Action to Quiet Title

It's early Sunday morning. Hercules, nursing a hangover, is lounging in his swimming pool. He is filled with relief. The previous day, he was nearly killed by the great storm of 2011 that almost obliterated the city of Royal Oak, Michigan. The "Woodward Cruise" had an historic day.

Through falling trees and downed wires, Hercules managed to hang on to his beer mug without spilling a drop on anything other than himself. His car, a 1984 Chevy Chevette, was turned upside down and completely destroyed. Fortunately for Hercules, he was able to salvage all of his weightlifting apparel from the backseat.

While floating in the pool waiting for the excedrin to kick in, Hercules is startled by the voice of his neighbor, Panface. Hercules quaintly named her this after an unfortunate Halloween accident left her without a nose. To add to the scenario, Panface is not the friendly sort.

She says, "Hercules, I have in my hands a survey that proves that I own 15 feet of your land located directly behind your pool. As such, I am requesting that you quit claim this portion to me."

Hercules about falls off his raft! He fears that he may still be drunk. Did he hear her correctly? Did she just say that she claims ownership to a portion of his property? Like a dirty pair of underwear, this just can't be right.

Panface goes on. "Based on this survey, I have recorded a Claim of Interest against this land. If you don't agree to deed this land to me, I will be forced to sue you for possession."

Hercules quickly towels off, grabs another beer, as at this point he needs one, and proceeds to review his survey of the subject property, performed two years earlier by a different surveyor. His survey shows that he is the owner.

So, what do we have? We have conflicting boundaries based upon conflicting surveys.

How does this play out?

Well, regardless of who pursues the claim, it is probable that a quiet title action will be necessary to decide the dispute between Hercules and Panface.

As it went, Hercules eventually filed suit to quiet title. Panface, her survey company, and all persons or entities maintaining an interest in the 15 foot strip, were named as parties to the lawsuit. The court, upon review of all documents, quieted title in Hercules. The court found that the survey, performed by Panface's surveyor, was erroneous. The court further ordered that Panface immediately record a Release of Claim of Interest in Hercules's property.

Title was quieted in Hercules and life went on.

Discussion:

A "Quiet Title Action" is just that. It is an action, brought by a plaintiff, or plaintiffs, for the purpose of determining, with certainty, title to a specific parcel of land. The final judgment allows the prevailing party to move forward, free from the interest of the defendant(s). A proper quiet title action will present all necessary parties before the court. If a necessary party is left out of the lawsuit, such party will not be bound by its final adjudication. The plaintiff's attorney will diligently determine all parties with a legal interest in order to properly join them in the suit.

Apart from determining the rights of the parties before the court, quiet title actions also serve an extremely important roll concerning the land records. You see, a quiet title judgment allows for a clear and clean start to an otherwise messy chain of title. The quiet title judgment allows for a new beginning, if you please.

Issues giving rise to a suit to quiet title are many. Some of the main issues are as follows: 1) Claim of Adverse Possession; 2) Claim of a fraudulent conveyance; 3) Boundary line disputes, as shown in our example concerning Hercules; 4) Multiple grantees in a chain of title, and 5) Post tax foreclosure.

A post tax foreclosure suit to quiet title is an interesting one. The county pursuing tax foreclosure will attempt to notify all interested parties prior to issuing a judgment of foreclosure for nonpayment of taxes. However, title underwriters are usually not excited about agreeing to insure land that has recently been the subject of tax foreclosure. Simply put, the underwriter cannot be certain that ALL parties were properly notified. They fear that the judgment of tax foreclosure may be attacked by a person not properly notified by the county during the tax foreclosure process.

To circumvent this fear, the underwriter may require a quiet title action. In other words, let's do it all over again. It's like watching a bad movie twice! You see, the underwriter is hoping that, pursuant to a formal quiet title action, all parties will be properly notified and properly disposed of. The underwriter may feel a greater sense of comfort after a more formal proceeding. Upon receipt of the judgment quieting title, the underwriter will most likely be willing to insure the owner who purchased at auction.

Hope this has been informative and somewhat entertaining.

dave