Rule 8.8 8. Deadlines Not Changed Absent a Tolling Agreement

Trying early mediation before filing a lawsuit does not stop the clock on legal deadlines. If a law says you must file your claim or give notice by a certain date, that deadline still applies even while you are trying to work things out through mediation. This includes special notice rules, like the ones that apply when you want to make a claim against a city, county, or other government body.

This means you could lose your right to sue if you spend too much time in mediation and miss your filing deadline. Mediation does not pause or extend these time limits on its own. If you are worried about running out of time while trying mediation, you and the other side should sign a separate agreement that pauses the deadline. This is called a tolling agreement, and it protects your right to file a claim later if mediation does not resolve the problem.