2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE NINETEEN - Negotiable Instruments (§§ 1-24 — 2409) › Subtitle 2 - Commercial Transactions (§§ 401 — 2409) › Chapter 43 - General Provisions (§§ 501 — 755) › Subchapter I - General Provisions and Definitions (§§ 501 — 519) › § 518 - Statute of limitations

(a) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, an action to enforce the obligation of a party to pay a note payable at a definite time must be commenced within three (3) years after the due date or dates stated in the note or, if a due date is accelerated, within three (3) years after the accelerated due date.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (d) or (e) of this section, if demand for payment is made to the maker of a note payable on demand, an action to enforce the obligation of a party to pay the note must be commenced within three (3) years after the demand. If no demand for payment is made to the maker, an action to enforce the note is barred if neither principal nor interest on the note has been paid for a continuous period of five (5) years.
(c) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, an action to enforce the obligation of a party to an unaccepted draft to pay the draft must be commenced within five (5) years after dishonor of the draft or ten (10) years after the date of the draft, whichever period expires first.
(d) An action to enforce the obligation of the acceptor of a certified check or the issuer of a teller’s check, cashier’s check, or traveler’s check must be commenced within three (3) years after demand for payment is made to the acceptor or issuer, as the case may be.
(e) An action to enforce the obligation of a party to a certificate of deposit to pay the instrument must be commenced within three (3) years after demand for payment is made to the maker, but if the instrument states a due date and the maker is not required to pay before that date, the three (3) year period begins when a demand for payment is in effect and the due date has passed.
(f) An action to enforce the obligation of a party to pay an accepted draft, other than a certified check, must be commenced: (i) within three (3) years after the due date or dates stated in the draft or acceptance if the obligation of the acceptor is payable at a definite time, or (ii) within three (3) years after the date of the acceptance if the obligation of the acceptor is payable on demand.
(g) Unless governed by other law regarding claims for indemnity or contribution, an action: (i) for conversion of an instrument, for money had and received, or like action based on conversion, (ii) for breach of warranty, or (iii) to enforce an obligation, duty, or right arising under §§ 501-755 of this title and not governed by this section must be commenced within three (3) years after the cause of action accrues.
(h) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, an action to enforce the obligation of a party to pay a note secured by a real estate mortgage should be commenced within the period of time provided by § 5294 of Title 31 for the exercise of a mortgage action.
(i) The statute of limitations shall be interrupted by suit or any judicial proceeding brought against the debtor, by the acknowledgment of the obligations, or by the renewal of the instrument on which the right of the creditor is based. The statute of limitations shall be considered uninterrupted by a judicial proceeding if the plaintiff should withdraw it, or the case should go by default or the complaint be dismissed. The period of the statute of limitations shall begin to be counted again, in case of the acknowledgment of the obligations, from the day this is done; in case of their renewal, from the date of the new instrument, and if the period for meeting the obligation should have been extended, from the date this extension expires. This provision shall not be applicable to a promissory note secured by a real estate mortgage.
History —Aug. 17, 1995, No. 208, § 2-118; Aug. 31, 1996, No. 176, § 2.