Henderson v. Tejada

549 P.2d 242, 26 Ariz. App. 462, 1976 Ariz. App. LEXIS 881
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedMay 6, 1976
DocketNo. 1 CA-CIV 2829
StatusPublished

This text of 549 P.2d 242 (Henderson v. Tejada) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Henderson v. Tejada, 549 P.2d 242, 26 Ariz. App. 462, 1976 Ariz. App. LEXIS 881 (Ark. Ct. App. 1976).

Opinion

OPINION

WREN, Judge.

The appellant, James E. Henderson, brings this appeal from a judgment entered in favor of appellees on cross-motions for summary judgment. The judgment quieted title to certain real property in appellees and decreed that appellant had no interest in the property under a Sheriff’s Deed. Appellee, Juan L. Tejada (Tejada) was found to have acquired title to the property by adverse possession pursuant to A.R.S. § 12-523 and § 12-524.

The facts in the case are not in dispute. Juan and Josefa Tejada, as husband and wife, acquired title to the subject property, which was their residence, in 1946. Josefa died intestate in 1964 survived by her husband, and their children. In 1966, Seabord Finance Company recovered a judgment against Tejada individually, and pursuant thereto was issued a Sheriff’s Certificate of Sale on Foreclosure on Tejada’s interest in the property. Seabord subsequently assigned its rights in the property to appellant. No redemption was made and a Sheriff’s Deed conveying the property was delivered to appellant on September 8, 1966. This deed conveyed title to a one-half interest in the property only, as this was the extent of Tejada’s interest in the property at the time the judgment was entered against him in favor of Seabord.

Tejada remained in possession of the property continuously from the time of purchase in 1946, and at all times subsequent to the Sheriff’s Deed. Appellant had never been in possession of the property. However, appellant did file a Forcible Entry and Unlawful Detainer action against Tejada in 1967 and a partition action in 1968 both of which were dismissed. Clearly, after September 8, 1966, Tejada occupied the land in an open, notorious and hostile manner adverse to any claim of appellant.

In 1973, appellees filed suit to quiet title to the real property, claiming ownership in [464]*464fee simple. Appellant counterclaimed, asserting that he owned an undivided one-half interest by virtue of his Sheriff’s Deed, and seeking partition of the property. Appellees asserted that the title acquired by appellant by his Sheriff’s Deed was lost by reason of adverse possession and that title to the property became vested in Juan Tejada.

The claim of title by adverse possession is predicated on two independent statutes of limitation, A.R.S. § 12-523 and § 12-524. The trial court found that both were applicable to the facts of this case, and therefore adjudged that Tejada had aquired title by adverse possession. On appeal, appellant asserts that neither statute applies and therefore adverse possession has not been proven.

A.R.S. § 12-523 provides:

“Real property in adverse possession under title or color of title; three year limitation
“A. An action to recover real property from a person in peaceable and adverse possession under title or color of title shall be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrues, and not afterward.
“B. ‘Title’ means a regular chain of transfer from or under sovereignty of the soil. ‘Color of title’ means a consecutive chain of such transfer down to the person in possession without being regular, as if one or more of the memorials or muniments is not recorded or not duly recorded or is only in writing, or such like defect as does not extend to or include the want to intrinsic fairness and honesty, or when the party in possession holds the real property by a land warrant or land scrip, with a chain of transfer down to him in possession.”

Clearly, Tejada had fulfilled the requirements of peaceable and adverse possession as those terms are defined in A.R.S. § 12-521:

“1. ‘Adverse possession’ means an actual and visible appropriation of the land, commenced and continued under a claim of right inconsistent with and hostile to the claim of another.
“2. ‘Peaceable possession’ means possession which is continuous, and not interrupted by an adverse action to recover the estate.”

Although two lawsuits to recover possession were filed by appellant within three years after receiving the Sheriff’s Deed, neither resulted in judgment but were dismissed. The last of the dismissals was in May, 1969. The question as to whether the filing of an adverse action not resulting in a judgment would interrupt “peaceable possession” as required by § 12-523 is therefore not before us, since a three year period had run since the dismissal of the last action and prior to the filing of this suit.

Therefore, the only question as to the application of A.R.S. § 12-523 is whether Tejada, after issuance of the Sheriff’s Deed, held possession under “title or color of title.” A.R.S. § 12-523(B) seems to preclude such a finding since the 1946 deed conveying the property to Juan and Josefa Tejada had been superseded by the recorded Sheriff’s Deed conveying the property to appellant. Clearly, a possessor of real property is precluded from setting up adverse possession under A.R.S. § 12-523 as against his own deed of the property of another. Goldman v. Sotelo, 8 Ariz. 85, 68 P. 558 (1902). If Tejada had deeded the property to appellant, he could not assert his 1946 deed as title or color of title to fall under A.R.S. § 12-523. It could therefore logically be argued that the same result occurs where Tejada’s interest passes by operation of law.

However, appellees argue and the court below found that the case of Manor v. Stevens, 61 Ariz. 511, 152 P.2d 133 (1944) controls the result of this case and mandates a finding that the three year statute ran against appellant.

In Manor the plaintiffs had obtained a Sheriff’s Deed to real property after execution on a judgment entered against the [465]*465defendant. Plaintiffs then petitioned for a writ of assistance in the original action which was granted as to 240 acres of defendant’s realty, but denied as to the 40 acre homestead at issue in the subsequent action. Six years after issuance of the Sheriff’s Deed, plaintiffs sued to gain possession of the 40 acres which defendant had occupied continuously since issuance of the Sheriff’s Deed. The Supreme Court held that the denial of the writ of assistance was res judicata as to the issues raised in that former proceeding and that the three year statute of limitations had run against plaintiffs and awarded defendant title by adverse possession.

Any application of A.R.S. § 12-523 or its predecessors1

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Related

Nicholas v. Giles
426 P.2d 398 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1967)
Manor v. Stevens
152 P.2d 133 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1944)
Goldman v. Sotelo
68 P. 558 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1902)
Work v. United Globe Mines
100 P. 813 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1909)
Sparks v. Douglas
166 P. 285 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1917)

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Bluebook (online)
549 P.2d 242, 26 Ariz. App. 462, 1976 Ariz. App. LEXIS 881, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/henderson-v-tejada-arizctapp-1976.