Daniel N. Boggs v. Brenda Williams

CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 29, 2026
Docket25A-PL-03279
StatusPublished
AuthorJudge Brown

This text of Daniel N. Boggs v. Brenda Williams (Daniel N. Boggs v. Brenda Williams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Daniel N. Boggs v. Brenda Williams, (Ind. Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

IN THE

Court of Appeals of Indiana Daniel N. Boggs, FILED Apr 29 2026, 8:51 am Appellant-Respondent CLERK Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals v. and Tax Court

Brenda Kay Williams, Appellee-Petitioner

and

First Federal Savings Bank,

Appellee-Respondent

April 29, 2026 Court of Appeals Case No. 25A-PL-3279 Appeal from the Huntington Circuit Court The Honorable Davin G. Smith, Judge Trial Court Cause No. 35C01-2508-PL-781

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-PL-3279 | April 29, 2026 Page 1 of 13 Opinion by Judge Brown Judges Altice and DeBoer concur.

Brown, Judge.

[1] Daniel N. Boggs appeals from the trial court’s Order on Selection of Auctioneer

and Auction of Real Estate. We reverse and remand.

Facts and Procedural History

[2] On August 4, 2025, Brenda Kay Williams filed a Petition for Partition of Real

Estate (“Petition”) against Boggs and First Federal Savings Bank (“First

Federal,” and Boggs and First Federal, together, “Respondents”) alleging that

she “is the owner and has a right to possession as [a] joint tenant[] with rights of

survivorship in certain real estate located in Huntington, Indiana,” that “Boggs

is currently residing in the Real Estate,” and that she is “entitled to compel the

partition of the Real Estate pursuant to Ind. Code § 32-17-4-1(a).” Appellant’s

Appendix Volume II at 9-10. A property card and a commitment for title

insurance were attached to the Petition as exhibits. 1 On August 13, 2025,

Williams and Boggs filed an “Agreed Stipulation to Appoint Mediator” stating

that they “stipulate[d] and agree[d] to appoint Douglas Johnston as Mediator in

this cause of action.” Id. at 42. On August 19, 2025, the court issued an order

1 The commitment stated: “The Title is, at the Commitment Date, vested in: Daniel Boggs and Brenda K. Williams as Joint Tenants With Rights of Survivorship.” Appellant’s Appendix Volume II at 17.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-PL-3279 | April 29, 2026 Page 2 of 13 appointing Johnston as mediator. First Federal filed an answer and affirmative

defenses stating that it has a first priority mortgage lien on the real estate at

issue. On November 13, 2025, Johnston filed a “Mediator’s Report” stating,

“[t]he parties appeared and mediated in good faith on November 11, 2025,”

and “were unable to reach an agreement.” Id. at 64.

[3] On November 20, 2025, Williams filed a “Motion for Selection of Auctioneer

and Auction of Real Estate” (“Motion for Auction”) arguing that, “[b]ecause

mediation was ultimately unsuccessful, it is appropriate for the Court to order

the parties to select an auctioneer to sell the Real Estate, or alternatively, order

a sheriff’s sale of the Real Estate if the parties do not agree to an auctioneer”

and requested that the court order the parties “to select an auctioneer to auction

the Real Estate and notify the Court of the same within 30 days of the court’s

order to select an auctioneer.” Id. at 65-66.

[4] On November 26, 2025, the court issued an “Order on Selection of Auctioneer

and Auction of Real Estate” (“Order for Auction”) providing:

[T]he Court . . . now GRANTS [Williams’s] Motion, ORDERS that the Real Estate subject to this action be auctioned by an auctioneer selected by [Williams] and Respondents within 30 days, and ORDERS the parties to notify the Court of their selection within 30 days after the Court’s Order. In the event of the parties’ failure to do so, the Court shall order the Huntington County Sheriff to sell the property.

Id. at 69.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-PL-3279 | April 29, 2026 Page 3 of 13 [5] On December 1, 2025, Boggs filed an answer and affirmative defenses to the

Petition. Also on that date, Boggs filed “Respondent, Daniel N. Boggs’

Counterclaim” (the “Counterclaim”). Id. at 75. Boggs alleged that he and

Williams “were in a romantic relationship and lived together between 2016 and

2025,” “Williams is a licensed real estate agent, and [he] had utilized her

services to purchase various properties during that time,” he “held sole title to

the property when his relationship with Williams commenced,” “in 2020 the

house and barn on the Property burned to the ground,” and “[t]hereafter, [he]

contributed approximately $500,000 and Williams contributed approximately

$95,000 to reconstruct a house and barn on the Property.” Id. at 75.

[6] Boggs also alleged that, “[i]n August 2020 . . . Williams presented [him] with a

purported deed consisting solely of a single page which Williams appears to

have caused to be prepared in part, utilizing a lawyer Williams consistently

worked with in her business as a real estate agent,” that he “specifically asked

Williams what ‘Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship’ (‘JTRS’) meant,”

and that Williams “indicated it was solely to ‘protect her’ if Boggs died, so his

family could not ‘screw her’, and that [she] would get back the money she put

into the rebuilding of the house and barn.” Id. at 75-76. He alleged that,

“[b]ased on Williams’[s] representations, as to the consequences of the

purported deed, in reliance on [her] superior knowledge as a real estate agent

and, in reliance on [her] ongoing representation of [him] as his realtor for

property transactions, [he] signed the single page purported deed,” and that,

“[h]ad [he] been aware that the designation ‘Joint Tenants with Rights of

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-PL-3279 | April 29, 2026 Page 4 of 13 Survivorship’ in the single page purported deed presented to him had legal

implications with respect to partition, among others, he would have never

agreed to execute the purported deed.” Id. at 76. He argued, “[n]o notary nor

witnesses other than Boggs and Williams were present when the single page

purported deed was executed by Boggs.” Id. The Counterclaim alleged Count

I, “fraudulent nondisclosure”; Count II, “fraudulent inducement”; Count III,

“breach of fiduciary duty”; Count IV, “to invalidate and/or set aside deed”;

and Count V, “material mistakes of fact.” Id. at 76-82.

[7] Also on December 1, 2025, Boggs filed a “Motion to Reconsider, Vacate, or

Stay Order for Auction of Real Estate and Request for Case Management

Conference” (“Motion to Reconsider”) arguing that Williams “lacks the interest

in the subject property required by I.C. 32-17-4-1(a)(1)(A),” “ownership

disputes must be resolved before property can be sold,” the court’s Order for

Auction “is therefore premature, as it presumes undisputed ownership and

standing without first resolving these threshold disputes,” and “the parties have

not complied with the mandatory statutory requirements under Indiana Code §

32-17-4-2.5, which are prerequisites to any order for an auction.” Id. at 85-86.

The Motion to Reconsider stated that Boggs “incorporates as if set forth fully

herein the facts, defenses and counter-claims of his Answer and Counter-Claims

that are attached hereto,” and Boggs’s answer and the Counterclaim were

attached as exhibits. Id. at 85. Boggs requested the court to vacate its Order for

Auction and stay any sale or auction pending resolution of his claims

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-PL-3279 | April 29, 2026 Page 5 of 13 challenging Williams’s ownership interest. The trial court did not rule on the

Motion to Reconsider.

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Daniel N. Boggs v. Brenda Williams, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/daniel-n-boggs-v-brenda-williams-indctapp-2026.