What does "Unable to create new element" really mean?

[RichardLawrence1]

I am working in a project with 3 maps and a large, detailed layout. When attempting to populate a new Layout with a map frame, I get the message: Unable to create element. Has anyone run into this? Can I not have two layouts in the same project? Would love to hear from you.

[TomBole]

Oscar, 

Sorry to hear that you are still experiencing issues with authoring a layout.  

I'm unaware of a scenario in which the inability to insert an element into layout continues after deleting the invalid layout. Can you contact Esri Support? They are better equipped to handle troubleshooting steps and gather bug data. They can be contacted at https://support.esri.com/en/contact-tech-support.

Thanks, 

Tom