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Limitation periods refer to the time during which a claim may be brought.

The law on limitation periods is set out in the Limitation Act 1980 (LA 1980) which makes provisions in respect of different causes of action.

In an Insolvency context, claims are generally divided into the following three categories:

1. •

   actions based on a ‘speciality’ have a limitation period of 12 years. Speciality claims include those arising from a statutory cause of action and generally refer to claims to recover property (which would include setting aside a transaction in an insolvency context where the recovery is not simply for money)

2. •

   claims to recover a sum of money under statute, which have a limitation period of six years, and

3. •

   claims which have no limitation period

A limitation period generally begins running from the date on which the cause of action accrued. This will be the case where the claim derives from the debtor’s cause of action. For example, where an office-holder seeks to recover unlawful dividends on behalf of a company,