Arnold v. Brent.
2024 COA 104. No. 23CA1288. Quiet Title—Sale of Tax Liens—Treasurer’s Deed—Partition—Entire Piece of Property.
September 19, 2024
Arnold and four others owned a 40-acre property (the property) as tenants in common. Arnold owned an undivided one-quarter interest in the property, while the others collectively owned the remaining undivided three-quarters interest in the property. The owners of the three-quarters interest failed to pay their portion of the taxes, and the Washington County Treasurer (the treasurer) issued a notice of delinquent taxes with respect to the three-quarters interest and only to the owners of that interest. A tax lien was later issued on that interest only, and the treasurer issued notice of a pending sale of the lien. Arnold was not notified of the sale. Brent then purchased the purported tax lien and requested a treasurer’s deed for the three-quarters interest. The treasurer provided notice of Brent’s request to the four individuals who owned a portion of the three-quarters interest but didn’t send the notice to Arnold. Brent was later issued a treasurer’s deed purportedly conveying the three-quarters interest in the property to him. Arnold learned about Brent’s treasurer’s deed after he sent her a letter asking to buy her interest.
Arnold filed a quiet title complaint to determine ownership of the property, alleging that the treasurer’s deed was void or voidable because a tax lien must be sold for an entire piece of property and because she did not receive notice of the tax lien sale or Brent’s request for the treasurer’s deed. Brent counterclaimed for partition. The district court found that because Arnold was not a record owner of the three-quarters interest in the property, she was not entitled to notice of the tax lien sale or Brent’s request for the issuance of the treasurer’s deed. The district court therefore concluded that the deed was not void because the treasurer had complied with the statutory requirements for issuing notices of the tax lien sale and Brent’s request for a treasurer’s deed. The district court partitioned the property, allowing Arnold to select a contiguous 10-acre tract; awarded the rest of the property to Brent; and made Arnold responsible for 25% of the costs associated with partitioning the property.
On appeal, Arnold argued that the district court erred by not voiding Brent’s treasurer’s deed and by concluding that she was not otherwise entitled to relief. CRS § 39-11-115 requires that a tax lien be sold for “an entire piece of property.” And CRS § 39-11-128 requires notice to be sent to all persons with an interest in the property or title of record before a deed is issued. Accordingly, a county treasurer’s office lacks authority to sell a tax lien on a partial interest in real property consisting of distinct, but undivided, interests; and a treasurer’s deed resulting from such a sale and without notice to all interest holders is void. Here, the deed is void because it originated from a tax lien issued and sold by the treasurer contrary to statute. And because the deed was void, Brent had no legal interest in the property on which to make a partition request.
The judgment determining the treasurer’s deed to be valid and ordering partition of the property was reversed. The case was remanded for the district court to (1) enter an order declaring the treasurer’s deed to be void and (2) determine and award to Arnold her reasonable costs associated with bringing her quiet title complaint, defending against Brent’s counterclaim, and pursuing this appeal.
The full opinion is available at https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/system/files/opinions-2024-09/23CA1288-PD.pdf.