Question: How do you compute the correct time for complying with the statute of limitations relating to holidays in the State of Indiana?
Answer: In computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by the Indiana rules of Trial Procedure, by order of the court, or by any applicable statute, the day of the act, event, or default from which the designated period of time begins to run shall not be included.
If a party seeks to recover for personal injuries, their complaint is subject to the two-year limitations period defined by Ind. Code section 34-11-2-4. In computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by these rules, by order of the court, or by any applicable statute, the day of the act, event, or default from which the designated period of time begins to run shall not be included. The last day of the period so computed is to be included unless it is:
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(3) a legal holiday as defined by state statute[.]
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In any event, the period runs until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, a Sunday, a legal holiday, or a day on which the office is closed. The phrase “legal holiday as defined by state statute” means just that: the enactments of our legislature govern the dates of legal holidays. The text of section 1-1-9-1 confirms this interpretation. There, the legislature defined “the third Monday in February” as a “legal holiday[ ] within the state of Indiana for all purposes.” I.C. § 1-1-9-1(a) (emphasis added). The phrase “for all purposes” leaves no ambiguity that the legislature intended the third Monday in February to be a “legal holiday as defined by state statute” when calculating filing deadlines under Trial Rule 6(A)(3).