Opinion ID: 2610891
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Policy of the Statutes of Limitations

Text: Statutes of limitations afford substantial rights to prospective defendants. Zuckerman v. Transamerica Ins. Co., 133 Ariz. 139, 650 P.2d 441 (1982). The protection they provide is an indication of a public policy that encourages injured parties to pursue redress in an expeditious manner. The legitimate purposes of statutes of limitations are threefold: (1) to protect defendants from stale claims, see Brooks v. Southern Pacific Co., 105 Ariz. 442, 444, 466 P.2d 736, 738 (1970) (pursuit of a claim after an unreasonable amount of time may be thwarted when evidence may have been lost or witnesses' memories have faded); (2) to protect defendants from insecurity  economic, psychological, or both, Comment, Developments in the Law: Statutes of Limitations, 63 HARV.L.REV. 1177, 1185 (1950) (there comes a time when he ought to be secure in his reasonable expectation that the slate has been wiped clean of ancient obligations); and (3) to protect courts from the burden of stale claims. Chase Securities Corp. v. Donaldson, 325 U.S. 304, 314, 65 S.Ct. 1137, 1142, 89 L.Ed. 1628 (1945).