Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

It depends entirely on the basis for your civil suit. For example, you have four years from the breach of a written contract to file a civil suit for that breach of contract, but if the contract is oral, you have to file within two years. Every type of claim has an assigned time limit, and they range from six months for an injury claim against a public entity after the entity denies the claim administratively, to ten years for latent construction defects. I know of know limitation that you can extend by filing a form, however.

Don't file forms or any other papers with a court, except small claims court, unless you know what you're doing. Legal time limits are tricky, so start your lawsuit as soon as you can, and ask an attorney (hint: tell the attorney who it is you want to sue, and why).