Limitation Periods For Demand Promissory Notes: Something Old And Something New

The existing Limitation Act (British Columbia) (Limitation Act) establishes a six-year limitation period for creditors to bring an action to enforce payment on a promissory note. This limitation period begins to run on the date that the right to sue under the promissory note arises. The date the right to sue arises has often been litigated and differs depending on whether the promissory note is a demand promissory note (Demand Note), which allows a creditor to enforce payment at any time, or a delayed-demand promissory note (Delayed Note), which requires that a demand be made and that a specified period of time elapse before payment can be enforced.

In Ewachniuk Estate v. Ewachniuk (Ewachniuk) (reasons for judgment released on December 14, 2011), the British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) clarified when the limitation period begins to run with respect to both Demand Notes and Delayed Notes. In Ewachniuk, the debtor had given his parents a Delayed Note, executed in