Statute of limitations and constant damages
<p>Say someone builds a house improperly and damages accrue over the entire life of the house.</p>
<p>Is the statute of limitations meaningless in these cases because it is constantly reset by the damages? Or is only the first damage counted? If there are repeat violations doesn't that mean I could sue anytime?</p>

<h2>Limitations start to run when the prospective plaintiff first becomes or should have become aware of the cause of action</h2>
<p>Let’s give a concrete example. Let’s say a foundation starts to sink causing a wall to crack. The limitation period starts to run from when a prudent owner should have become aware of the cracking.</p>
<p>Further, the builder is only liable for the foundation repair, initial cracking and the necessary costs the owner went to to prevent further damage. The owner has a legal duty to mitigate the loss; if they don’t then they are liable if, say, the wall collapses or the roof buckles.</p>

united-states statute-of-limitations