Under SPARERIBS, which item is a time-based defense?

• A. Statute of Limitations
• B. Payment
• C. Arbitration award
• D. Res judicata

Answer: (A)

A time-based defense relies on the passage of time to bar a claim. The Statute of Limitations sets a deadline for filing a lawsuit after a cause of action arises; once that deadline passes, the claim is barred and the court dismisses it for being untimely. This is the quintessential example of a time-based defense.

The other items work differently: Payment defeats a claim by extinguishing the obligation when the debtor has satisfied it, not because time has run out. An arbitration award reflects a decision on the dispute from arbitration, not a timing rule. Res judicata prevents a party from relitigating a matter after a final judgment, which is about finality of adjudication, not the running of a time period.