Business Torts: A Fifty-State Guide - Daller and Daller Washington

Statues of Limitation

The statute of limitations for an action for misappropriation of trade secrets is three years from the time that the misappropriation is discovered, or by exercise of reasonable diligence should have been discovered. A continuing misappropriation constitutes a single claim. Claims for conversion, negligence, and fraud have a three-year statute of limitations. A claim under the Unfair Business Practices—Consumer Protection Act must be brought within four years after the cause of action accrues. The four-year statute of limitations under RCW 19.86.120 does not apply to Attorney General parens patriae actions generally. The running of the statute of limitations on private actions for damages is suspended during the pendency of most actions by the Washington Attorney General under RCW 19.86 ; actions by the Washington Attorney General for violation of an injunction, civil penalties, or damages under RCW 19.86.090 do not benefit from the tolling provision. Claims for fraud, conversion, negligence, or claims arising under the Unfair Business Practices—Consumer Protection Act generally accrue from the date the aggrieved party sustains some form of injury or damage as a result, or the date the party discovers, or through due diligence should have discovered, the injury. The time to bring a claim under the Washington Uniform Voidable Transactions Act (“WUVTA”) ranges from one to four years and may depend on when the plaintiff discovered or reasonably could have discovered the alleged fraudulent transfer.

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