Constructive Trust Claim Governed by Six-Year Statute of Limitations

In Reiner v. Jaeger, 50 A.D.3d 761, __ N.Y.S.2d __, 2008 NY Slip Op 03188 (2d Dep’t 2008), the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed the dismissal of a action to impose a constructive trust where the claim was that the parties were supposed to have acquired the property as co-owners, not in the defendant’s name alone, more than six years before the commencement of the action. The Court held that the cause of action accrued “upon the occurrence of the wrongful act giving rise to a duty of restitution” which in this case was the defendant’s acquisition of title in her name alone. The Court rejected the claim of an equitable estoppel against invoking the statute of limitations defense, because there was no showing that it was the defendant’s affirmative wrongdoing which caused the long delay between accrual of the cause of action and the commencement of suit.