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Quiet Title Action and Post-Petition Liens

ML
Matt Love
Wed, Aug 9, 2023 9:08 PM

All,

I've got an odd issue in an area of the law that I have no experience in,
and am hoping someone might have some guidance or insight.

City filed a lien on a piece of property back in 2017 related to nuisance
abatement. The property taxes didn't get paid and the property recently
sold at a tax auction. On June 29, 2023, City filed its lien release (the
property sold for enough that we got paid!). On July 26, 2023, the
purchaser filed a quiet title action naming a host of Defendants. That
included the City, and the Petition identifies the 2017 lien as the reason
we got named.

Normally I'd just file a disclaimer and be done with it. But here's the
wrinkle. The purchaser acquired title back in June. The property then
became overgrown with tall grass and weeds, and Code contacted the new
owner and, when that wasn't successful, we went through the abatement
process and filed a new lien. The new lien was filed August 3, 2023 - 8
days after the Petition was filed.

My obvious concern is that, if I file a disclaimer, I would think that that
would disclaim every interest we could assert, including the interest
related to the newly filed lien. I'm sure that the attorney who filed the
suit was just wanting to clear up any title issues that might have existed
at the point his client took ownership of the property (i.e. that he's not
just trying to get his client out of a few hundred dollars we paid to have
the property mowed/cleared). Has anyone confronted this before? If so, any
advice or guidance on how to proceed?

Thanks in advance,

Matt

All, I've got an odd issue in an area of the law that I have no experience in, and am hoping someone might have some guidance or insight. City filed a lien on a piece of property back in 2017 related to nuisance abatement. The property taxes didn't get paid and the property recently sold at a tax auction. On June 29, 2023, City filed its lien release (the property sold for enough that we got paid!). On July 26, 2023, the purchaser filed a quiet title action naming a host of Defendants. That included the City, and the Petition identifies the 2017 lien as the reason we got named. Normally I'd just file a disclaimer and be done with it. But here's the wrinkle. The purchaser acquired title back in June. The property then became overgrown with tall grass and weeds, and Code contacted the new owner and, when that wasn't successful, we went through the abatement process and filed a new lien. The new lien was filed August 3, 2023 - 8 days after the Petition was filed. My obvious concern is that, if I file a disclaimer, I would think that that would disclaim every interest we could assert, including the interest related to the newly filed lien. I'm sure that the attorney who filed the suit was just wanting to clear up any title issues that might have existed at the point his client took ownership of the property (i.e. that he's not just trying to get his client out of a few hundred dollars we paid to have the property mowed/cleared). Has anyone confronted this before? If so, any advice or guidance on how to proceed? Thanks in advance, Matt