NC Supreme Court Reverses Precedent by Holding that Denial of a Statute of Repose Defense Is Immediately Appealable

The North Carolina Supreme Court’s decision in Byrd v. Avco Corp. (filed March 20, 2026) held that a trial court’s denial of a statute of repose defense can affect a defendant’s substantial right and is therefore immediately appealable, reversing the Court of Appeals’ dismissal and sending the case back for appellate review.

CASE BACKGROUND

Defendants Avco Corporation and its unincorporated operating division, Lycoming Engines (collectively, “Avco”), manufacture aircraft engines. Plaintiffs alleged that after takeoff on May 8, 2015, the aircraft crashed, and all on board were killed. Plaintiffs filed suit in 2017, asserting multiple claims against Avco. Avco moved for summary judgment, arguing that Plaintiffs’ lawsuit was barred by the statute of repose provided by the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994 (“GARA”), which precludes lawsuits arising out of defects in an aircraft part that is more than eighteen years old.

The trial court declined to dismiss the case and explained that it could not determine, as a matter of law, whether Defendants knowingly misrepresented, withheld, or concealed required information from the FAA, which is an exception to GARA’s statute of repose. When Avco appealed, the Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal as interlocutory—meaning the appeal was premature because it was brought before the case had concluded.

STATUTE OF REPOSE

Most people have heard of a statute of limitations, which generally runs from when a cause of action accrues. A statute of repose is different—and can bar a claim before it even accrues. The Supreme Court quoted precedent explaining that a statute of repose “establishes a time period in which suit must be brought in order for the cause of action to be recognized” and that “[i]f the action is not brought within the specified period, the plaintiff literally has no cause of action.” In other words, when a statute of repose applies, it can eliminate the cause of action itself, not just limit the timing of a remedy.

SUPREME COURT RULING

North Carolina generally limits appeals from rulings made while a case is still ongoing but allows them when a ruling deprives a party of a substantial right that will be lost without immediate review. The North Carolina Home Builders Association, Inc., and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association filed amicus briefs supporting Avco’s position that denial of a statute of repose defense should be immediately appealable.  The Supreme Court explained that sovereign and governmental immunity qualify as substantial rights because they provide immunity from suit that “shields a defendant entirely from having to answer” in court, and that the protection is lost if the case is permitted to proceed to trial. 

The Supreme Court held that a statute of repose defense follows the same reasoning because, once the repose period has expired, the defendant should not be required to defend the case at trial. The opinion states: “Put simply, when the statute of repose has expired, a defendant cannot be hailed into court to bear the burden and expense of trial.”

That holding required the Supreme Court to overrule Lee v. Baxter, in which the Court of Appeals held that the denial of a statute of repose defense did not deprive a defendant of a substantial right. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded, directing the Court of Appeals to review whether the trial court correctly decided that Avco is not entitled to the immunity from suit provided by GARA’s statute of repose.

IMPACT

Although Byrd is an aviation case, the Supreme Court’s ruling applies to the appealability of denials of statute of repose defenses generally, including in construction defect cases.