## Facts

- Helen H. Brown held record title to a parcel of land and a 20-foot right-of-way in St. Mary’s County, Maryland.
- Norma D. Wathen asserted she owned the parcel and right-of-way by adverse possession.
- Brown filed an equity action to quiet title under Md. Real Prop. § 14-108, alleging Wathen’s adverse possession claim clouded Brown’s title.
- At trial, Brown introduced only (1) her deed and (2) a plat depicting the parcel and right-of-way.
- After Brown rested, Wathen moved to dismiss on the ground that Brown had not alleged or proven the statutory prerequisites for relief under § 14-108.
- The trial court denied the motion; Wathen presented no evidence; the court entered a decree declaring Brown the owner with the right to dispose of the property.

## Issues

1. Whether a plaintiff must allege and prove actual or constructive peaceable possession to maintain a quiet-title action under Md. Real Prop. § 14-108.
2. Whether a deed and plat, without evidence of possession, are sufficient to support a decree quieting title when another party claims ownership by adverse possession.

## Decision

- The Court of Special Appeals reversed the decree quieting title in Brown and remanded.
- The court held that possession (actual, or constructive if the land is vacant) is an essential statutory element and a jurisdictional prerequisite for an equity quiet-title action under § 14-108.
- The court held Brown’s proof—limited to record title documents—did not establish the required possession, so the quiet-title decree could not stand.

## Legal Principles

- Under Md. Real Prop. § 14-108, a quiet-title plaintiff must be in actual peaceable possession, or if the property is vacant and unoccupied, in constructive and peaceable possession.
- The possession requirement is jurisdictional in equity; absent the required possession, the plaintiff has not established a cause of action under § 14-108.
- Proof of record title alone does not satisfy § 14-108’s possession element, particularly where another party asserts adverse possession.
- When the plaintiff cannot prove the statutory possession prerequisite for quiet title, the dispute must be pursued through an appropriate legal remedy rather than equity quiet-title relief.

## Conclusion

The appellate court held that a quiet-title action under Md. Real Prop. § 14-108 requires the plaintiff to allege and prove actual or constructive peaceable possession, and that Brown’s documentary proof of record title, without evidence of possession, was insufficient; the decree quieting title was reversed and the case remanded.


Wathen v. Brown, 48 Md. App. 655 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 1981)