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208 Okla. 34

252 P.2d 1027

Casker v. Dennis

Supreme Court of Oklahoma

Decided November 18, 1952

Supreme Court of Oklahoma · decided 1952-11-18

(Syllabus.) 1. VENDOR AND PURCHASER — MORTGAGES — <italic>Right of bona fide</italic> <italic>purchaser to rely on record title.</italic> Where owner of land gave another an absolute deed to land subject to an unrecorded agreement between themselves qualifying title ostensibly conveyed, and thereafter lands so conveyed are sold for<page_number>Page 35</page_number> delinquent taxes to the county, which in turn conveys same to another by resale tax deed, valid on its face, such subsequent purchaser who purchased in reliance on the record title without actual notice of original owner's heirs' claim of unrecorded oral incumbrance, was protected under statute requiring that instrument of defeasance must be recorded. 2. JUDGMENT — <italic>Judgment recovered by holder of resale tax deed</italic> <italic>against record owner effectual to divest interest not legally</italic> <italic>recorded, and is res adjudicata and operates as estoppel</italic> <italic>against subsequent assertion of any unrecorded oral</italic> <italic>incumbrance.</italic> Where the holder of a resale tax deed recovers judgment against the record owner, establishing the validity of such tax deed and quieting her title thereto in certain land, and all persons known to claim any interest in or incumbrance on the property are parties thereto, such judgment is effectual to divest the interest not legally recorded of persons who are not parties but who claim under a defendant in the suit, and of which the plaintiff had no actual or constructive notice and such judgment is res adjudicata and operates as an estoppel against the subsequent assertion of any unrecorded oral incumbrance.

Cited by 3 later decisions — most recently April 1997

3 state decisions

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1952-11-18

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DAVISON, Justice

¶1(dissenting).

¶2:I cannot concur in'the majority' ¡Opinion in this case fot the reason that I do not think the-rules of law: stated in the, syllabus are applicable to the facts herein.- In addition, I cannot see the consistency between the .allegation in the petition that Mr. and Mrs. Dennis were claiming and asserting a claim and title to the realty-adverse to plaintiff’s title and the argument-that the judgment quieting title is final because plaintiff had no knowledge that Mr. and Mrs. Dennis were claiming and asserting á claim, and title to the realty adverse to plaintiff’s title. As to the first paragraph thereof, I cannot understand how ,the recording laws of this state, which are the foundation of constructive notice of those conveyances properly recorded, could have any bearing on the rights of a purchaser at tax resale or county commissioners’ sale based on tax resale. If the tax sale statutes are complied with, the claims and title of all persons are cancelled and terminated whether such claims are known or unknown or are apparent from the record or not. The case cited, Ware v. Tyer, to support the proposition, deals with ordinary purchasers of the property and has no application to-tax sales.

¶3As to the second paragraph of the syllabus it seems to be overlooked that the application to vacate judgment herein, was filed by one original defendant, and the heirs of another original defendant who were served by publication and, as against whom, judgment was by default. Under the provisions of 12 O.S.1941 § 176’ they had the right to have the judgment vacated and be let in to defend at any time within 'three years from the date of rendition of judgment. The statute gives this right of vacating the judgment, and defending the action, irrespective of the validity of the judgment. The only requirements are that the defendants were ignorant of the pendency.of the action; that the judgment was taken by default after service by publication; and that defendants have a good defense to the action. There could be no better defense to *1032this' character'of action than that the tax deed, upon which it was founded, was absolutely -void. This does not constitute a collateral attack on the judgment but is direct and' is authorized by statute. The cases, cited to sustain the application, of the principle stated to the facts herein, deal only with situations' where the attack is made in a collateral proceeding by one not a party to the original judgment, or by an original defendant as to whom the judgmént has become final.

¶4To me, the conclusion reached by the majority of the court-has the effect of sustaining a void tax deed on technical grounds not applicable, to the facts.

¶5I therefore respectfully dissent.

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