Opinion ID: 2547527
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether the trial court erred in granting Greer's motion for summary judgment on Hooker's counterclaim.

Text: ¶ 24. In his second issue on appeal, Hooker claims the trial court erred in finding his counterclaim time-barred by the three-year statute of limitations and granting Greer's motion for summary judgment. Hooker argues that his claim is one for a constructive trust and that such claims are subject to the ten-year statute of limitations found in Mississippi Code Section 15-1-39 (Rev.2003). [12] We hold that Hooker has not made out a claim for a constructive trust, and we therefore affirm the trial court. ¶ 25. Mississippi Code Section 15-1-39 provides that [b]ills for relief, in case of the existence of a trust not cognizable by the courts of common law and in all other cases not herein provided for, shall be filed within ten years after the cause thereof shall accrue. . . . Miss.Code Ann. § 15-1-39 (Rev.2003). The ten-year statute of limitations, applicable to constructive trusts, applies only to claims which are purely and exclusively equitable. Winters v. AmSouth Bank, 964 So.2d 595, 599 (Miss.2007) (quoting Alvarez v. Coleman, 642 So.2d 361, 373 (Miss.1994)). Claims which seek a legal remedy, on the other hand, are subject to the general three-year statute of limitations, unless otherwise provided. Winters, 964 So.2d at 599. ¶ 26. In Wholey v. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., 530 So.2d 136, 137 (Miss.1988), two limited partners sued general partners, alleging the general partners had been misappropriating funds from the partnership through self-dealing and had been making and concealing profits. The plaintiffs alleged the general partners had breached their fiduciary duties to the partnership, and the plaintiffs requested a partnership accounting and the imposition of a constructive trust. Id. at 139-140. The Court noted that fiduciaries can be held as constructive trustees with respect to secret profits or commissions obtained by the violation of a confidence or duty. . . . Id. at 140 (quoting 76 Am.Jur.2d Trusts § 232, 455 (1975)). Finding that the claim was one for a constructive trust based on the defendants' breach of fiduciary duties and retention of secret or hidden profits, the Court applied the ten-year statute of limitations. Id. at 140. ¶ 27. In Winters v. AmSouth Bank, 964 So.2d 595, 596 (Miss.App.2007), income beneficiaries of testamentary trusts sued a bank, alleging breach of fiduciary duty for actions taken with respect to the trust property. After the trial court held the plaintiffs' claims barred by the general six-year statute of limitations, [13] the plaintiffs appealed, arguing that their claim should be subject to the ten-year statute of limitations found in Section 15-1-39. Id. at 598. In affirming the trial court, the Court found the plaintiffs' claims to be of a legal, rather than equitable, nature. Id. at 599. The Court held, the [plaintiffs] do not seek to impose a constructive trust. Instead, they seek purely legal relief, namely, compensatory and punitive money damages in the amount of $180,000,000. Id. ¶ 28. Unlike the plaintiffs' claim in Wholey, Hooker's claim is not purely and exclusively equitable. In his counterclaim, Hooker alleged that Greer had been unjustly enriched and that [t]he Court should impose a constructive trust or equitable lien on all funds or properties held by Counterdefendant. However, these assertions notwithstanding, it is clear that Hooker seeks only a monetary judgment to compensate him for his alleged losses. In his counterclaim, he alleges to have suffered financial losses in the sum of $141,000. Furthermore, in his request for relief, Hooker asserts that he is demanding judgment in the amount of $141,000, together with interest and costs. Hooker did not request a partnership accounting, nor does he claim a one-half interest in the Prairie Point Towhead and Lee Towhead Island properties, or any other partnership property. Rather, he seeks only a return of his money. It is plain that, while he couches his claim in terms of a constructive trust, Hooker seeks only compensation for his alleged losses in the parties' failed business venture. A compensatory money damage award is a remedy at law. See Winters, 964 So.2d at 599 (holding compensatory money damages to be purely legal relief). As such, Hooker's claim is not purely and exclusively equitable. See id. The trial court correctly found that Hooker's claim was subject to the general three-year statute of limitations and, thus, time-barred.