Section 5-108 - Injury to person or property occurring after completion of improvement to realty. - Maryland Statutes

§ 5-108. Injury to person or property occurring after completion of improvement to realty.
 

(a)  Injury occurring more than 20 years later.- Except as provided by this section, no cause of action for damages accrues and a person may not seek contribution or indemnity for damages incurred when wrongful death, personal injury, or injury to real or personal property resulting from the defective and unsafe condition of an improvement to real property occurs more than 20 years after the date the entire improvement first becomes available for its intended use. 

(b)  Action against architect, professional engineer, or contractor.- Except as provided by this section, a cause of action for damages does not accrue and a person may not seek contribution or indemnity from any architect, professional engineer, or contractor for damages incurred when wrongful death, personal injury, or injury to real or personal property, resulting from the defective and unsafe condition of an improvement to real property, occurs more than 10 years after the date the entire improvement first became available for its intended use. 

(c)  Three-year limitation after accrual of cause of action.- Upon accrual of a cause of action referred to in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, an action shall be filed within 3 years. 

(d)  "Supplier" defined.-  

(1) In this subsection, "supplier" means any individual or entity whose principal business is the supply, distribution, installation, sale, or resale of any product that causes asbestos-related disease. 

(2) This section does not apply if: 

(i) The defendant was in actual possession and control of the property as owner, tenant, or otherwise when the injury occurred; 

(ii) In a cause of action against a manufacturer or supplier for damages for personal injury or death caused by asbestos or a product that contains asbestos, the injury or death results from exposure to asbestos dust or fibers which are shed or emitted prior to or in the course of the affixation, application, or installation of the asbestos or the product that contains asbestos to an improvement to real property; 

(iii) In other causes of action for damages for personal injury or death caused by asbestos or a product that contains asbestos, the defendant is a manufacturer of a product that contains asbestos; or 

(iv) In a cause of action for damages for injury to real property that results from a defective and unsafe condition of an improvement to real property: 

1. The defendant is a manufacturer of a product that contains asbestos; 

2. The damages to an improvement to real property are caused by asbestos or a product that contains asbestos; 

3. The improvement first became available for its intended use after July 1, 1953; 

4. The improvement: 

A. Is owned by a governmental entity and used for a public purpose; or 

B. Is a public or private institution of elementary, secondary, or higher education; and 

5. The complaint is filed by July 1, 1993. 

(e)  When action accrues.- A cause of action for an injury described in this section accrues when the injury or damage occurs. 
 

[An. Code 1957, art. 57, § 20; 1973, 1st Sp. Sess., ch. 2, § 1; 1979, ch. 698; 1980, ch. 605; 1991, ch. 271.]