This appeal concerns the applicable limitation period for an equitable trust claim against a deceased's estate.
The respondent, a common-law spouse, brought a claim for constructive trust and unjust enrichment against the estate more than four years after the deceased's death.
The motion judge applied a ten-year limitation period under the Real Property Limitations Act (RPLA).
The Court of Appeal, applying a holistic statutory interpretation approach, determined that the two-year limitation period under section 38(3) of the Trustee Act applies to equitable trust claims against estates, as "wrong" in section 38(2) encompasses unjust enrichment.
The Court found that the longer RPLA period does not apply to general estate claims, emphasizing the legislative policy for expeditious estate administration.
Consequently, the respondent's equitable trust claim was statute-barred and dismissed.
