McWilliams v. McWilliams
| Docket Number: | 2007-CA-00170-COA | |
| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 11-20-2007 Opinion Author: MYERS, P.J. Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Real property - Statute of limitations - Section 15-1-49 - Section 15-1-7 - Concealed fraud Judge(s) Concurring: KING, C.J., LEE, P.J., IRVING, CHANDLER, GRIFFIS, BARNES, ISHEE, ROBERTS AND CARLTON, JJ., Procedural History: Summary Judgment Nature of the Case: CIVIL - REAL PROPERTY |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 11-22-2006 Appealed from: SUNFLOWER COUNTY CHANCERY COURT Judge: Percy L. Lynchard, Jr. Disposition: Motion for Summary Judgment granted Case Number: 2005-0302 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | Brief(s) Available: | ||
| Appellant: | FRANK MCWILLIAMS |
MICHAEL L. KNAPP |
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| Appellee: | JOHN H. MCWILLIAMS, AS TRUSTEE OF THE D. RIALS MCWILLIAMS TRUST, AND INDIVIDUALLY; AND, D. RIALS MCWILLIAMS, A MINOR | LINDSEY C. MEADOR | ||
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| Topic: | Real property - Statute of limitations - Section 15-1-49 - Section 15-1-7 - Concealed fraud |
| Summary of the Facts: | Frank McWilliams filed a motion to set aside a warranty deed transfer and a trust. Frank’s brother, John McWilliams, who is the trustee of the D. Rials McWilliams Trust, was awarded summary judgment. Frank appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | Frank argues that the court erred in holding that his complaint alleging a fraudulent conveyance was time-barred pursuant to the three-year statute of limitations found in section 15-1-49. He asserts that his claim to set aside the warranty deed and trust should have been afforded the ten-year statute of limitations, found in section 15-1-7, because this statute speaks directly to the recovery of real property. When a complaint is brought to set aside a land transfer based upon an alleged fraudulent conveyance, the three-year state of limitations, found in section 15-1-49, begins running once the complainant either discovers, or should have discovered with due diligence, the property transfer. Therefore, Frank’s complaint, predicated upon fraud, was to be filed within three years of the transfer, or of the time he would have discovered the transfer using due diligence. The ten-year statute of limitations set out in section 15-1-7 cannot be applied to Frank’s suit, as this statute only governs actions to recover land and presupposes the complainant is asserting a possessory interest in the land in question. Frank alternatively argues that his complaint to set aside the warranty deed and trust is not time-barred due to the tolling of the statute of limitations under the doctrine of concealed fraud. Where an alleged fraudulent conveyance of real property is recorded and available to the public, there can be no concealed fraud preventing the running of statute of limitations. Frank cannot claim that concealed fraud tolled the applicable statute of limitations because the warranty deed transfer and irrevocable trust were filed as public records in the office of the clerk of Sunflower County. |
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