The Covid-19 pandemic feels like a lifetime ago, yet its impact on the legal system remains very much alive. Beyond remote hearings, delayed trials, and new courthouse procedures, one of the most enduring consequences is how statutes of limitations were affected—particularly in New York. This legal aftershock will be felt for years to come and in some cases well into the 2030s.

The Executive Orders and Tolling of Deadlines

When the pandemic erupted in early 2020, courts across the country faced unprecedented challenges. In New York, then-Governor Andrew Cuomo issued Executive Order No. 202.8 on March 20, 2020, which fundamentally altered procedural timelines for legal actions. The order tolled: “any specific time limit for the commencement, filing, or service of any legal action, notice, motion, or other process or proceeding, as prescribed by the procedural laws of the state, including but not limited to … the [CPLR].”

This was not a one-time adjustment. The tolling period was extended nine times in 2020, ultimately expiring on November 3, 2020. In total, New York’s legal deadlines were tolled for 228 days—a significant and unprecedented pause in the running of statutory time limits.

What Tolling Means in Practice

• Tolling is not the same as simply delaying a deadline. Instead, it stops the clock entirely. If a claim originally had 90 days left before the statute of limitations would have run out, those 90 days effectively remained untouched during the 228-day tolling period. Once tolling ended, the clock began ticking again, giving parties that additional time to bring their claims.
• This distinction has real consequences for litigants and attorneys. Many cases that otherwise would have expired in 2020 or 2021 remained viable months later. Even now, more than five years after the Executive Order was first issued, its effects are still shaping litigation timelines.

Statutes of Limitations in New York Generally

In New York, statutes of limitations for civil claims vary widely:

• Personal injury: 3 years
• Breach of contract: 6 years
• Fraud: 6 years
• Professional malpractice: 3 years
• Defamation: 1 year
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty: 6 years when based on fraud or for equitable relief; 3 years when relief is monetary.

Given these ranges, most causes of action affected by the tolling have already reached their post-pandemic expiration dates. For example, a personal injury claim that accrued in early 2019 would have ordinarily expired in early 2022—but because of the tolling order, plaintiffs had an additional 228 days to file. Now, years later, that window has closed for most shorter-term statutes.

Yet for certain longer-duration causes of action—especially those with six-year limitations—the final group of claims that benefitted from tolling will not expire until June 2027. This tolling means some disputes tied to pre-pandemic events are still capable of being filed today.

The Notable Exception: Money Judgment Enforcement

While most statutes of limitations impacted by Covid tolling will sunset by 2027, there is a major outlier: enforcement of money judgments.

In New York, once a party obtains a money judgment, they have 20 years to enforce it. The tolling from Executive Order 202.8 means that for judgments issued immediately before, or during, the pandemic enforcement will be available persist into the early 2040s.

For example, imagine a judgment entered in 2015. Normally, the creditor would have until 2035 to enforce it. With the pandemic tolling period, that enforcement window now stretches to 2035 plus 228 days. Multiply this across thousands of judgments statewide, and it becomes clear that Covid’s impact will reverberate in this niche area of law for over a decade.

Practical Implications for Litigants and Counsel

These lingering effects present both opportunities and challenges for parties involved in litigation:

• Potential claims still alive: For long-duration statutes (e.g., fraud, breach of contract), plaintiffs may still have time to bring claims from pre-2020 events.
• Enforcement strategy: Judgment creditors have more time to execute on unpaid judgments, potentially changing settlement dynamics years down the road.
• Recordkeeping: Businesses should be aware that pre-pandemic disputes or obligations may still give rise to litigation, underscoring the need for thorough documentation even long after events occurred.

Attorneys must carefully calculate limitations periods, factoring in the 228-day tolling, to avoid errors when advising clients or filing pleadings. Misinterpreting this adjustment could lead to costly mistakes, particularly as the tolling period is set to expire in 2027.

A Legal Legacy That Outlasts the Pandemic

Executive Order 202.8 was a pragmatic solution to an unprecedented crisis, ensuring that parties would not lose their legal rights while the courts were effectively shuttered.

But the tolling it introduced created a ripple effect that continues to effect the legal industry to this day. Even as most Covid-related extensions expire over the next few years, the 20-year enforcement rule guarantees that pandemic-era tolling will remain relevant long after most other legal deadlines have returned to normal.

Remembering this 228-day tolling period could prove vital over the next fifteen years, particularly for judgment enforcement, where a miscalculation of deadlines could mean the difference between preserving or losing significant legal rights.