Equitable Tolling

Equitable tolling refers to a court extending the time to file a claim outside of the normal statute of limitations. A “statute of limitations may be suspended or tolled only by specific disabilities or exceptions enacted by the legislature and the courts are not empowered to extend those exceptions.” Shelter Mutual Insurance Co. v. Director of Revenue, 107 S.W.3d 919, 923 (Mo. 2003).

Tolling is available where the ” defendant has actively misled the plaintiff respecting the cause of action, or where the plaintiff has in some extraordinary way been prevented from asserting his rights, or has raised the precise statutory claim in issue but has mistakenly done so in the wrong forum.” Ross v. Union Pac. R.R. Co., 906 S.W.2d 711, 712 (Mo. 1995). A party seeking to toll and extend a deadline must prove two elements: (1) that the litigant has been pursuing his rights diligently and (2) some extraordinary circumstances stood in his/her way. Pace v. DiGuglielmo, 544 U.S. 408, 418 (2005).