Quarles v. Arcega
| Decision Date | 02 September 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. 12067,12067 |
| Citation | 1992 NMCA 99,841 P.2d 550,114 N.M. 502 |
| Parties | Marie Louise QUARLES, a single woman, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. (1) Pursima ARCEGA, Rogelio Arcega a/k/a R.V. Arcega, Donald A. Armstrong, W. Brawley, Jose Carbelleira, Natividad Q. Chavez, Roger Covel, Robert Creason, John Howard, Daniel Lovato, Thomas K. Marshall, Antonio A. Martinez, Eluterio Martinez, Jr., Eluterio Martinez, Sr., Espiridon Martinez, Matilde D. Martinez, William D. McMillin, Estella M. Montano a/k/a Stella M. Montano, W.H. Mundy, Jr. a/k/a Bill Mundy, Jr., Natalia Quintana, Theodore Sanders a/k/a T.E. Sanders, Lloyd F. Satterlee, Lynn Lee Svoboda, Edward Vigil, Jr., Earl Woods; (2) Arlington Land Company, a defunct corporation; Patco; (3) The Following named Defendants by Name, if Living: If Deceased, their Unknown Heirs: Teodora M. Hallock a/k/a Theodora M. Hallock, Antonio Salazar de Lopez, Maria M. Rivera; (4) The Unknown Heirs of the Following Named Deceased Persons: Ester M. Chavez, Miguel Chavez, Ruben Chavez, Juana de Herrera, Jose G. Lobato, Preciliano Lopez, Rufina Lopez, Maria Rufina Lopez de Salazar, Narciso Martinez, Porfiria Martinez, Simon Martinez, Ana Maria Valdez Montoya, Jose Bivian Montoya, Manuel Savino Salazar, Manuel Serrano, Maria de la Luz Salazar Serrano, Antonio Ma Suaso, Jose Vivian Suazo, Tomas A. Trujillo a/k/a Thomas A. Trujillo; and (5) All Unknown Claimants of Interest in the Premises Adverse to Plaintiffs , Defendants, and Theis Land Company, a general partnership, Defendant-Appellant. Natividad CHAVEZ a/k/a Mrs. Frank Chavez, a married woman dealing in her sole and separate property, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. GROUP ONE: CHAMA VALLEY LAND COMPANY, a defunct New Mexico Corporation; Marie Louise Quarles; Angie Romero Sanchez; Elena Sanchez; Benjamin Valdez; Isabel G. Valdez; GROUP TWO: The Unknown Heirs of the Following Named Deceased Persons: John H. Burns; Charles C. Catron; Julia A. Catron; T.B. Catron a/k/a Thomas B. Catron; Francisco Martinez; Manuel Martinez; Gregorita Sanchez de Pino; Jose Pino; Bernardo G. Sanchez |
| Court | Court of Appeals of New Mexico |
Defendant Theis Company appeals the trial court's decision after a bench trial quieting title in favor of Plaintiffs Quarles and Chavez, contending that (1) the trial court erred in locating a boundary line; (2) the trial court erred in admitting into evidence surveys offered by Plaintiffs; (3) Plaintiffs failed to establish adverse possession by clear and convincing evidence; and (4) Plaintiffs failed to establish paramount title. For the reasons stated below, we affirm.
The trial court consolidated two complaints filed in 1985 that sought to quiet title to three separate tracts of land located in the Tierra Amarilla Land Grant near the village of Los Brazos: the Quarles Farm (710 acres), the Barranca Tract (105.997 acres, more or less), and the Brazos Tract (133.733 acres, more or less). The Quarles Farm and the Barranca and Brazos Tracts border property owned by Theis Company. The appeal involves competing claims to approximately sixty-three acres. Plaintiffs claim the area described by their deeds includes areas west of the Chama River; Theis Company claims their common boundary is the river.
The sixty-three acres in dispute lie between the river and a fence (the Sargent-Theis fence) constructed by Edward Sargent, Theis Company's predecessor in title, in the late 1930s or early 1940s. This fence runs north and south, marks the eastern boundary of a 55,000-acre ranch that Theis Company purchased from Sargent in the early 1950s, and divides the ranch from a smaller parcel consisting of 220 acres Theis Company purchased from Sargent in 1955. The 1955 deed described the eastern boundary of the 220-acre parcel as the west bank of the Chama River.
The record indicates that Quarles's father acquired the Quarles Farm in the course of three separate conveyances in 1912, 1917, and 1919. The 1912 deed, from Quarles's grandfather and grandmother to her father, conveyed three parcels, the southern boundary of which is described either as the " 'hill on the other side of the river' or the 'top of the hill on the other side of the river.' " The 1917 deed describes the west boundary of the property as the " 'top of the hill across the Chama River.' " The 1919 deed describes the west boundary as the " 'hill on the other side of the Rio Chama.' " The 1948 deed incorporates these three deeds by reference. The trial court found that the three conveyances to Quarles's father provide Quarles's color of title.
Quarles testified that she always considered the Sargent-Theis fence her western boundary, and, as far as she knew, the fence had always been in the same location. She stated that she never asked Theis Company's permission to use the disputed tract, and recalled having one discussion with Locke Theis (Mr. Theis), a general partner of Theis Company, about the disputed area. Mr. Theis told her that the company's land actually came down to the river, and she objected, stating that "we have always had that fence [to mark the boundary]." After that conversation, Quarles continued to use the area as grazing land. Quarles also stated that she meant only to claim the land described in her deeds, and nothing beyond that. According to unchallenged findings, Quarles proved payment of taxes for over twenty years on the land she claims west of the Chama River.
Chavez claims 16.7 acres on the west side of the Chama River as part of the Barranca Tract. Chavez also claims 32.7 acres on the west side of the Chama River as part of the Brazos Tract. The southern boundary of the Quarles Farm is contiguous with the northern boundary of the Barranca Tract. The Brazos Tract is south of the Quarles Farm and the Barranca Tract, but is not adjacent to the Barranca Tract. Quarles claims that the Quarles Farm includes about fourteen acres on the west side of the Chama River.
Plaintiff Chavez based her claim to record title to the Barranca Tract in part on various deeds from two uncles and from their heirs, her uncles having acquired the tract as a result of two conveyances in 1924. Both 1924 deeds, from Edelmira G. de Sanchez, widow of Necomedes Sanchez, Chavez's grandfather, describe the west boundary of the property as " 'the foot of the hill,' 'the hill' or other limit on the west side of the river as set forth in the deeds given by Francisco Martinez and conveying this land." Chavez traces Necomedes' record title to a conveyance from John H. Burns in 1909, which described the western boundary as " 'the foot of the hill or ridge on the other side of the Chama River.' " She traced Burns's title to a conveyance in 1902, which according to an unchallenged finding described the west boundary of the tract as " 'the top of the hill or ridge on the other side of the River.' " In a finding challenged by Theis Company, the trial court found that the 1909 deed conveyed the same property conveyed by the 1902 deed. The trial court found that the deeds to Burns in 1902 and Chavez's grandfather in 1909 provide Chavez color of title to the Barranca Tract.
Chavez traced her record title to the strips of land that make up the Brazos Tract, in part, to deeds from family members, who acquired their interest by intestate succession, at least in part, from Chavez's grandparents, Necomedes Sanchez and Edelmiria G. de Sanchez. Chavez's grandparents acquired their interests as a result of three separate deeds, one in 1903 and two in 1922. These deeds describe the western boundary as "the hills," "the hills on the other side of the Chama River," and "the top of the slope on the other side of the river." The trial court found that the deeds to Chavez's grandparents provided her color of title to the Brazos Tract.
Chavez's testimony concerning the area in dispute was similar to that of Quarles. She stated that she had always recognized the Sargent-Theis fence as her western boundary and that the community custom has been for all the property owners along the east side of the Chama to consider the Sargent-Theis fence as their western boundary. Chavez testified that she occasionally pastured sheep and cattle in the disputed area. She never asked Theis Company if she could use the disputed area, nor did Theis Company ever give her permission to do so. Chavez also stated that she was not claiming any land beyond her deed description. According to unchallenged findings, she proved payment of taxes for over ten years on the land she claims west of the Chama River.
Various neighbors also testified and confirmed that it was commonly understood that the Sargent-Theis fence was the western border of the properties in question. One witness stated that the disputed area was used by everyone, and he considered it to belong to everyone, because that was community custom.
Mr. Theis testified that the Sargent-Theis fence was not a boundary fence, but an internal cross fence. Mr. Theis...
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... ... 446, ... 833 P.2d 1141 (Nevada); Vagoni v. Gibbons (1991), 251 N.J ... Super. 402, 598 A.2d 530 (New Jersey); Quarles v. Arcega ... (1992), 114 N.M. 502, 841 P.2d 550 (New Mexico); Groman v ... Botar (1996), 644 N.Y.S.2d 58 (New York); Benson v ... ...
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Prather v. Lyons, 29,812.
...could be ignored as surplusage with the remaining findings and conclusions supporting the judgment); see also Quarles v. Arcega, 114 N.M. 502, 509, 841 P.2d 550, 557 (Ct.App.1992) (“Even if a finding of fact or conclusion is erroneous, if it is unnecessary to the court's decision, the mista......
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Prather v. Lyons, Docket No. 29,812
...and could be ignored as surplusage with the remaining findings and conclusions supporting the judgment); see also Quarles v. Arcega, 114 N.M. 502, 509, 841 P.2d 550, 557 (Ct. App. 1992) ("Even if a finding of fact or conclusion is erroneous, if it is unnecessary to the court's decision, the......
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In re Estate of Duran
...color of title is not an absolute requirement to establish title through adverse possession. See Quarles v. Arcega, 114 N.M. 502, 510, 841 P.2d 550, 558 (Ct.App.1992). Nevertheless, in rejecting deeds as color of title under similar circumstances, courts in other jurisdictions have found a ......