3.3 Statute of Limitations

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

3.3 Statute of Limitations. A legal malpractice claim has a 2-year statute of limitations.¹⁷ Accrual of the limitations period is governed by the discovery rule and occurs when (1) the client knows or should know of the attorney’s negligent conduct; and (2) the client sustains irremediable or irrevocable harm as a result of the negligence.¹⁸ The “controlling issue” with respect to the discovery rule is when the plaintiff “became aware or should have become aware of the cause of its harm.”¹⁹ The statute accrues when the plaintiff occurs “some injury or damaging effect from the malpractice,” and does not await the plaintiff learning the full extent of its damages.²⁰

Timing of the accrual date in the litigation context is also dependent on whether the alleged malpractice occurs in a matter which results in final judgment, a matter which results in settlement, or in the context of a criminal case. Accrual can potentially be a question of fact for the jury when there are disputed issues of fact.²¹

In the litigation context, “the injury or damaging effect” of the negligence is not ascertainable, and the claim therefore does not accrue, “until the appellate process is completed or waived by a failure to appeal.”²² This analysis applies because, before conclusion of the appellate process, the potential injury or damaging effect can still be avoided through prosecution of a successful appeal.²³ The Arizona Court of Appeals has also noted that...