The statute of limitations sets the maximum time during which an action for damages may be commenced. It is of ancient heritage. Its first appearance in Anglo-American law is as early as 1237. In New York the statute of limitations applies to all actions in law and in equity. CPLR Article 2 sets time limitations in every enumerated action or special proceeding. However, not all actions are specifically enumerated. Those which are not enumerated are subject to a six-year statute pursuant to CPLR 213. In general, separate treatment is afforded to commencement of actions based upon contract (CPLR 213) and tort (CPLR 214(6)).
Legal malpractice is different. It is often described as both a tort and a breach of retainer contract. Shumsky v. Eisenstein, 96 NY2d 164 (2001). Whether it is a “tort” or a “contract” is generally decided by the nature of the damages sought, Sears Roebuck & Co. v. Enco Assocs., 43 NY2d 389 (1977); Santulli v. Englert, 78 NY2d 700 (1992). Tort damages are those which compensate a plaintiff for all of the “reasonably foreseeable injury suffered.” PJI 2:277. Contract damages are to “indemnify plaintiff for the gains prevented and the losses sustained by the breach of the retainer contract.” PJI 4:20.
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