Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Statute Limitations

Well, the customer can REQUEST a refund any time, but the statute of limitations gives you a defense to a lawsuit to recover the overpayment.

Your relationship with the customer over the intervening seven years may determine whether you have a statute of limitations defense. If you and the customer have continued to do business and extend credit, you may have an "open book account" where either of you could sue the other for balances due, regardless of age. On the other hand, if there have been no transactions between you for four-plus years, the statute of limitations on either a book account, account stated, or written contract probably will have run and you would have a defense.

There are several wrinkles that add complexity and uncertainty, so I can't give you a reliable answer without studying the case in depth, but the foregoing is a basic concept for your strategic planning.

Re: Statute Limitations

Whatever your company policy says it is, typically 30 days or so. Lawsuits/claims on written contracts have a 4 year statute of limitations, oral contracts 2 years, fraud 3 years. It's your call, but such demand is quite unreasonable.

Re: Statute Limitations

4 years on a written contract. 2 years if there was no writing.

Sounds like you can deny the request, unless this is an ongoing customer in which case you may want to provide it for "good faith" or because it may be considered part of an ongoing contract and therefore outside of the statute of limitations.

If this was only a one-time purchase, then you should be OK. I'd need additional facts to supply any more of an in-depth answer.

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