred, except that the times limited for the bringing of actions by minors and incapacitated persons shall be extended so that they shall have one year from and after the age of majority or termination of incapacity within which to commence the actions.

In actions for relief, on the ground of fraud or mistake, and in actions for injuries to, or conversion of property, the cause of action shall not be deemed to have accrued until the fraud, mistake, injury or conversion complained of, shall have been discovered by the party aggrieved.

(1) An action for breach of any contract for sale must be commenced within four years after the cause of action has accrued. By the original agreement the parties may reduce the period of limitation to not less than one year but may not extend it. (2) A cause of action accrues when the breach occurs, regardless of the aggrieved party's lack of knowledge of the breach. A breach of warranty occurs when tender of delivery is made, except that where a warranty explicitly extends to future performance of the goods and discovery of the breach must await the time of such performance, the cause of action accrues when the breach is or should have been discovered.

Every action instituted by virtue of the provisions of this and the preceding section [41-2-1 NMSA 1978] must be brought within three years after the cause of action accrues. The cause of action accrues as of the date of death.

See NMSA 1978, § 37-1-4 (four years, unspecified actions); NMSA 1978, § 37-1-8 (three years, injury to person or reputation).

New Mexico Unfair Practices Act (NMUPA, NMSA 1978, §§ 57-12-1 to -22) claims for consumer fraud or deceptive trade practices carry no dedicated statute of limitations within the Act itself. Under New Mexico law, these claims fall within 'other unspecified actions' and are therefore subject to the four-year limitation period of NMSA 1978, § 37-1-4. The period runs from the date of the unlawful trade practice or, under the discovery rule, from when the plaintiff knew or should have known of the fa

Under NMSA 1978 § 37-1-8, an action for an injury to the person must be brought within three years. New Mexico has no dedicated civil statute of limitations for adult rape or sexual assault victims; the general personal-injury period in § 37-1-8 is the controlling authority. NMSA 1978 § 37-1-30 (childhood sexual abuse SOL) explicitly carves itself out from § 37-1-8, confirming § 37-1-8 governs adult-victim claims. The discovery rule may apply to toll or delay the accrual date.

Statute of limitations for consumer fraud and deceptive trade practices in New Mexico is 4 years under NMSA 1978, § 57-12-10(A), the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act private remedy provision.

NMSA § 37-1-7 provides a 4-year statute of limitations for actions for injuries to property or for the conversion of personal property, which directly covers trespass to chattels and conversion claims in New Mexico.

NMSA 1978 § 37-1-8 provides a 3-year statute of limitations for injury to person or reputation. New Mexico courts apply this 3-year period to wrongful termination common law claims, as wrongful discharge in violation of public policy is a personal injury-type tort in New Mexico.

New Mexico NMSA § 55-2-725 (UCC Article 2) sets a 4-year statute of limitations for breach of contracts for the sale of goods, running from the date the cause of action accrued.

New Mexico general personal injury / negligence claims must be brought within 3 years of accrual under N.M. Stat. Ann. § 37-1-8 (injury to the person or reputation).

New Mexico legal malpractice (personal injury framing) claims must be brought within 3 years of accrual under N.M. Stat. Ann. § 37-1-8 (injury to the person or reputation).

New Mexico libel / written defamation (injury to reputation) claims must be brought within 3 years of accrual under N.M. Stat. Ann. § 37-1-8 (injury to the person or reputation).

New Mexico medical malpractice claims must be brought within 3 years after the act of malpractice under N.M. Stat. Ann. § 41-5-13.

New Mexico wrongful death actions must be brought within 3 years of the date of death under N.M. Stat. Ann. § 41-2-2.

New Mexico actions for injury to the person, including premises-liability slip-and-fall claims, must be brought within 3 years under N.M. Stat. Ann. § 37-1-8.

New Mexico product-liability actions for injury to the person must be brought within 3 years under N.M. Stat. Ann. § 37-1-8.

New Mexico actions founded upon any bond, promissory note, bill of exchange or other contract in writing must be brought within 6 years under N.M. Stat. Ann. § 37-1-3(A).

New Mexico wrongful death actions must be brought within 3 years after the cause of action accrues (date of death) under N.M. Stat. Ann. § 41-2-2.

A claim for breach of fiduciary duty in New Mexico is an action not otherwise specifically provided for and must be brought within four years under NMSA 1978 Section 37-1-4.

A claim for tortious interference with business relations in New Mexico is an action not otherwise specifically provided for and must be brought within four years under NMSA 1978 Section 37-1-4.

NMSA § 37-1-10 extends the limitations period for minor plaintiffs: the clock does not run until the incapacity (minority) terminates, after which the plaintiff has one year to commence the action.

NMSA § 37-1-9 ('Effect of absence from state or concealment of debtor') excludes from the limitations period any time during which the defendant was absent from or out of the state. Pre-researched § 37-1-15 covers setoffs/counterclaims and is unrelated.

NMSA § 37-1-9 covers both defendant absence and concealment in a single section; the word 'concealed therein' in the operative clause explicitly tolls for concealment within the state. Absence and concealment share one statutory provision in New Mexico.

New Mexico's discovery rule has both a statutory anchor (§ 37-1-7 for fraud, mistake, and property injuries) and broad common-law extension (Roberts v. Southwest Community Health Services, 114 N.M. 248 (1992)) holding that the SOL does not run until the plaintiff knew or reasonably should have known of the injury and its cause.

The times limited for the bringing of actions by the preceding provisions of this chapter shall, in favor of minors and incapacitated persons, be extended so that they shall have one year from and after the termination of such incapacity within which to commence said actions.

If, at any time after the incurring of an indebtedness or liability or the accrual of a cause of action against him or the entry of judgment against him in this state, a debtor shall have been or shall be absent from or out of the state or concealed within the state, the time during which he may have been or may be out of or absent from the state or may have concealed or may conceal himself within the state shall not be included in computing any of the periods of limitation above provided.

How the limitation period applies

New Mexico — Statute of Limitations

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