Limitation is the legal principle that there should be an end date to litigation. The main reason for this is to protect defendants against claims being made against them after a long period of time when they may have destroyed evidence available to rebut those claims.
The time limits on when a party can start court action are set out in the Limitation Act 1980. The period of limitation depends upon the type of court action. In most cases, proceedings must be brought within 6 years from the date on which the cause of action
If a claim is not brought before the limitation period ends, the claim will be barred. This means that it will be no longer possible to make a claim against the alleged wrongdoer.