The objection that an action is not commenced within the limitation period prescribed by law can only be raised as an affirmative defense specifically set forth in a responsive pleading. No statutory limitation period shall have jurisdictional effects and the defense that the statutory limitation period has expired cannot be set up by demurrer. This section shall apply to all limitation periods, without regard to whether or not the statute prescribing such limitation period shall create a new right.
Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-235
Bar of expiration of limitation period raised only as affirmative defense in responsive pleading
Applied in 19 court decisions — leading case Angersola v. Radiologic Assocs. of Middletown, P.C. (2018)
Most recently applied in Angersola v. Radiologic Assocs. of Middletown, P.C. (September 2018)
1977, c. 617.
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: Virginia Law Portal (LIS). Reproduced from public-domain Virginia statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.