## Facts

- Robert M. Laura (plaintiff) acquired a three-fourths interest in a parcel of real property known as the Fireside Lodge; Ray E. Christian (defendant) held a one-fourth interest as a tenant in common (other cotenants were also named as defendants but did not appeal).
- At the time Laura and Christian acquired their interests, the property was subject to an outstanding mortgage lien.
- After Laura’s purchase, the cotenants made only one payment on principal and several interest payments, then stopped making the required payments.
- The mortgagee filed a foreclosure action on August 31, 1971; the action proceeded to judgment, and a foreclosure sale was ordered for April 11, 1972.
- Christian and other claimants had notice by July 1971 that foreclosure was being threatened, but did not pay their shares or take steps to prevent a sale.
- On April 10, 1972, to prevent the foreclosure sale, Laura paid $17,288.40 to satisfy the judgment, interest, and expenses.
- In 1972, the property’s value later increased after a March 29, 1972 transaction affecting adjoining lands (exercised July 19, 1972); after that increase became apparent, Christian showed renewed interest in the property.
- By January 9, 1973, when Laura filed this quiet title action, Christian agreed to pay his pro rata share of the amount Laura paid and agreed that a lien could be imposed on his one-fourth interest to secure payment.
- Despite Christian’s willingness to reimburse with a lien, the district court quieted title to the entire property in Laura.
- Christian appealed; the other defendants did not appeal and were bound by the district court’s judgment.

## Issues

1. When one cotenant pays off a mortgage encumbering commonly owned property to prevent foreclosure, may that cotenant quiet title against a nonpaying cotenant, or is the paying cotenant limited to contribution secured by a lien?
2. Did Christian tender payment of his proportionate share within a reasonable time so that his one-fourth interest should be preserved subject to a lien?

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of New Mexico reversed the judgment as to Christian and remanded with directions.
- The court held that Laura’s payment to protect the common property did not extinguish Christian’s one-fourth interest; Laura’s remedy against Christian was contribution secured by a lien on Christian’s interest.
- The court held that, under the circumstances, Christian’s offer to pay his pro rata share (with interest and secured by a lien) was made within a reasonable time.
- The court directed entry of a judgment quieting title in Laura to a three-fourths interest and recognizing Christian’s one-fourth interest, subject to a lien in Laura’s favor to secure repayment of Christian’s share of the sums Laura paid, with interest.

## Legal Principles

- A cotenant who pays more than his proportionate share of a debt secured by a mortgage or other lien on common property is entitled to reimbursement (contribution) from the other cotenants for their shares.
- Payment by one cotenant to prevent foreclosure is treated as protective of the common estate; it generally creates an equitable right to contribution and an equitable lien on the other cotenant’s share, rather than transferring full ownership of that share to the paying cotenant.
- A nonpaying cotenant does not forfeit title merely by failing to pay at the time the paying cotenant satisfies the debt, so long as the nonpaying cotenant tenders contribution within a reasonable time under the circumstances.
- When contribution is owed, a court may secure repayment by imposing a lien on the nonpaying cotenant’s fractional interest, including interest on the amounts advanced by the paying cotenant.

## Conclusion

Laura’s payoff of the Fireside Lodge mortgage to stop foreclosure entitled him to contribution from Christian secured by a lien, not ownership of Christian’s one-fourth share; because Christian offered to reimburse within a reasonable time, the Supreme Court reversed the quiet-title judgment as to Christian and ordered judgment recognizing Laura’s three-fourths and Christian’s one-fourth interest subject to Laura’s lien for repayment with interest.


Laura v. Christian, 537 P.2d 1389 (1975)