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Glite Dictionary
laches

laches

1 9.9
A court refuses a claim because someone waited too long and unfairly hurt the other person
  • noun
  • /ˈleɪtʃɪz/
  • Jargon
: laches
  • If you do not act promptly, your claim may be barred by laches.

Examples

  • Due to laches, the court found that the delay had unfairly prejudiced the other party.

  • The court dismissed the case due to laches.

  • The defendant successfully argued laches because the plaintiff waited too long to file the lawsuit.

  • He lost his claim because of laches.

  • The court dismissed her lawsuit due to laches, as she waited too long to file the claim.

  • He lost his chance for compensation because of the principle of laches after delaying his legal action.

  • The judge ruled that the case could not proceed, citing laches since the plaintiff had taken years to respond.

Antonyms

timeliness
5 4.8

Happening at the right time

promptness
3 3.5

Doing something quickly and at the expected time

Surface Forms

laches singular
laches plural

Etymology

Laches comes from the Latin root laxus, meaning 'loose' or 'slack', and you can see the same idea in the English word lax. So laches is about losing a legal claim because someone was 'slack' and waited too long to act.