Legal Definitions - Revival

Revival is a legal term that can refer to two different things:

1. Reviving a dormant judgment: This means asking a court to make a judgment that has expired or lapsed valid again. Each state has its own rules for how to do this. For example, in Texas, you can revive a dormant judgment by filing a special type of lawsuit within two years of the judgment becoming dormant.
2. Reviving a time-barred claim: This means bringing a lawsuit for something that would normally be too old to sue for. Some laws allow this in certain circumstances. For example, in New York, the Child Victims Act allows adults who were victims of child abuse to sue their abusers even if the abuse happened a long time ago.

Another example of reviving a time-barred claim is when someone owes you money, but it's been too long to sue them for it. If the person admits that they owe you the money in writing, some states allow you to sue them anyway. For instance, in New York, if someone admits to owing you money in writing, you can sue them even if the statute of limitations has expired.

These examples show that revival can be a way to make old legal claims valid again. It's important to follow the rules for revival in your state if you want to use this legal tool.