Lopez v. Adams

867 P.2d 427, 116 N.M. 757
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 2, 1993
Docket13931
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 867 P.2d 427 (Lopez v. Adams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lopez v. Adams, 867 P.2d 427, 116 N.M. 757 (N.M. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

OPINION

BIVINS, Judge.

Plaintiffs appeal a quiet title judgment. Plaintiffs sought to quiet title to three tracts of land (Tracts One, Two, and Three) in an area known as “Lopezville” in the City of Socorro. They additionally sought ejectment of Defendants from these tracts. Plaintiffs, however, prevailed on these issues only as to the western part of Tract One. Plaintiffs appeal, contesting the sufficiency of the evidence to support the determination of the trial court. Plaintiffs additionally appeal a denial of an action for slander of title and also claim the trial court erred in both improperly quieting title in favor of one Defendant and in ruling on issues outside the pleadings. We affirm.

Sufficiency of the evidence was contested by Plaintiffs regarding all the tracts. In an appeal from a quiet title action, alleging insufficiency of the evidence, this Court reviews only evidence favorable to the findings of the trial court. Stone v. Turner, 106 N.M. 82, 85, 738 P.2d 1327, 1330 (Ct.App.), cert. quashed, 106 N.M. 35, 738 P.2d 907 (1987). It is for the trial court to weigh the testimony, determine the credibility of witnesses, reconcile inconsistent statements and determine where the truth lies. Luchetti v. Bandler, 108 N.M. 682, 684, 777 P.2d 1326, 1328 (Ct.App.), cert. denied, 108 N.M. 681, 777 P.2d 1325 (1989). If a finding is made against the party with the burden of proof, we can affirm if it was rational for the trial court to disbelieve the evidence offered by that party. Id. 108 N.M. at 684-85, 777 P.2d at 1328-29; Sosa v. Empire Roofing Co., 110 N.M. 614, 616, 798 P.2d 215, 217 (Ct.App.1990). We now dispose of the issues by the tract in which they arose.

TRACT ONE

Tract One is a piece of open land bounded on the west by the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, on the north by the property of Defendants, Richard and Danny Lopez, on the east by the property of Defendant, Emma Lopez, and on the south by Plaintiffs’ property. The property originally belonged to Rafael Lopez y Luna, an ancestor of both Plaintiffs and Defendants, who apparently never deeded the property to anyone.

Sometime in the 1950s, Plaintiffs’ father, Martin Lopez, discovered that there was no deed for this particular tract and that no one was paying taxes on it. He thus began paying taxes and, later in 1964, deeded it to Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs continued to pay taxes on it. The property was used for general family enjoyment and, in the 1960s, to keep ponies.

In 1984, Defendant, Richard Lopez, also discovered that there was no original deed to the property on Tract One. He thus attempted to acquire deeds from various heirs of Rafael Lopez y Luna in order to establish title to the tract. He then split the land with his brother Danny. On the eastern part of Tract One, Danny Lopez had several animal pens on the property that he stated had been there since he was a child. There was also evidence that an outhouse was located on the property for use by Richard Lopez’ family in the 1960s, evidence that Richard Lopez had a hole dug to be used as a pond and evidence that he had cleared some of the land in the 1970s on the eastern portion of Tract One.

Undoubtedly because of these activities, Plaintiffs brought an action to quiet title to the property. Since there was no chain of title for Tract One, Plaintiffs had to prove title by adverse possession. Adverse possession requires a showing of “(1) actual, visible, exclusive, hostile and continuous possession; (2) under color of title; (3) for a period of ten years.” Esquibel v. Hallmark, 92 N.M. 254, 256, 586 P.2d 1083, 1085 (1978); see also Williams v. Howell, 108 N.M. 225, 227, 770 P.2d 870, 872 (1989). Payment of taxes is also required. NMSA 1978, § 37-1-22 (Repl.Pamp.1990); see also Williams, 108 N.M. at 227, 770 P.2d at 872. The trial court determined that Plaintiffs established a good faith color of title with the 1964 deed from Plaintiffs’ father, Martin Lopez. Plaintiffs also showed that they had paid taxes since 1964 on the property. Thus, the trial court determined that Plaintiffs had proved title by adverse possession and acquiescence of the northern boundary; however, the trial court limited the finding to the western portion of Tract One. For the eastern portion of the property, the trial court determined Plaintiffs did not show open, notorious and exclusive possession and so they could not prevail because they failed to satisfy all of the requirements of adverse possession. Plaintiffs contend that this decision cannot stand. They argue that finding possession for one part of the property and not for another is inconsistent and that the trial court’s determination is without support in the evidence. We disagree.

There was sufficient evidence of use of the eastern portion of the property by others, including Danny and Richard Lopez and their predecessors in interest, so that Plaintiffs’ use was not uninterrupted and exclusive for a ten-year period, thereby precluding a finding of adverse possession in favor of Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs, however, claim that the only evidence of others using the property is disputed evidence. It is not, however, this Court’s role to evaluate disputed evidence and determine where the truth lies. See Luchetti, 108 N.M. at 684, 777 P.2d at 1328. That is for the trial court, and here, even if the evidence is disputed, there is at least some evidence that would support the determination of the trial court that the eastern portion of Tract One was not adversely possessed. See id. The eastern portion of Tract One which the trial court determined Plaintiffs did not possess was the portion occupied by Defendants’ animal pens and the old outhouse. Clearly, this could establish use by persons other than Plaintiffs, which would preclude exclusive, uninterrupted possession by Plaintiffs on that section of Tract One.

With regard to Tract One, Plaintiffs additionally appeal the trial court’s determination that there had been no slander of title. We agree with the trial court that there was no slander of title because title to the property could not be ascertained until the trial court rendered its decision. See Howard v. Schaniel, 113 Cal.App.3d 256, 169 Cal.Rptr. 678, 682-83 (1980) (concluding that slander of title cannot be applied to title acquired by adverse possession not established by decree); see also Herring v. Behlmann, 734 S.W.2d 311, 313 (Mo.Ct.App.1987) (holding record holder not liable to adverse possessor for slander of title for requiring adverse possessor to prove his claim). See generally Jeffrey F. Ghant, Annotation, Slander of Title: Sufficiency of Plaintiff’s Interest in Real Property to Maintain Action, 86 A.L.R.4th 738 (1991). Thus, we determine that Plaintiffs misconstrue the holding in Den-Gar Enterprises v. Romero, 94 N.M. 425, 611 P.2d 1119 (Ct.App.), cert. denied, 94 N.M. 628, 614 P.2d 545 (1980), on which they rely.

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Bluebook (online)
867 P.2d 427, 116 N.M. 757, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lopez-v-adams-nmctapp-1993.