Opinion ID: 1235438
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Equitable Estoppel and Laches.

Text: Defendant argues that Wendy is estopped from registering and enforcing the support order because of his detrimental reliance in satisfying all payments required of him under the Iowa support order. He urges that this detrimental reliance also supports a claim of laches. Laches is an equitable doctrine premised on unreasonable delay in asserting a right, which causes disadvantage or prejudice to another. First Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n v. Blass, 316 N.W.2d 411, 414 (Iowa 1982); Davenport Osteopathic Hosp. Ass'n v. Hospital Serv., Inc., 261 Iowa 247, 261, 154 N.W.2d 153, 162 (1967). The party asserting the defense has the burden to establish all the essential elements thereof by clear, convincing, and satisfactory evidence. Moser v. Thorp Sales Corp., 256 N.W.2d 900, 908 (Iowa 1977). Prejudice is an essential element of laches. Blass, 316 N.W.2d at 415; Davidson v. Van Lengen, 266 N.W.2d 436, 439 (Iowa 1978). The doctrine of equitable estoppel similarly requires a showing of substantial prejudice. Anita Valley, Inc. v. Bingley, 279 N.W.2d 37, 41 (Iowa 1979). In seeking to sustain his equitable defenses against collection of the judgment, Gary asserts that, if he had been informed that the October 1977 URESA order did not completely supersede his obligations under the Washington judgment, he could have acted to modify the Washington judgment or, in the alternative, could have made larger child support payments in compliance with the Washington order. We believe that these bare assertions are too speculative to establish the requisite prejudice required to sustain a laches or equitable estoppel defense. We note in this regard that the record shows that Gary was aware of Internal Revenue Service intercepts of his income tax refunds in 1987, 1988, and 1992 based on the unsatisfied child support obligation remaining in the State of Washington. This circumstance is entirely inconsistent with a reasonable belief on his part that the Washington support order was no longer viable. Gary, as the party asserting these equitable defenses, had the burden to sustain them by sufficient proof, see Blass, 316 N.W.2d at 414, and has failed in that regard.