Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania
what is the time frame to sue a company for damages and use of personal data after end of contract.
2 Answers from Attorneys
I am not quite sure what kind of personal data the company used or what kind of contract this involved. Employment? A contract for a product or services? Generally, negligence/tort (wrongful acts of some kinds are torts) are governed by a 2 year statute of limitations. Most actions for breach of contracts, whether they are oral, written or implied contracts, are 4 years. You do not give me the details as to when the contract ended or how it was supposedly breached or what wrongful act may have occurred.
There are some other rules that may affect this, but I cannot comment on them here. My advice would be to seek out a lawyer in the area in which you need one and talk to him or her more specifically about your situation.
You do not give me enough facts in order to assist you. What kind of contract was this? What kind of personal data was obtained and used? How was the data used? Is this a breach of contract? Or a tort (civil wrong)? When did the bad act or breach occur?
Generally (there are exceptions), a tort action must be brought within 2 years of when the cause of action accrues (a cause of action accrues when harm or injury occurs and the person knows the cause of his or her harm). Actions for breach of contract must be brought within 4 years of the breach.
What I would do is decide what kind of lawyer you need and more specifically discuss your situation so that you can get better advice.