Legal Definitions - legal interruption

A legal interruption refers to an event or action that, by operation of law, temporarily or permanently stops, pauses, or resets a legal process, a period of time, or the accrual of a right. It is not merely a factual stoppage but one that has specific legal consequences, often preventing a deadline from expiring or a right from being lost.

• Example 1: Statute of Limitations

  Imagine a person is injured in a car accident and, under the law, has three years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit (this is known as the statute of limitations). If they file their lawsuit on the second anniversary of the accident, that act of filing creates a legal interruption. Even if the court case takes several more years to resolve, the initial filing legally stops the clock on the statute of limitations, preserving their right to pursue the claim.

• Example 2: Adverse Possession

  Consider a situation where someone has been openly and continuously occupying a vacant plot of land belonging to another person for nine years, hoping to claim ownership through adverse possession (which requires ten years in that jurisdiction). If, in the ninth year, the true owner discovers the occupation and sends a formal eviction notice or erects a "No Trespassing" sign, this constitutes a legal interruption. The owner's actions legally break the continuous possession required for adverse possession, effectively resetting the ten-year clock if the occupant were to try again.

• Example 3: Contract Performance Due to Force Majeure

  A company has a contract to deliver a large shipment of goods by a specific date. However, an unexpected and severe hurricane (an event often covered by a "force majeure" clause in contracts) makes it impossible for the company to access its warehouse and ship the goods for several weeks. This hurricane creates a legal interruption in the contract's performance. The force majeure clause legally excuses the delay caused by circumstances beyond the company's control, preventing them from being in breach of contract for the period of the interruption.