On September 17, 2015, the Virginia Supreme Court issued Allstate Prop. And Cas. Inc. Co. v. Ploutis, No, 141536, an appeal from Fairfax County Circuit Court. It agreed with Allstate “the circuit court erred in ruling that Code §8.01-229(E)(3), providing for tolling of the statute of limitations of nonsuited actions, applies to the contractual period of limitations for filing an action under its [homeowner’s insurance] policy.” Id. at 1.
Allstate v. Ploutis delineated that “neither Code §38.2-2015 [imposing a 2-year minimum period of limitation for such insurance claims] nor the contractual period of limitations provided in Allstate’s policy is a ‘statute of limitations’ within the meaning of Code §8.01-229(E)(3).” Id. at 7. It also distinguished that a refiling after nonsuit is a new independent action, “not a reinstatement of the earlier nonsuited action”. Id. at 2 n. 3.
