Statute of limitations
The legal deadline for filing a particular kind of claim.
A statute of limitations sets the time period within which a plaintiff must file a lawsuit. The clock typically begins running at the time of the injury or, in some jurisdictions, when the injury is or should have been discovered (the "discovery rule").
SOL varies by claim and jurisdiction: 2 years for most personal injury in many states, 3 years for many contract claims, 4 years for UCC, longer for fraud or breach of fiduciary duty.
Missing it ends the case — see how a personal-injury workspace calendars the deadline, and the state pages for the per-state limitations period.