An Act To 1
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 0482
Committee Amendment CA_A_H192 (House)
Amends: 14 MRSA §817

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 375, L.D. 482, Bill, 
Amend the Laws Dealing with Limitation of Actions" 
"An Act To 
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Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 14 MRSA §817 is enacted to read: 
§817. 
Limitation of actions for breach of covenants; vested interest in 6-year 
limitations period 
1. 
Twenty years. 
An action on a breach of covenants in any deed or other 
instrument for the conveyance of real property in this State or any interest therein must be 
commenced within 20 years after the cause of action accrues. This subsection applies to 
all deeds and other instruments for the conveyance of real property executed on or after 
October 7, 1967. 
2. Vested interest in 6-year statute of limitations; notice, right of action; trial. A 
person who is a party to an instrument conveying real property that was not executed 
under seal and for which the 6-year statute of limitations on causes of action for breach of 
covenants expired before the effective date of this section and who claims the benefit of 
the 6-year statute oflimitations may record within 12 months of the effective date of this 
section in the registry of deeds where the instrument is recorded or the property is located 
a conformed copy of the notice set forth in this subsection. 
A. 
The notice must include the names of the current record owner of the real 
property that was the subject of the instrument and the mortgagees of record. Within 
days of recording the notice, the person shall give a copy of the notice to the 
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current record owners and the mortgagees by mailing by the United States Postal 
Service, postage prepaid. The notice must be substantially as follows. 
"NOTICE 
By virtue of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 14, section 817, subsection 
2, the following instrument that was not executed under seal is deemed to 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
~. 
o'i'~· 
IS 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 375, L.D. 482 
be subject to a 20-year limitations period for breach of covenants if no 
claim of a vested right to assert the 6-year statute of limitations for 
breach of covenants is timely made: 
(list here the instrument by grantor name, grantee name, date of 
execution and recording information, if any) 
This instrument affects real estate located at (identify here street location, 
municipality and county where the real estate is located). 
Pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 14, section 817, the 
undersigned hereby claims a vested right to assert the defense of statute 
of limitations for any cause of action asserting a breach of covenants in 
the above described instrument that is not commenced within 6 years of 
the date the cause of action accrued." 
B. A person receiving a notice under paragraph A is barred from maintaining an 
action for breach of covenants under the identified instrument by the 6-year 
limitations period unless within one year from the date of the recording of the notice 
the person files in the registry of deeds where the notice was recorded a statement 
under oath claiming application of the 20-year statute of limitations. The claim to 
applicability of the 20-year statute of limitations is barred unless, within 180 days of 
the recording of the statement, the claimant or a person on behalf of the claimant 
commences a declaratory judgment action under Title 14, chapter 707. 
C. Upon trial of an action initiated under paragraph B, the court shall declare the 
20-year limitations period applicable if the court finds that: 
(I) 
The grantee of the instrument did not, at the time of delivery of the 
instrument, intend for the 6-year statute of limitations to apply; or 
(2) The grantor executed the instrument fraudulently or in bad faith.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill. It establishes a period of 20 years as the statute of 
limitations for an action on a breach of covenants in any instrument conveying real estate. 
This amendment satisfies the due process requirements of the Constitution of Maine 
by providing an opportunity for persons with a vested interest in an expired 6-year 
limitations period, generally, the grantors of unsealed deeds executed between 1991 and 
2005, to retain the benefit of that period by providing notice to current owners and 
requiring a prompt declaratory judgment action if the limitations period is disputed. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT