| has gloss | eng: Laches (f. French, lachesse, laches) is an equitable defense, or doctrine. The person invoking laches is asserting that an opposing party has "slept on its rights," and that, as a result of this delay, that other party is no longer entitled to its original claim. Put another way, failure to assert one’s rights in a timely manner can result in a claim's being barred by laches. Laches is a form of estoppel for delay. In Latin, :Vigilantibus non dormientibus æquitas subvenit. :Equity aids the vigilant, not the sleeping ones (that is, those who sleep on their rights). |