Thurman V. Tafoya

We granted certiorari to review the Colorado Court of Appeals' opinion in Thurman v. Tafoya, 878 P.2d 7 (Colo. App. 1993), concluding that a promissory note held by Denis F. Thurman, the petitioner, and executed by Joseph A. Tafoya and Therese H. Tafoya, the respondents, was unenforceable due to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations period. Thurman argued that 11 U.S.C. § 108(c) (1988) tolled the statute of limitations period for enforcement of the note for a period equal to the amount of time the Tafoyas were under bankruptcy court protection. Alternatively, Thurman claimed that because the Tafoyas had requested subordination of the lien securing the note to a lien securing another debt, they were equitably estopped from asserting a statute of limitations defense. The court of appeals held that 11 U.S.C. § 108(c) did not toll the statute of limitations period and that the Tafoyas were not equitably estopped from raising the statute of limitations defense. We agree with the court of appeals that neither 11 U.S.C. § 108(c) nor the doctrine of equitable estoppel affects the statute of limitations period for enforcement of Thurman's note. We therefore affirm the judgment of the court of appeals.