Opinion ID: 1154750
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The plaintiffs' fraud claim was time-barred.

Text: Any allegation of fraud should have been filed in the late 1960s or early 1970s when the correspondence between the parties demonstrates the plaintiffs' awareness of facts upon which they eventually based their fraud claim, specifically the absence of profits. The 1956 agreement contained no guarantee of a net profit, but it did openly contemplate the possibility of net losses and the accumulation of a growing net loss. It specifically addressed a net loss carry-over arrangement, which clearly meant that no royalty would be paid until the entire accumulation was eliminated, and the plaintiffs indicated that they understood this arrangement. By 1976, with the mine open again and functioning on a full-scale basis, the net loss had grown substantially. The plaintiffs were aware or should have been aware of this from the financial records they received from National from 1975 to 1977. Any cause of action for fraud based upon the facts articulated by the plaintiffs, therefore, clearly arose before 1978, more than four years prior to filing the complaint.