Title: Zinn v. Hampson

State: new-mexico

Issuer: New Mexico Supreme Court

Document:

301 P.2d 518 (1956) 61 N.M. 407 A.L. ZINN and Elizabeth P. Zinn, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. E. Price HAMPSON, Defendant-Appellant. No. 6130. Supreme Court of New Mexico. September 6, 1956. Rehearing Denied October 3, 1956. Joseph Phil Click, Malcolm W. deVesty, Albuquerque, for appellant. Dean S. Zinn, Frank B. Zinn, Santa Fe, for appellees. LUJAN, Justice. Appellees, A.L. Zinn and Elizabeth P. Zinn, instituted this action against the appellant, E. Price Hampson, seeking specific performance of a written contract for the sale and purchase of a certain parcel of land located in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. The case was submitted to the court on stipulation of facts, in which it was admitted that the parties entered into an agreement for the purchase and sale of certain unimproved real estate located in Bernalillo County, New Mexico on January 27, 1956; that plaintiffs furnished the defendants with abstracts of title showing plaintiffs' title to the tract of land covered by the contract, to have been derived from a patent issued to them by the Commissioner of Public Lands of the State of New Mexico dated July 27, 1955; that plaintiffs stand ready and willing to convey the land to defendant in accordance with the agreement upon payment to them of the purchase price; that defendant refuses to complete the contract with plaintiffs by paying the purchase price and accepting the warranty deed to the land, contending that the plaintiffs' title is not merchantable, and basing that contention on a claim that the patent to plaintiffs was beyond the authority of the Commissioner of Public Lands to issue; that the tract of land covered by the contract of sale and upon which the State patent was issued was a portion of the land sold by the Commissioner of Public Lands of New Mexico at a public auction and upon which a contract of sale was subsequently executed between the plaintiff A.L. Zinn, the highest bidder at the public auction, and the Commissioner of Public Lands; that with the exception of the parcel of land covered by the parties' agreement, all of the land originally included in the sale at the public auction and in the original contract of sale between the plaintiff A.L. Zinn and the Commissioner of Public Lands, are now held by various assignees *519 or successors to assignees of the plaintiffs, with those persons having entered into contracts of sale with the Commissioner of Public Lands all of which contracts are still executory in that the balance due on the purchase price of the land covered by those contracts has not been paid to the Commissioner of Public Lands. The sole question presented on this appeal is: "Does the Commissioner of Public Lands have the authority to issue a patent to the purchaser at a public auction of state land upon receipt of payment for a portion of the tract covered by the contract while the remainder of the land covered by the sale is held under executory contract and upon which the purchase price is still owed?" Appellant attacks the patent from the State on the sole ground that under the law the Commissioner of Public Lands had no authority to execute a patent to a portion of a tract of land sold under an installment contract prior to final payment thereon. In selling lands belonging to the State and issuing patents therefor, the Commissioner of Public Lands is merely an agent of the State and has those powers, and only those powers given by law. State ex rel. Del Curto v. District Court of Fourth Judicial District, 51 N.M. 297, 183 P.2d 607. This is a case of first impression in this jurisdiction and the primary source of authority for this decision must come from the exact wording of our Enabling Act, Constitution and Legislative acts. Section 10 of the Enabling Act specifically provides that "no sale or other disposal [of lands] * * * shall be made * * * upon credit unless accompanied by ample security, and the legal title shall not pass until the consideration shall have been paid. * * *" It reads: The consideration in the instant case is the amount bid for the entire tract of land at the auction sale, accepted by the commissioner, and reduced to a written contract. The action of the commissioner in issuing the patent to the plaintiffs for a portion of the large tract of land sold to them before the balance due on the contract was fully paid diminished the State's security and prevented a full compliance of the contract on their part. Under such circumstances the only remedy left the State is to retain the small sum of money paid for the small portion of the land as liquidated damages, since it is powerless to enforce specific performance of the contract. It cannot proceed against the purchaser for no personal obligation is created under this type of transaction. The security for the payment of the purchase price is the land itself and the title thereto which remains in the State until final payment is made is the only inducement to purchaser to carry out the contract. See, Veseley v. Ranch Realty Co., 38 N.M. 480, 35 P.2d 297; State v. Field, 31 N.M. 120, 241 P. 1027. Article 13, §§ 1 and 2 of the State Constitution provides as follows: The law under which this sale was made and patent issued is found in the following Section of 1953 Compilation. The Act further provides: It will be seen from an examination of the aforementioned provisions of the Enabling Act, State Constitution and Statutes that there is no specific authority given the Commissioner of Public Lands to issue a patent to a portion of a tract of land sold under contract when only that part covered by the patent has been paid for and the balance due under said contract has not been paid at the time the patent is issued. We are of opinion, and so hold, that there was no authority of law for the execution of the patent involved in this case. The judgment of the trial court is hereby reversed, with directions to the trial court to enter judgment for appellant. It is so ordered. COMPTON, C.J., and SADLER and KIKER, JJ., concur. McGHEE, J., not participating.