Case Name: PARKER v. ROSS et al.
Court: Utah Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Utah
Decision Date: 1950-04-19
Citations: 117 Utah 417
Docket Number: No. 7401
Parties: PARKER v. ROSS et al.
Judges: PRATT, C. J., and LATIMER and McDONOUGH, JJ., concur.
Reporter: Utah Reports
Volume: 117
Pages: 417–434

Head Matter:
PARKER v. ROSS et al.
No. 7401.
Decided April 19, 1950.
(217 P. 2d 373.)
Rehearing Denied August 2, 1950.
See 49 C. J. S., Judgments, sec. 266. Constructive service for in rem actions, see note, 126 A. L. R. 664. See, also, 42 Am. Jur. 74.
Milton V. Bachman, Salt Lake City, Bachman, Bachman & Clark, Salt Lake City, for appellant.
Romney & Boyer, Salt Lake City, H. R. Boyer, Salt Lake City, for respondents.

Opinion:
WADE, Justice.
Mary Parker as administratrix of the Estate of Katie C. Johnson, deceased, brought this suit to set aside a judgment quieting title to certain real property formerly owned by decedent in an action brought by S. R. Ross v. Katie C. Johnson and unknown defendants. She appeals from a judgment dismissing her complaint with prejudice and upon the merits. .The appeal is upon the judgment roll.
The judgment of dismissal was entered after appellant declined to plead further upon the court's sustaining a general demurrer, portions of a special demurrer and a motion to strike her second amended complaint.
The complaint alleged in substance that the property affected by this action was owned by Katie C. Johnson when it was sold for general property taxes for the year 1924 and that an Auditor's deed was issued thereon in 1929. That thereafter Salt Lake County issued a quitclaim deed covering said property to Alton F. Lund who conveyed the property to respondents Ross in 1946. That S. R. Ross filed a suit to quiet title to this property in the District Court of Salt Lake County, naming Katie C. Johnson et al. as defendants. That S. R. Ross procured a judgment by default in that action in June, 1946.
The complaint further alleged that Katie C. Johnson had died at Deer Lodge, Montana, during the month of August, 1919, leaving as her only heir-at-law, Alice Larson, known as Mrs. R. E. Larson, who resided in Butte, Montana, at the time Ross commenced the suit to quiet title, and that the affiant in the affidavit for publication of summons upon which the order for publication of summons was issued knew or by using due diligence should have known that Katie C. Johnson was deceased and because there had been a failure of due diligence to ascertain that fact, the publication of summons was invalid.
Appellant attached a copy of the affidavit for publication of summons upon which the publication was predicated in the suit to quiet title. This affidavit shows that affiant who was the attorney for respondent, S. R. Ross, in that action, in endeavoring to ascertain the whereabouts of Katie C. Johnson had issued a summons upon which the sheriff of Salt Lake County, Utah, made a return that after due diligence and inquiry that Katie C. Johnson could not be found by him in the State of Utah. That affiant also searched the records of the County Recorder pertaining to the property involved and found that Katie C. Johnson's address was listed as Butte, Montana; that' a search of the old tax rolls in the County Treasurer's office revealed one street address of Katie C. Johnson, c/o James Sennett, 1547 Harrison Street, Butte, Montana, and another street address of Katie C. Johnson, c/o Mr. R. E. Larson, 702a West Park, Butte, Montana, and that affiant then caused letters to be addressed to Katie C. Johnson at these two addresses in Butte, Montana, and also to General Delivery, Butte, Montana, but received no reply to any of these. That the records in the office of Tax Adjuster for Salt Lake County showed the same addresses as given above. That a search of the records of the County Clerk of Salt Lake County, including the judgment and probate indexes as well as other records, a search of the records of the Assessor and of the City Treasurer of Salt Lake County and of the city directories of Salt Lake City, Utah, for many years past and of the telephone directory for Salt Lake City and vicinity did not reveal the present whereabouts of Katie C. Johnson.
Appellant also alleged in the complaint that an agent of appellant in using due diligence to determine the whereabouts of Katie C. Johnson made inquiry of the city police department of Butte, Montana, and the State Board of Health at Helena, Montana, at which latter place the agent determined the date and place of death of Katie C. Johnson and that the records from which this determination was made are public records. It is also alleged that no letters were sent by respondent to James Sennett or Mr. R, E. Larson, persons in whose care respondent had ascertained letters could be sent to Katie C. Johnson. The complaint then alleges that the defendants in the suit to quiet title had a meritorious defense to that action.
It is appellant's contention that the court erred in sustaining the general and special demurrers and the motion to strike because at the time the action to quiet title was commenced Katie C. Johnson was deceased and the affidavit upon which service by publication was predicated shows that due diligence was not exercised by the plaintiff in that action to locate said Katie C. Johnson, that due diligence within the contemplation of the statute required that plaintiff should have done what appellant's agent herein did, which would have notified said plaintiff that Katie C. Johnson was deceased.
In determining whether due diligence was used by plaintiff in the action to quiet title to ascertain the whereabouts of the defendants therein, it must be kept in mind that the suit was not only brought against Katie C. Johnson, the person who appeared of record to be the owner of the property involved therein, but also against all unknown persons claiming an interest in the property. Sec. 104-57-10, U. C. A. 1948, provides that:
"Actions to determine adverse claims to real property may include as defendants therein, in addition to such persons as appear of record to have some claim on the lands described in the complaint adverse to plaintiff's ownership, or other persons unknown claiming any right or interest in or lien on such lands, or which is a cloud upon the title of plaintiff thereto; and the plaintiff may describe such unknown defendants in the complaint as 'all other persons unknown, claiming any right, title, estate or interest in, or lien upon the real property described in the complaint adverse to the plaintiff's ownership, or clouding plaintiff's title thereto.' "
Section 104-57-11, U. C. A. 1943, provides that:
"Service of summons upon all the unknown defendants mentioned in the preceding section shall be made by publication in the manner provided for the publication of summons in other civil actions. "
The real question to be determined is whether service was effective as against the unknown defendants.
The term "all other persons unknown", etc., as used in the statute and used in describing and designating unknown defendants in plaintiff's complaint, necessarily includes the representatives, unknown heirs and de-visees of any person named as a defendant who is not known by plaintiff to be dead. Unless a person named as defendant is known to be deceased, the plaintiff might not know nor even be able to ascertain the heirs or devisees of such named defendant. The designation of unknown defendants in this case in the language employed in the statute, was sufficient to include the heirs at law of Katie C. Johnson, if plaintiff was not aware of her demise.
Section 104-5-12, U. C. A. 1943, provides that:
"Where the person upon whom service is to he made resides outside of the state or where in an action in rem some or all of the defendants are unknown, and any of such facts appear by affidavit of the plaintiff or his agent to the satisfaction of the court or a judge thereof, or of the clerk, and where it also appears by such affidavit or by the verified complaint on file that a cause of action exists against the defendant in respect to whom the service is to be made or that he is a necessary or proper party to the action, the court or judge, or the clerk may make an order that the service of summons be made by publication. "
Section 104-5-13, U. C. A. 1943, provides:
"The order must direct the publication to be made five times, once in each week for five successive weeks in a newspaper having general circulation, published in the county in which the action is brought, . In case of publication where the residence of a nonresident or absent defendant is known, the clerk must forthwith deposit a copy of the summons and complaint in the post office, postage prepaid, directed to the person to be served at his place of residence. "
In this case, plaintiff administratrix does not allege in either her original complaint or in her amended complaints, nor otherwise contend, that an order for publication of summons was not made and entered upon filing the affidavit for publication of summons in the form and manner required by statute, nor that publication was not made for the requisite period of time, nor that copies of the complaint together with copies of summons describing the property were not mailed by the clerk of the court forthwith, addressed to said Katie C. Johnson at the places stated in the affidavit for publication as the last known addresses of such person. This case is therefore unlike Park v. Higbee, 6 Utah 414, 24 P. 524, wherein this court held that the trial court obtained no jurisdiction of the person of defendant in a partition suit and had no authority to proceed in rem by publication of summons where the order for publication did not direct that a copy of the complaint with copy of summons be mailed forthwith to defendant, and such order did not provide the length of time for publication.
Appellant's attack on the decree quieting title is predicated on the theory that the court had no authority to order publication of summons as to Katie C. Johnson for the reason that she was dead at the' time action was commenced; and that the affidavit for publication was deficient by reason of failure of plaintiff to show due diligence to locate Katie C. Johnson or to ascertain whether she was deceased. Appellant contends that locating an address of a nonresident and merely attempting to correspond with such nonresident without success, does not constitute due diligence; that investigation must go further, and be conducted outside the state where such person was once known to reside, to determine whether such nonresident is still living; and that in this case such investigation would have disclosed that Katie C. Johnson died long prior to commencement of the action, and also the name and residence of her heir at law.
The affidavit for publication of summons assailed by appellant, recites that plaintiff had issued a summons which the sheriff of Salt Lake County had been unable to serve because Katie C. Johnson could not be found in the state of Utah; that thereafter affiant searched the records of the county recorder and those of the county treasurer, from which affiant discovered two addresses indicating that some years ago said Katie C. Johnson resided at Butte, Montana, which was the last known address; that affiant addressed letters to Katie C. Johnson at said two addresses and also one to her in care of General Delivery, Butte, Montana; that no reply to any of these letters was ever received. Affiant also searched the records of the county clerk of Salt Lake County including probate indexes, to obtain information as to the whereabouts of said Katie C. Johnson or whether she was dead, but affiant found nothing concerning said person in said records nor in the records of the City Treasurer or in the telephone and city directories.
Such a search was sufficient to show due diligence on the part of plaintiff to ascertain whether Katie C. Johnson resided within the state at the time of the commencement of the action. See Rue v. Quinn, 137 Cal. 651, 66 P. 216, 70 P. 732, which appears to be the leading case in California as to what is a sufficient showing of "due diligence" in attempting to ascertain the whereabouts of a defendant within the state, for the purpose of obtaining service by publication under statutes similar to ours. In that case the affidavit by the attorney for the plaintiff in the suit to quiet title showed that a summons had been returned unserved by the sheriff because defendants could not be found, and that inquiries from prominent County Officers and other persons who could be expected to know defendant's whereabouts failed to disclose the desired address. The California Supreme Court in holding that facts averred in the affidavit were sufficient to sustain the order for publication of summons, said, on page 217 of 66 P.:
" When service is to be made in this mode [by publication of summons] upon the ground that the defendant cannot, after due diligence, be found within the state, the affidavit must show two facts, viz. the exercise of due diligence to find the defendant within the state, and a failure to find him after the exercise of such diligence. In making the order for the service by publication, the judge acts judicially upon the evidence which the Code requires to be presented to him for that purpose, and can act upon no other evidence than such as is prescribed by the Code. If the facts set forth in the affidavit have a legal tendency to show the exercise of diligence on the behalf of the plaintiff in seeking to find the defendant within the state, and that, after the exercise of such diligence, he cannot be found, the decision of the judge that the affidavit shows the same to his satisfaction is to be regarded with the same effect as is his decision upon any other matter of fact submitted to his judicial determination. "
The respondent in the instant case having shown by his affidavit for publication facts sufficient to find that he had used due diligence to ascertain whether defendant was within the state and not being able to find her there and also having caused mail to be sent to her outside of the state to addresses it was reasonable to believe would reach her and having received no reply, did all that was necessary to try to find the whereabouts of the record owner of the land to which he sought to quiet title. Our statutes do not require either in spirit or intent that more be done than respondent did in the present case to try to give actual notice to the record owner of the pending suit. Here, one of the letters sent had been addressed in care of the son-in-law of the record owner. It can be reasonably assumed that the son-in-law was aware of the death of the addressee and his wife being her heir if sufficiently interested could have so advised the writer. But, even if this were not the fact, still, respondent had fulfilled the requirements of the statute as to the record owner. Having by due diligence been unable to find the record owner within the state, and not knowing, but it being reasonable to assume that there might be other claimants not of record, respondent had averred in his affidavit that he had named as parties defendant
"all other persons claiming any right, title, estate or interest in or lien upon the real property described in the complaint adverse to the plaintiff's ownership or clouding plaintiff's title thereto"
and that it was necessary to publish summons to obtain service on these unknown defendants, and that they are necessary parties to the action because of their claims upon the real property, the title to which plaintiff was seeking to quiet, and that these unknown defendants could not after due diligence be found within the state.
There is no allegation that in the quiet title action, plaintiff or counsel for plaintiff actually knew that Katie C. Johnson was deceased. Consequently, if plaintiff and counsel for plaintiff in such action were still unaware of the death of the named defendant after due and diligent inquiry and efforts to contact her, the un known defendants would include the heir or heirs at law. Ordinarily, it is not possible to ascertain the names and identity of heirs and devisees until the death of a person. The affidavit for publication, showing that Katie C. Johnson had not communicated with plaintiff in response to letters of inquiry sent to her last known address, and that no other information regarding her had been obtained after the described searches, warranted the designation of "all other persons unknown", etc., as defendants, since plaintiff could not be certain whether the named person was still living, nor whether third parties might claim some rights which did not appear of record.
While the judgment quieting title was ineffective as against Katie C. Johnson by reason of her death prior to commencement of the action, the service by publication was effective against her unknown heirs and all other unknown defendants, since it is not disputed that the clerk mailed copies of complaint and of summons describing the property to the named defendant at her last known addresses. Possibly, the heir at law obtained actual notice of such suit by the mailing of said copies of complaint and of summons. The second amended complaint does not allege facts which would permit a court to find that the affidavit for publication was either fraudulent or sham or misleading; nor that the affidavit was insufficient by reason of failure of plaintiff to engage someone to conduct an investigation at Butte, Montana. Cf. Liebhart v. Lawrence, 40 Utah 243, 120 P. 215.
The judgment of dismissal is affirmed. Costs to respondents.
PRATT, C. J., and LATIMER and McDONOUGH, JJ., concur.