2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-THREE - Public Planning and Development (§§ 1 — 11273) › PART I - Public Planning (§§ 1 — 229ccc) › Chapter 1C - Certification of Plans (§§ 73 — 75a) › § 73j - Penalties—Civil and criminal prescription

(a) To the effects of the prescription of the criminal liability established in § 73h of this title, and subsections (a) and (b) of § 73i thereof, it is hereby provided that it shall commence as of the date on which the violation occurred, or as of the moment the physical injury occurred, or within two (2) years from the moment the act was discovered or should have been discovered with due care, or in which the physical injury occurred. In no case can an action be initiated later than five (5) years from the date in which the act which led to the violation, or caused the physical injury occurred.
(b) The general provisions of the Penal Code of Puerto Rico of 1974 that establish the term of prescription for felonies shall govern in the case of subsection (c) of § 73i of this title.
(c) The action for alleged damages for fault or negligence, filed as a result of faults, violations, omissions, or fraud in the certification process, or that during the course of the construction the certified plans or documents are altered voluntarily and/or negligently, shall commence, regardless of what is provided in any other act, within one (1) year from the date on which the damages that led to the action occurred, or within one (1) year from the moment it was discovered, or should have been discovered with due care. In no case can an action be initiated after three (3) years from the date on which the damages which led to the cause of action occurred.
(1) The term of prescription shall be extended indefinitely in those actions covered by this section, in which it is shown that discovery of the damages within the two-(2) year period was prevented through fraud, concealment or misrepresentation of facts.
(2) Action for damages, due to fault or negligence, against an architect, engineer, or contractor, that occurred before the effective date of this act, shall be governed by the terms of prescription provided by acts in effect when the damages occurred.
(d) None of the provisions of §§ 73—73 l of this title shall be interpreted as a repeal, alteration or modification of the provisions of the Civil Code of Puerto Rico, L.P.R.A. Title 31, and of §§ 501 et seq. of Title 17, regarding the civil liability of the one who designs, or the one who constructs, or of § 4124 of Title 31, or of any other provisions of said Code related to the engineer’s, architect’s, project owner’s, or constructor’s liability.
(e) The issuing of an endorsement or approval to construct by virtue of §§ 73—73 l of this title does not render the agency liable for defects in the construction of the work for which the corresponding endorsement or permit was issued.
(f) None of the provisions of §§ 73—73 l of this title should be interpreted as a repeal, alteration or modification of the provisions of §§ 731 and 760 of Title 20, and §§ 71 et seq. of this title, regarding the obligation to cancel Internal Revenue stamps, and seals, as provided therein, when submitting the plans referred to in § 73a of this title, and it shall thus be provided by the regulations to be adopted.
History —July 19, 1985, No. 7, p. 625, § 11.