Is a plaintiff's cause of action barred by the statute of limitations or by the doctrine of laches?

Defendant further contends that plaintiff's cause of action is barred both by the statute of limitations and by the doctrine of laches. If an action to impose a constructive trust is based on fraud or mistake it is governed by the three-year statute under section 338, subdivision 4, Code of Civil Procedure. The action is commenced in time if the complaint is filed within three years after discovery of the facts constituting the fraud or mistake. Thus, in Ransom v. Wallace, 94 Cal.App.2d 723, 211 P.2d 339, it appeared that an aged man with faulty understanding signed a paper he thought was [202 Cal.App.2d 603] a power of attorney but which he later learned was a deed. The court held the action was not barred by the statute of limitations where the action was filed within a short time after plaintiff discovered he had executed a deed rather than a power of attorney.