614.1 Period.

Actions may be brought within the times herein limited, respectively, after their causes accrue, and not afterwards, except when otherwise specially declared:

1. Penalties or forfeitures under ordinance. Those to enforce the payment of a penalty or forfeiture under an ordinance, within one year.

2. Injuries to person or reputation — relative rights — statute penalty. Those founded on injuries to the person or reputation, including injuries to relative rights, whether based on contract or tort, or for a statute penalty, within two years.

2A. With respect to products.

a. Those founded on the death of a person or injuries to the person or property brought against the manufacturer, assembler, designer, supplier of specifications, seller, lessor, or distributor of a product based upon an alleged defect in the design, inspection, testing, manufacturing, formulation, marketing, packaging, warning, labeling of the product, or any other alleged defect or failure of whatever nature or kind, based on the theories of strict liability in tort, negligence, or breach of an implied warranty shall not be commenced more than fifteen years after the product was first purchased, leased, bailed, or installed for use or consumption unless expressly warranted for a longer period of time by the manufacturer, assembler, designer, supplier of specifications, seller, lessor, or distributor of the product. This subsection shall not affect the time during which a person found liable may seek and obtain contribution or indemnity from another person whose actual fault caused a product to be defective. This subsection shall not apply if the manufacturer, assembler, designer, supplier of specifications, seller, lessor, or distributor of the product intentionally misrepresents facts about the product or fraudulently conceals information about the product and that conduct was a substantial cause of the claimant’s harm.

b. (1) The fifteen-year limitation in paragraph “a” shall not apply to the time period in which to discover a disease that is latent and caused by exposure to a harmful material, in which event the cause of action shall be deemed to have accrued when the disease and such disease’s cause have been made known to the person or at the point the person should have been aware of the disease and such disease’s cause. This subsection shall not apply to cases governed by subsection 11 of this section.

(2) As used in this paragraph, “harmful material” means silicone gel breast implants, which were implanted prior to July 12, 1992; and chemical substances commonly known as asbestos, dioxins, tobacco, or polychlorinated biphenyls, whether alone or as part of any product; or any substance which is determined to present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment by the United States environmental protection agency pursuant to the federal Toxic Substance Control Act, 15 U.S.C. §2601 et seq., or by this state, if that risk is regulated by the United States environmental protection agency or this state.

3. Against sheriff or other public officer. Those against a sheriff or other public officer for the nonpayment of money collected on execution within three years of collection.

4. Unwritten contracts — injuries to property — fraud — other actions. Those founded on unwritten contracts, those brought for injuries to property, or for relief on the ground of fraud in cases heretofore solely cognizable in a court of chancery, and all other actions not otherwise provided for in this respect, within five years, except as provided by subsections 8 and 10.

5. Written contracts — judgments of courts not of record — recovery of real property and rent.

a. Except as provided in paragraph “b”, those founded on written contracts, or on judgments of any courts except those provided for in subsection 6, and those brought for the recovery of real property, within ten years.

b. Those founded on claims for rent, within five years.

6. Judgments of courts of record. Those founded on a judgment of a court of record, whether of this or of any other of the United States, or of the federal courts of the United States, within twenty years, except that a time period limitation shall not apply to an action to recover a judgment for child support, spousal support, or a judgment of distribution of marital assets.

7. Judgment quieting title. No action shall be brought to set aside a judgment or decree quieting title to real estate unless the same shall be commenced within ten years from and after the rendition thereof.

8. Wages. Those founded on claims for wages or for a liability or penalty for failure to pay wages, within two years.

9. Malpractice.

a. Except as provided in paragraph “b”, those founded on injuries to the person or wrongful death against any physician and surgeon, osteopathic physician and surgeon, dentist, podiatric physician, optometrist, pharmacist, chiropractor, physician assistant, or nurse, licensed under chapter 147, or a hospital licensed under chapter 135B, arising out of patient care, within two years after the date on which the claimant knew, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have known, or received notice in writing of the existence of, the injury or death for which damages are sought in the action, whichever of the dates occurs first, but in no event shall any action be brought more than six years after the date on which occurred the act or omission or occurrence alleged in the action to have been the cause of the injury or death unless a foreign object unintentionally left in the body caused the injury or death.

b. An action subject to paragraph “a” and brought on behalf of a minor who was under the age of eight years when the act, omission, or occurrence alleged in the action occurred shall be commenced no later than the minor’s tenth birthday or as provided in paragraph “a”, whichever is later.

10. Secured interest in farm products. Those founded on a secured interest in farm products, within two years from the date of sale of the farm products against the secured interest of the creditor.

11. Improvements to real property.

a. In addition to limitations contained elsewhere in this section, an action arising out of the unsafe or defective condition of an improvement to real property based on tort and implied warranty and for contribution and indemnity, and founded on injury to property, real or personal, or injury to the person or wrongful death, shall not be brought more than the number of years specified below after the date on which occurred the act or omission of the defendant alleged in the action to have been the cause of the injury or death:

(1) For an action arising from or related to a nuclear power plant licensed by the United States nuclear regulatory commission or an interstate pipeline licensed by the federal energy regulatory commission, fifteen years.

(2) For an action arising from or related to residential construction, as defined in section 572.1, ten years.

(3) For an action arising from or related to any other kind of improvement to real property, eight years.

b. Notwithstanding paragraph “a”, an action arising from or related to the intentional misconduct or fraudulent concealment of an unsafe or defective condition of an improvement to real property shall not be brought more than fifteen years after the date on which occurred the act or omission of the defendant alleged in the action to have been the cause of the injury or death.

c. If the unsafe or defective condition is discovered within one year prior to the expiration of the applicable period of repose, the period of repose shall be extended one year.

d. This subsection does not bar an action against a person solely in the person’s capacity as an owner, occupant, or operator of an improvement to real property.

12. Sexual abuse or sexual exploitation by a counselor, therapist, or school employee. An action for damages for injury suffered as a result of sexual abuse, as defined in section 709.1, by a counselor, therapist, or school employee, as defined in section 709.15, or as a result of sexual exploitation by a counselor, therapist, or school employee shall be brought within five years of the date the victim was last treated by the counselor or therapist, or within five years of the date the victim was last enrolled in or attended the school.

13. Public bonds or obligations. Those founded on the cancellation, transfer, redemption, or replacement of public bonds or obligations by an issuer, trustee, transfer agent, registrar, depository, paying agent, or other agent of the public bonds or obligations, within eleven years of the cancellation, transfer, redemption, or replacement of the public bonds or obligations.

14. County collection of taxes. No time limitation shall apply to an action brought by a county under section 445.3 to collect delinquent real property taxes levied on or after April 1, 1992.

[C51, §1659; R60, §1075, 1865, 2740; C73, §486, 2529; C97, §3447; S13, §2963-g, 3447; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §11007; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §614.1]

83 Acts, ch 69, §1, 2; 86 Acts, ch 1120, §1; 91 Acts, ch 130, §3; 92 Acts, ch 1199, §1; 93 Acts, ch 89, §3; 95 Acts, ch 108, §21; 97 Acts, ch 175, §235; 97 Acts, ch 197, §5, 6, 16; 98 Acts, ch 1100, §78; 2002 Acts, ch 1050, §51; 2003 Acts, ch 180, §62; 2007 Acts, ch 40, §1; 2008 Acts, ch 1032, §83; 2008 Acts, ch 1088, §141; 2013 Acts, ch 95, §1; 2017 Acts, ch 64, §1, 2

Referred to in §135P.3, 222.82, 522B.17A, 522D.9, 614.6, 614.8, 715B.4, 910.15

2017 amendment to subsection 11 does not apply to an improvement to real property in existence prior to July 1, 2017, or to an improvement to real property, whether construction has begun or not, that is the subject of a binding agreement as of July 1, 2017; 2017 Acts, ch 64, §2