N.J.S.A. 2A:14-26 — Military or naval service during war; effect on limitations

2A:14-26. Military or naval service during war; effect on limitations The period of service, in time of war and 6 months thereafter, of any person, in active service in any of the armed forces of the United States, or the women's auxiliary corps, the women's reserve of the naval reserve, or any similar organization authorized by the United States to serve with its armed forces, shall not be included in computing any period limited on April 16, 1945, or thereafter by any law for the bringing of any action by or against any such person or by or against his heirs, executors, administrators or assigns, whether such cause of action shall have accrued prior to, or during, the period of such service or during such 6 months thereafter. L.1951 (1st SS), c.344. 2A:14-26.1. Findings, declarations relative to statute of limitations regarding hemophiliacs infected with HIV, AIDS; accrual of actions 1. a. The Legislature finds and declares: (1) Over one-half of the people with hemophilia in this country were infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the early 1980's from contaminated blood products. (2) AIDS, unlike any other disease, stigmatizes and isolates its victims. Victims, their families and survivors have been reluctant to step forward and seek compensation for their injuries through the legal system because of their legitimate fear of attendant publicity. (3) Because of this fear, many did not seek timely redress. They also were unaware that blood product manufacturers may have had the technical capacity at the time to address the situation and may have been responsible for their injuries. It is only very recently that a government-sponsored report was issued indicating that the blood products could have been virally inactivated prior to the advent of the AIDS epidemic among blood product recipients. (4) The scientific complexity of the issue, the compelling psychological and emotional trauma associated with the disease, the lack of publicly available information and the lack of definitive studies at the time combined to create a singular, unique circumstance which existing limitations principles are ill-suited to address. (5) This act will provide a remedy for the bar which may be imposed by the statute of limitations in these cases by setting a date certain for the accrual of the cause of action. (6) The Legislature expresses no opinion as to whether any blood product manufacturers may, or may not, have actually been at fault for the contracting of HIV and AIDS among blood product recipients. It is simply the intent of the Legislature to allow these particular victims "their day in court" in light of the unique and extraordinary circumstances of their plight. b. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary, no action for damages based upon personal injury, survivorship or wrongful death brought against a proprietary manufacturer of blood products based on infusion of a blood product resulting in contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) shall be deemed to accrue prior to July 13, 1995. c. The provisions of this act shall apply to all pending claims, including any action which has been filed with a court but not yet dismissed or finally adjudicated. L.1996,c.23,s.1. 2A:14-26.2. Inapplicability of act 2. The provisions of this act shall be inapplicable to any civil action governed by the statute of limitations of another jurisdiction. L.1996,c.23,s.2.

This is the verbatim text of N.J.S.A. 2A:14-26, retrieved from the New Jersey Legislature's public statute corpus. Statutes are amended periodically — for the most current version, check the external source link above. Kyzer is not a law firm and this page is not legal advice.