Opinion ID: 2602159
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment and Covenant of Warranty

Text: ¶ 46 Finally, we address whether the trial court properly granted summary judgment on Holmes's claim that Cook Development breached the covenants of warranty and quiet enjoyment. According to the covenant of quiet enjoyment, a grantor warrants that the grantee may possess and quietly enjoy the land. Utah Code Ann. § 57-1-12 (2000) (providing that grantor guarantees the grantee, his heirs, and assigns in the quiet possession of premises conveyed); see also Spiegle v. Seaman, 160 N.J.Super. 471, 390 A.2d 639, 645 (App.Div. 1978). The covenant of warranty is that the grantor will warrant and defend the title of the grantee against rightful claims regarding the title conveyed. Utah Code Ann. § 57-1-12 (providing that grantor covenants that grantor, his heirs, and personal representatives will forever warrant and defend the title... in the grantee ... against all lawful claims); see also Spiegle, 390 A.2d at 645; Morgan v. Reese, 99 Ohio App. 473, 134 N.E.2d 581, 585 (1954); City of Beaumont v. Moore, 146 Tex. 46, 202 S.W.2d 448, 453 (1947). In Utah, both the covenant of warranty and the covenant of quiet possession are synonymous `since the same occurrence of circumstances is necessary to their breach,' they both run with the land, and `the rule of damages is the same in [each].' Van Cott v. Jacklin, 63 Utah 412, 415, 226 P. 460, 461 (1924) (citation omitted). Thus, for purposes of analysis, we consider these covenants simultaneously. ¶ 47 To establish a breach of the covenants of warranty and quiet enjoyment, ordinarily a grantee must show that the grantee was evicted from the property purportedly conveyed via the warranty deed by one with paramount or better title. Christiansen v. Utah-Idaho Sugar Co., 590 P.2d 1251, 1253 (Utah 1979); E. Canyon Land & Stock Co. v. Davis & Weber Counties Canal Co., 65 Utah 560, 564, 238 P. 280, 281 (1925); see also Van Cott, 63 Utah at 416, 226 P.2d at 461. Eviction can be either actual or constructive. Christiansen, 590 P.2d at 1253; Soderberg v. Holt, 86 Utah 485, 500, 46 P.2d 428, 434 (1935); E. Canyon Land & Stock Co., 65 Utah at 565-66, 238 P. at 281-82. ¶ 48 Before the grantee can recover for breach of these covenants, based upon either an actual or a constructive eviction, the grantee must establish that title has been affirmatively asserted against the grantee's title and possession, and that the title thus asserted is paramount or superior to the grantee's title. Christiansen, 590 P.2d at 1253; see also Lewis v. Jetz Serv. Co., 27 Kan.App.2d 937, 9 P.3d 1268, 1270 (2000); Stevenson v. Ecklund, 263 Mont. 61, 865 P.2d 296, 298-99 (1993); Omega Chem. Co. v. Rogers, 246 Neb. 935, 524 N.W.2d 330, 335 (1994); Schneider v. Lipscomb County Nat'l Farm Loan Ass'n, 146 Tex. 66, 202 S.W.2d 832, 834 (1947). Paramount title is one that would prevail over another title in an action or one that would be otherwise successfully asserted against another's title. Omega Chem. Co., 524 N.W.2d at 335; see also Family Fin. Fund v. Abraham, 657 P.2d 1319, 1324-25 (Utah 1982); E. Canyon Land & Stock Co., 65 Utah at 564-68, 238 P. at 281-83. ¶ 49 Consistent with these general rules, when a claim of paramount title to property has been defeated, the grantee cannot show eviction and the grantor has not breached the covenants of warranty or quiet enjoyment. Bloom v. Hendricks, 111 N.M. 250, 804 P.2d 1069, 1074 (1991); cf. St. Paul Title Ins. Corp. v. Owen, 452 So.2d 482, 485 (Ala.1984) ([A] final judgment or decree adverse to the covenantee's title or right of possession constitutes a sufficient constructive eviction to entitle the covenantee to sue for breach of the covenant of warranty. (emphasis added)). ¶ 50 In this case, Holmes failed to establish that paramount or superior title has been affirmatively asserted against Holmes's title and possession. Aside from Holmes's title, the only other claim to the property that has been asserted was Keystone's claim of ownership for which Keystone instigated the Keystone litigation to quiet title to the 323-acre parcel. In that suit, the trial court quieted title to the parcel in Holmes, which conclusively established that Holmes's title to the 323-acre parcel is paramount to any claim Keystone has to the property. ¶ 51 Accordingly, Holmes cannot show that it was ever evicted, either actually or constructively, because Holmes remains in possession of the 323-acre parcel and Holmes's title is not subject to a paramount title. Therefore, inasmuch as Holmes cannot show that it has been evicted from the 323-acre parcel, Holmes cannot show that Cook Development breached the covenants of warranty and quiet enjoyment.