Opinion ID: 1112737
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Heading: The Liability of Albert Owen under the express covenants of title contained in his warranty deed.

Text: The deed executed by Albert Owen, an unmarried man, purporting to convey property to James and Cheryl Owen, contained the following express covenants of title: a covenant of seizin; a covenant of right to convey; a covenant for quiet enjoyment; a covenant against encumbrances; and a covenant of warranty. See Wolff v. Woodruff, 258 Ala. 1, 61 So.2d 69 (1952); Blaum v. May, 245 Ala. 156, 16 So.2d 329 (1944); Russell v. Belsher, 221 Ala. 360, 128 So. 452 (1930); Mackintosh v. Stewart, 181 Ala. 328, 61 So. 956 (1913); Tuskegee Land & Security Co. v. Birmingham Realty Co., 161 Ala. 542, 49 So. 378 (1909). See also 21 C.J.S. Covenants §§ 40, 41, 42, 45 and 47 (1940). Of these covenants, however, only the covenants of quiet enjoyment and warranty are said to operate in futuro for the benefit of the ultimate grantee. Musgrove v. Cordova Coal, Land & Improvement Co., 191 Ala. 419, 422, 67 So. 582, 583 (1914). Until broken, these two covenants run with the land to the heirs of the grantee, or if the land is conveyed or assigned, to the assignee, so that when they are broken, the heir or assignee injured by the breach can maintain an action against the covenantor. 20 Am.Jur.2d, Covenants, Conditions, Etc., § 51 (1965), Cummings v. Alexander, 233 Ala. 10, 169 So. 310 (1936); Prestwood v. McGowin, 128 Ala. 267, 29 So. 386 (1900). Thus, it is generally recognized and held that when a covenant of title runs with the land, all grantors, back to and including the original grantor-covenantor, become liable upon a breach of the covenant to the assignee or grantee in possession or entitled to the possession at the time, and the latter may sue the original or remote grantor, regardless of whether he has taken from the immediate grantor with a warranty. 21 Am.Jur.2d, Covenants, Conditions, Etc. § 119 (1965). Because the covenants of quiet enjoyment and of warranty are virtually identical in operation, whatever constitutes a breach of one covenant is a breach of the other. Prestwood v. McGowin, supra, 128 Ala. at 272, 29 So. at 388; 20 Am.Jur.2d, Covenants, Conditions, Etc. § 50 (1965). Neither covenant is breached until there is an eviction under paramount title. Blaum v. May, supra, 245 Ala. at 158, 16 So.2d at 331. The eviction may be either actual or constructive. Prestwood v. McGowin, supra, 128 Ala. at 272, 29 So. at 388. It has been said that an outstanding title that could be asserted in a judicial proceeding against the party in possession is equivalent to an eviction. Musgrove v. Cordova Coal, Land & Improvement Co., 191 Ala. at 423, 67 So. at 583. Likewise, a final judgment or decree adverse to the covenantee's title or right to possession constitutes a sufficient constructive eviction to entitle the covenantee to sue for breach of the covenant of warranty. 20 Am.Jur.2d, Covenants, Conditions, Etc., § 62 (1965). Here, the breach occurred when the trial court ruled in the foreclosure proceedings that Dennis Carlisle possessed no interest in the property which had been mortgaged, thereby frustrating GECC's attempt to foreclose on the property purportedly conveyed to Carlisle in fee simple. We hold that the covenant of quiet enjoyment and warranty provided by the terms of the warranty deed executed by Albert Owen ran with the land purportedly conveyed by that instrument. We further hold that because someone other than the original grantor-covenantor in fact possessed paramount title, appellant is entitled to assert a claim for the breach of the covenants of title, as its subrogor was the ultimate grantee or assignee who was in possession at the time the covenants were broken.