9.3
Limitation Dates, Other Deadlines and Diary Systems

It is critical to address limitation dates and other deadlines when opening a file. Missing a date or deadline can have significant consequences. Your client may lose all recourse to advance or protect their interests, and a financial claim and complaint may be made against you. The information in the following sections can help you avoid the two most common reasons lawyers miss dates and deadlines: lack of knowledge and poor practice management.

Know your Limitation Dates and Deadlines

There can be several limitation dates and deadlines to address in a matter, depending on the facts and issues to be resolved. It is imperative to have a thorough understanding of the legislation and rules common to your practice areas and know where to access this information when needed.

There are three main sources to consider when opening and moving a matter forward.

  • Legislation is reviewed to determine the application limitation dates. CanLII provides free online access to all provincial and federal legislation. The Alberta Limitations Manual and Federal Limitations Manual are fee-based products that may be worth considering if you are new to a practice area or looking for a comprehensive resource, as it allows you to identify limitation periods by subject and provides annotated sections. Both Manuals can be accessed through the Alberta Law Libraries.

    LAWPRO’s Common Limitation Period Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them provides valuable insight on things to watch out for when determining limitations dates and protecting client interests.

  • Court rules are reviewed to determine procedural deadlines, such as time for filing and service of pleadings, disclosure of records and entry of judgments and orders. The Alberta Rules of Court is a key reference document for lawyers whose practice includes matters in the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta or the Court of Appeal of Alberta; if your practice includes these type of matters it might be helpful to save or print a copy so that it is easily accessible. You may want to consider doing the same with the Federal Courts Rules if your practice involves federal court matters. The Alberta Limitations Manual and Federal Limitations Manual are also helpful when reviewing court rules as each include annotated sections for select rules. 

    One important consideration in the Alberta Rules of Court that is sometimes overlooked is the dismissal for long delay, or “drop dead” rule (4.33), which provide litigants an opportunity to seek to dismiss an action based on a period of inactivity from the opposing party. Using Master File Lists, described in more detail later in this module, or a similar system is crucial to identifying and acting on matters before they become inactive for a lengthy period.

  • Practice notes and directives are reviewed to determine the governing court practices and procedures relating to the specific matter, which can include deadlines for filing and service. The Alberta Courts publish the relevant notes and directives based on the level of court and area of law.

    These documents are periodically amended, and subscribing to the courts’ mailing lists can help to ensure you stay current on these changes.

Diarizing Limitation Dates and Deadlines

While some circumstances may require you to immediately address an impending limitation date or deadline upon being retained, it is common to delay commencing an action on behalf of your client. Investigation into the matter may be necessary. Commencing an action is often not conducive to parties engaging in certain types of alternative dispute resolution or otherwise trying to settle their matter out of court. There may also be strategic reasons for not immediately commencing an action. Whatever the reason, you should implement a standardized diary schedule across your practice to ensure that you are reminded of the limitation as they approach.

The diary schedule you implement should consider repetition and timing. Lawyers are busy and have many distractions, which can sometimes result in reminders being overlooked. Having multiple reminders will help to ensure the deadline is not missed. When to diarize a matter involves considering how long it may take you to review the matter, prepare draft pleadings, provide a copy of the pleadings for your client’s review, make any necessary revisions and file the pleading with the court. Also consider that circumstances out of your control, such as illness, technological issues and emergencies arising on other files, can arise. Give yourself ample time so you do not find yourself in the stressful situation of trying to file a pleading at the last minute.

While the diary schedule you implement should be personal to your practice and circumstances, consider at minimum having a reminder date that is six months, three months, and one month prior to the limitation date. In the last month, consider weekly and/or daily reminders. A similar schedule can be implemented for addressing other deadlines that arise as the matter progresses.

Diary Systems

Limitation dates and deadlines can be tracked using a manual system, electronic calendar application or software designed to track limitations.

Manual systems involve entering the limitation date and deadlines into a physical diary or calendar. This system requires someone manually calculating the various dates for entry which increases the chance of an error occurring. It also does not allow for ease of sharing information among staff. As dates cannot be backed up, misplacing the physical diary can result in needing to review every file to create a new diary and potentially missing deadlines in the meantime. While a manual system can still serve as a backup, it is not recommended as your primary diary system.

Most lawyers already have an electronic calendar application by virtue of having Microsoft Office, but any electronic calendar application could potentially work. This system addresses many of the downfalls of a manual system without adding to your overhead: when entering the date it allows for recurring reminders to automatically be set, it allows other staff to access the same calendar on their computer or smartphone to jointly manage dates, and depending on the version of Microsoft the data can be backed up to your server or the cloud. Microsoft’s Calendar resource provides a good overview of how to manage, customize and share your calendar. 

Software systems designed to track limitations can provide a more simplified and sophisticated approach. See the Law Society’s What to Look For in Limitations Software and Limitations Software Options resources for more information and the benefits of this type of system.

The following are important considerations when determining the type of system(s) to use:

  • Be consistent with the information that is entered. The entry should be detailed enough so that the nature of the deadline is clear.
  • Take care when determining deadlines and entering dates. A miscalculation can easily result in missing a limitation date or other deadline, so this is not a step that should be rushed. Consider restricting this work to include yourself and your primary assistant.
  • The system should be easily accessible by all involved staff. Ensuring others can access the calendar is important from a contingency planning perspective in case you fall ill or are otherwise away from the office.
  • A primary designated person should be responsible for reviewing and following up on entries each morning, with a secondary designated person stepping in if the primary person is away from the office. Having multiple people simultaneously responsible for a task can result in misunderstandings and mistakes happening.
  • Avoid relying on just one system to manage your deadlines and address them in multiple places. This will prove invaluable in the unfortunate event that your server or internet is down, or your office is inaccessible.  As part of your file opening procedure, you can ensure all dates are noted on your checklist or other opening file document that you reference. You can use a combination of the above diary systems. Creating and maintaining a Master File List, described in detail later in this module, also serves as an essential tool as you are reviewing the status of each your files weekly.