Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.100 (2026)

Period of limitation prescribed

✓ current as of May 2026
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  516.100.  Period of limitation prescribed. — Civil actions, other than those for the recovery of real property, can only be commenced within the periods prescribed in the following sections, after the causes of action shall have accrued; provided, that for the purposes of sections 516.100 to 516.370, the cause of action shall not be deemed to accrue when the wrong is done or the technical breach of contract or duty occurs, but when the damage resulting therefrom is sustained and is capable of ascertainment, and, if more than one item of damage, then the last item, so that all resulting damage may be recovered, and full and complete relief obtained.

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(RSMo 1939 § 1012)

Prior revisions: 1929 § 860; 1919 § 1315; 1909 § 1887

(1972) In suit against abstract company the cause of action shall be deemed to accrue and limitations shall commence to run only from the time when the damage resulting therefrom is sustained and is capable of ascertainment. Thorne v. Johnson (A.), 483 S.W.2d 658.

(1976) Held, statute of limitations begins to run when public service commission determined that rate charged was improper, not when improper charges were made. DePaul Hospital v. Southwestern Bell Telephone (A.), 539 S.W.2d 542.

(1984) Plaintiff's ignorance of his cause of action for legal malpractice prevented the statute of limitations from running where that ignorance was totally caused by the actions of his attorney in failing to dismiss a suit and allowing a default judgment to be entered against his client on a counterclaim without notifying the client. Anderson v. Griffin, Dysart, Taylor, Penner (Mo.App.), 684 S.W.2d 858.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 362 cases (38 in the last 5 years), 1954–2026 · leading case: Powel v. Chaminade Coll. Preparatory, Inc., 197 S.W.3d 576 (Mo. 2006).
Powel v. Chaminade Coll. Preparatory, Inc., 197 S.W.3d 576 (Mo. 2006). · cites it 36× “It has undergone only minor changes over the years and is now set out in section 516.100 as follows: Civil actions, other than those for the recovery of real property, can only be commenced within the periods prescribed in the following sections, after the causes of action shall…”
Martin v. Crowley, Wade & Milstead, Inc., 702 S.W.2d 57 (Mo. 1985). · cites it 37× “Section 516.100, RSMo 1978. That section further provides in pertinent part: [T]he cause of action shall not be deemed to accrue when the wrong is done or the technical breach of contract or duty occurs, but when the damage resulting therefrom is sustained and is capable of…”
Davis v. Laclede Gas Co., 603 S.W.2d 554 (Mo. 1980). · cites it 30× “The gas was used primarily to fire a furnace for heating a boiler and generating steam for the presses.”
Pirtle v. Cook, 956 S.W.2d 235 (Mo. 1997). · cites it 20× “The court of appeals concluded that the statute of limitations for breach of contract actions was tolled by section 516.100, which tolls contract statutes of limitations until the damage from the breach is sustained or capable of ascertainment.”
Laughlin v. Forgrave, 432 S.W.2d 308 (Mo. 1968). · cites it 26× “) Section 516.100, applying to civil actions other than those for the recovery of real property, provides that such actions "* * * can only be commenced within the periods prescribed in the following sections, after the causes of action shall have accrued; provided, that for the…”
Weiss v. Rojanasathit, 975 S.W.2d 113 (Mo. 1998). · cites it 18× “This Court first adopted the “continuing or repeated wrong rule” in a case interpreting section 516.100, the general statute of limitations.”
Dorris v. McClanahan, 725 S.W.2d 870 (Mo. 1987). · cites it 27× “Section 516.100, RSMo 1986, states that for the purposes of sections 516.”
M & D Enter., Inc. v. Wolff, 923 S.W.2d 389 (Mo. Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 20× “The determination of when a cause of action accrues for statute of limitations purposes, however, is governed by § 516.100 which provides, in part: [T]he cause of action shall not be deemed to accrue when the wrong is done or the technical breach of contract or duty occurs, but…”
Thompson Ex Rel. Thompson v. Crawford, 833 S.W.2d 868 (Mo. 1992). · cites it 12× “Section 516.100, RSMo 1986, defines "accrued" as the time "when the damage resulting therefrom is sustained and is capable of ascertainment.”
Sabine v. Leonard, 322 S.W.2d 831 (Mo. 1959). · cites it 30× “Following that amendment the statute read (and now reads) as follows: "Civil actions, other than those for the recovery of real property, can only be commenced within the periods prescribed in the following sections, after the causes of action shall have accrued; provided, that…”
Jepson v. Stubbs, 555 S.W.2d 307 (Mo. 1977). · cites it 9× “2 Furthermore, alleged plaintiff, § 516.100 provides that a cause of action is not deemed to accrue until “ * * the damage resulting therefrom is sustained and is capable of ascertainment, and, if more than one item of damage, then the last item [of damage] * * * ”.”
Rowland v. Skaggs Companies, Inc., 666 S.W.2d 770 (Mo. 1984). · cites it 12× “The plaintiff relied on the provisions of § 516.100, RSMo 1959 providing that statutes of limitations begin to run, not ".”
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