Opinion ID: 1619783
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Did the statute of limitations run against the Baileys' claims?

Text: ¶ 26. The Baileys asserted a host of claims against the Estate of Moses and Kemp, who plead both the running of the statute of limitations and laches. The chancellor found that the general three-year statute of limitations applied and that laches barred any equitable claim. This statute of limitation, which has been applied to actions upon contracts, requires that one must commence an action within three years of its accrual. Miss.Code Ann. § 15-1-49 (Rev.2003). Laches can only apply when a claim is barred by the statute of limitations. Miss. Dept. of Human Servs. v. Molden, 644 So.2d 1230, 1232 (Miss.1994) (Laches is never applicable when a claim has not been barred by the statute of limitations). ¶ 27. The chancellor determined that the last activity under the contract occurred in 1993, and that the three-year statute had run in August of 1996. The Baileys' complaintwhich was not a counter-complaint in the declaratory judgment suit filed by the Estate of Kemp, but originally a separate actionwas filed on June 29, 2000. The trial court ruled that the action was barred by the statute. Such factfinding is well within the purview of the trial court, and there was no evidence, despite the claims of the Baileys, of any fraud or concealment on behalf of Moses and Kemp. Accordingly, the claims of the Baileys are barred by the statute of limitations. ¶ 28. The chancellor further found that laches operated to bar the purported causes of action. The defense of laches applies when one party neglects to assert a right or claim, and such neglect, when taken together with any lapses of time and other circumstances causing prejudice to the adverse party, operates as a bar in a court of equity. As with other questions of law, [t]he question of laches is addressed to the sound discretion of the chancellor and his decision will not be overturned on appeal except where there is an abuse of discretion. Molden, 644 So.2d at 1233. ¶ 29. In determining whether laches can be applied, the court looks to three considerations. The party seeking to invoke the doctrine of laches must show: (1) a delay in asserting a right or claim; (2) that the delay was not excusable; and (3) that there was undue prejudice to the party against whom the claim is asserted. Grant v. State, 686 So.2d 1078, 1089 (Miss. 1996) (internal quotations and citations omitted). The trial court found that these factors were satisfied, and that the prejudice under the third prong arose in two ways. First, Kemp could no longer testify to defend himself against the complaints of the Baileys, as he had passed away two years before their suit was filed. Second, the property had increased in estimated value by several hundreds of thousands of dollars, to the benefit of the Baileys. ¶ 30. There is nothing in the record to suggest that the chancellor abused his discretion in determining that laches applied to bar any claims against Kemp or the Estate of Moses. Additionally, the crux of the Baileys' complaint regarded actions performed by Kent and Moses that actually benefited the Baileys, and as noted above, they are estopped from now protesting the work.