What is the test for laches in an action brought by a party who has been a party to an action for over a year?
Ontario, Canada
The following excerpt is from Biotechnik v. 848835 Ontario Inc., 2021 ONSC 6794 (CanLII):
When an action is not barred by any statute of limitations, mere lapse of time is not sufficient to deprive one of his equitable rights. The doctrine of laches applies where it would be unjust to give a remedy because of a party’s conduct, which might fairly be regarded as equivalent to a waiver, or where the party’s conduct put the other party in an unreasonable situation if the remedy were asserted. The length of delay and the nature of acts done in the interval are important: see Harris v. Lindeborg (1930), 1930 CanLII 28 (SCC), [1931] S.C.R. 235.
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