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HB1645 • 2026

Modifies the statute of limitations for personal injury claims and childhood sexual abuse, injury, or illness

Modifies the statute of limitations for personal injury claims and childhood sexual abuse, injury, or illness

Children
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Overcast, Matthew (155)
Last action
2026-02-25
Official status
This Bill Replaced with a Substitute Bill - Check Primary Bill - HB 1664
Effective date
2026-08-28

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Changes the Time Limit for Filing Lawsuits About Personal Injuries and Childhood Sexual Abuse

This bill changes the statute of limitations for personal injury claims and extends the time limit for filing lawsuits related to childhood sexual abuse.

What This Bill Does

  • Removes old laws about when people can file certain types of lawsuits.
  • Adds new rules that say people have five years to sue after an injury or illness, except in cases involving fraud where they have ten years from discovery.
  • Creates a two-year limit for suing insurance companies related to uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage starting August 28, 2026.
  • Extends the time limit for filing lawsuits about childhood sexual abuse to twenty years after turning 21 or three years after discovering the injury was caused by such abuse, whichever is later.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who have suffered personal injuries and want to file a lawsuit.
  • Insurance companies dealing with uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage claims starting August 28, 2026.
  • Individuals who were sexually abused as children and wish to sue for damages.

Terms To Know

Statute of limitations
A law that sets a time limit on when someone can file a lawsuit after an event happens.
Childhood sexual abuse
Any act committed by the defendant against the plaintiff which occurred when the plaintiff was under 18 years old and would be considered illegal sexual activity according to Missouri laws.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how it will affect existing lawsuits or claims.
  • It is unclear if the changes will apply retroactively to cases before August 28, 2026.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-25 Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri Senate

    Executive Session Completed (H)

  2. 2026-02-25 Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri Senate

    HCS Voted Do Pass (H)

  3. 2026-02-25 Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri Senate

    HCS Reported Do Pass (H) - AYES: 6 NOES: 1 PRESENT: 0

  4. 2026-02-16 Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri Senate

    Public Hearing Completed (H)

  5. 2026-01-29 Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri Senate

    Referred: Commerce(H)

  6. 2026-01-08 Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri Senate

    Read Second Time (H)

  7. 2026-01-07 Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri Senate

    Read First Time (H)

  8. 2025-12-01 Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri Senate

    Prefiled (H)

Official Summary Text

Modifies the statute of limitations for personal injury claims and childhood sexual abuse, injury, or illness

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 1645
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE OVERCAST .
4203H.03I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o repeal sections 516.120, 516.140, and 537.046, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof three
new sections relating to statutes of limitation.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 516.120, 516.140, and 537.046, RSMo, are repealed and three
2 new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 516.120, 516.140, and 537.046,
3 to read as follows:
516.120. W ithin five years:
2 (1) All actions upon contracts, obligations or liabilities, express or implied, except
3 those mentioned in section 516.1 10 and section 516.140 , and except upon judgments or
4 decrees of a court of record, and except where a dif ferent time is herein limited;
5 (2) An action upon a liability created by a statute other than a penalty or forfeiture;
6 (3) An action for trespass on real estate;
7 (4) An action for taking, detaining or injuring any goods or chattels, including actions
8 for the recovery of specific personal property[ , or for any other injury to the person or rights
9 of another , not arising on contract and not herein otherwise enumerated ];
10 (5) An action for relief on the ground of fraud, the cause of action in such case to be
11 deemed not to have accrued until the discovery by the aggrieved party , at any time within ten
12 years, of the facts constituting the fraud.
516.140. W ithin two years:
2 (1) An action for libel, slander , injurious falsehood, assault, battery , false
3 imprisonment, criminal conversation, malicious prosecution or actions brought under
4 section 290.140[ . ] ;
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
5 (2) An action by an employee for the payment of unpaid minimum wages, unpaid
6 overtime compensation or liquidated damages by reason of the nonpayment of minimum
7 wages or overtime compensation, and for the recovery of any amount under and by virtue of
8 the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and amendments thereto, such act
9 being an act of Congress, shall be brought within two years after the cause accrued ;
10 (3) An action that accrues on or after August 28, 2026, for any injury to the
11 person or rights of another , not arising on contract and not otherwise pro vided for by
12 law , including actions for personal injury or bodily injury;
13 (4) An action that accrues on or after August 28, 2026, against an insur er
14 r elating to uninsur ed motorist coverage or underinsur ed motorist coverage, including
15 any action to enforce such coverage .
537.046. 1. As used in this section, the following terms mean:
2 (1) "Childhood sexual abuse", any act committed by the defendant against the
3 plaintif f which act occurred when the plaintif f was under the age of eighteen years and which
4 act would have been a violation of section 566.030, 566.031, 566.032, 566.034, 566.060,
5 566.061, 566.062, 566.064, 566.067, 566.068, 566.069, 566.071, 566.083, 566.086, 566.093,
6 566.095, 566.100, 566.101, 566.209, 566.210, 566.21 1, 568.020, 573.023, or 573.200;
7 (2) "Injury" or "illness", either a physical injury or illness or a psychological injury or
8 illness. A psychological injury or illness need not be accompanied by physical injury or
9 illness.
10 2. Any action to recover damages from injury or illness caused by childhood sexual
11 abuse in an action brought pursuant to this section shall be commenced within [ ten ] twenty
12 years of the plaintif f attaining the age of twenty-one or within three years of the date the
13 plaintif f discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, that the injury or illness was caused
14 by childhood sexual abuse, whichever later occurs.
15 3. This section shall apply to any action arising on or after August 28, [ 2025 ] 2026 .
16 4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary , a nondisclosure
17 agreement by any party to a childhood sexual abuse action shall not be judicially enforceable
18 in a dispute involving childhood sexual abuse allegations or claims, and shall be void.
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HB 1645 2