AI Generated Opinion Summaries

This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.

Facts

• On August 1, 2006, the Decedent sold sixteen tracts of land in Cibola County, New Mexico, to Aspen, providing a mortgage on the tracts. The mortgage was recorded and assigned to Washington Federal's predecessors on August 9, 2006. After the Decedent's death in 2007, Aspen defaulted on the mortgage and failed to pay property taxes from 2006 to 2013. PMC purchased four of these tracts at a tax auction on May 30, 2013. Subsequently, PMC filed a suit to quiet title against Elkins, Aspen, and Washington Federal in October 2013 (paras 3-5).

Procedural History

• [Not applicable or not found]

Parties' Submissions

• Defendant-Appellant (Elkins): Argued that the Deeds indicated the State’s tax lien arose on January 1, 2009, and since the Mortgage was perfected on August 9, 2006, PMC’s title to the Property was subject to the Mortgage (para 6).
• Plaintiff-Appellee (PMC): Contended that a tax lien attached to the tracts as of January 1, 2006, due to Aspen’s failure to pay property taxes, and thus, PMC took title free and clear of the Mortgage based on provisions of New Mexico’s Property Tax Code (para 6).

Legal Issues

• Whether the district court correctly granted summary judgment in favor of PMC, determining that PMC acquired the Property free and clear of the Mortgage (para 7).

Disposition

• The Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of PMC, holding that PMC acquired the Property free and clear of the Mortgage (para 17).

Reasons

• Per Bohnhoff J. (Vanzi, C.J., and French, J., concurring): The court applied de novo review due to the appeal presenting a question of law without disputed material facts. It interpreted the statutes according to their plain meaning and in relation to one another. The court disagreed with Elkins' interpretation of Section 7-38-48(A), clarifying that a new tax lien does not arise every year for unpaid taxes. Instead, it found that the Property Tax Code refers to a singular lien that continues until taxes are paid. The court also found that Section 7-38-65(A) does not limit the State in enforcing tax liens and that property can be sold for delinquent taxes older than four years, up to a ten-year statute of limitations. Thus, the court concluded that PMC's acquisition of the Property was free and clear of the Mortgage because the tax lien from January 1, 2006, was superior to the Mortgage perfected in 2006 (paras 8-16).