Douglas County Child Support Enforcement Unit for Niemi v. Fisher

The Douglas County Child Support Agency, on behalf of Dianne Niemi, appeals an order dismissing her claim against Robert Fisher for child support arrears and interest.1 The trial court denied relief on equitable grounds, finding that twenty-six years had passed from the time Robert first began accumulating an arrearage, and sixteen years from the time the youngest child became an adult until the action was commenced. The court accepted the defenses of laches, equitable estoppel and waiver to deny relief. We conclude that these doctrines do not bar the action in this case. We also hold,…