Statute of Repose

The time period after the manufacture and purchase of a product within which a plaintiff can make a claim for an injury that results from that product is the statute of repose. As a general rule, for cases occurring after October 1, 2009, in North Carolina, a defective product claim must be filed or resolved within 12 years from the date of sale of a defective product. Defective products that involve real property have a six year statute of repose. In addition, a case is also controlled by a statute of limitations in North Carolina. Both statutes of repose and statutes of limitations apply to products cases. There may be exceptions to this general rule (see also—statute of limitations).