[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/points-of-law\/suing-a-dead-defendant-and-avoiding-timing-problems\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/points-of-law\/suing-a-dead-defendant-and-avoiding-timing-problems\/","headline":"Suing a Dead Defendant and Avoiding Timing Problems","name":"Suing a Dead Defendant and Avoiding Timing Problems","description":"By Alistair D. Edwards How should a plaintiff proceed when the defendant dies before the action can be filed? What timing issues should the plaintiff be concernedabout? The relevant statute appears to be Virginia Code \u00a7 8.01-229(B)(2), entitled \u201cDeath of person against whom personal action may be brought.\u201d Subsection (a) provides: If a person against […]","datePublished":"2025-04-08","dateModified":"2026-04-21","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/blog\/author\/marksandharrison\/#Person","name":"Marks & Harrison","url":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/blog\/author\/marksandharrison\/","identifier":7,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5f19b40a73ab49e8af765493aafa8c5651a274c64ede1000eb57bb6a971fb6c8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5f19b40a73ab49e8af765493aafa8c5651a274c64ede1000eb57bb6a971fb6c8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Marks & Harrison","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/logo.png","url":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/logo.png","width":235,"height":87}},"url":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/points-of-law\/suing-a-dead-defendant-and-avoiding-timing-problems\/"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/points-of-law\/suing-a-dead-defendant-and-avoiding-timing-problems\/#BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Points of Law","item":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/points-of-law\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Suing a Dead Defendant and Avoiding Timing Problems","item":"https:\/\/www.marksandharrison.com\/points-of-law\/suing-a-dead-defendant-and-avoiding-timing-problems\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]