CURATIVE TITLE LITIGATION
QUIET TITLE ACTIONS
What is a “Quiet Title Action” or an “Action to Quiet Title”? It is a special legal proceeding to determine ownership of real property. A party with a claim of ownership to land can file an action to quiet title, which serves as a sort of lawsuit against anyone and everyone else who has a claim to the land. If the owner prevails in the quiet title action, no further challenges to the title can be brought.
This action is usually helpful when there is a dispute related to the boundaries of a property, or the legal description as a whole. It can also be used for the enforcement or termination of an adverse possession claim, which is simply a doctrine of law under which a person in possession of land owned by someone else may acquire valid title to it (of course certain conditions must be met first). We have even used this type of claim to assert an equitable interest in a property. In simple terms, its a cause of action used to settle most disputes to real property.
OMITTED PARTY ACTIONS
Many investors (experienced and unexperienced), for better or worse, purchase properties at Connecticut Court ordered foreclosure sales. A Connecticut Court ordered foreclosure sale is a forced sale of a debtor’s property, which is conducted by a Connecticut Court Appointed Committee (an attorney appointed by the Court). The Committee is authorized by the Court to conduct the sale of the debtor’s property in accordance with the Connecticut Foreclosure Court Orders, typically on a Saturday afternoon at the property location. While savvy investors can purchase these properties for a significant discount, they are not without substantial risk, as they are purchased “As Is” and with all faults and defects, including those caused by an “omitted party”. All due diligence must be conducted prior to the bidding at the sale as the Bidders deposit are typically NOT REFUNDABLE. Unfortunately, there are many times that a necessary party is not included in a foreclosure action.
Connecticut law considers an omitted party action as follows:
“When a mortgage or lien on real estate has been foreclosed and one or more parties owning any interest in or holding an encumbrance on such real estate subsequent or subordinate to such mortgage or lien has been omitted or has not been foreclosed of such interest or encumbrance because of improper service of process or for any other reason, all other parties foreclosed by the foreclosure judgment shall be bound thereby as fully as if no such omission or defect had occurred and shall not retain any equity or right to redeem such foreclosed real estate. Such omission or failure to properly foreclose such party or parties may be completely cured and cleared by deed or foreclosure or other proper legal proceedings to which the only necessary parties shall be the party acquiring such foreclosure title, or his successor in title, and the party or parties thus not foreclosed, or their respective successors in title.”
Therefore, unless the omitted party is willing to convey their interest in the Property to the new owner, the omitted party’s interest is not extinguished and is still a part of the Property. This could be in the form of an outright ownership interest or a lien/encumbrance, depending on what was omitted.
As a result of DMG’s boutique Connecticut Real Estate practice and its resulting large clientele of Connecticut Real Estate Investors, DMG is often the Connecticut Real Estate Firm of choice for these highly unique lawsuits.