http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/58/section/32ALimitation Act 1980An Act to consolidate the Limitation Acts 1939 to 1980.1987-10-01texttext/xmlenStatute Law Database2026-06-29Expert Participation2026-06-29 Limitation Act 1980ActDigital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024s. 234(4)s. 235 243 252s. 339(1) Part II 32A 1If it appears to the court that it would be equitable to allow an action to proceed having regard to the degree to which—athe operation of section 4A of this Act prejudices the plaintiff or any person whom he represents, andbany decision of the court under this subsection would prejudice the defendant or any person whom he represents,the court may direct that that section shall not apply to the action or shall not apply to any specified cause of action to which the action relates.2In acting under this section the court shall have regard to all the circumstances of the case and in particular to—athe length of, and the reasons for, the delay on the part of the plaintiff;bwhere the reason or one of the reasons for the delay was that all or any of the facts relevant to the cause of action did not become known to the plaintiff until after the end of the period mentioned in section 4A—ithe date on which any such facts did become known to him, andiithe extent to which he acted promptly and reasonably once he knew whether or not the facts in question might be capable of giving rise to an action; andcthe extent to which, having regard to the delay, relevant evidence is likely—ito be unavailable, oriito be less cogent than if the action had been brought within the period mentioned in section 4A.3In the case of an action for slander of title, slander of goods or other malicious falsehood brought by a personal representative—athe references in subsection (2) above to the plaintiff shall be construed as including the deceased person to whom the cause of action accrued and any previous personal representative of that person; andbnothing in section 28(3) of this Act shall be construed as affecting the court’s discretion under this section.4 In this section “ the court ” means the court in which the action has been brought. Cross heading and s. 32A (which were inserted by 1985 c. 61, ss. 57(4), 69(5), Sch. 9 para. 14) substituted (4.9.1996) by 1996 c. 31, ss. 5(4)(6), 19(2) (with s. 20(2))S. 32A (which was inserted by 1985 c. 61, ss. 57(4), 69(5), Sch. 9 para. 14) substituted (4.9.1996) by 1996 c. 31, ss. 5(4)(6), 19(2) (with s. 20(2))