Opinion ID: 2048394
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Enforcement by Judicial Sale.

Text: Defendants also contend that, even if the court correctly held that the plaintiffs can impose a constructive trust or equitable lien on the homestead property to the extent of traceable trust proceeds, it was error for the court to hold that the lien could be enforced by execution, levy, and judicial sale of the property. Iowa Code section 561.16 provides that homestead property is exempt from judicial sale, absent special declaration of statute to the contrary. Having already concluded that the homestead nature of the property does not prevent the imposition of an equitable lien for traceable trust proceeds, it would be incongruous to leave the plaintiffs without a method to enforce that lien. A similar contention was addressed in Bush v. Gaffney, 84 S.W.2d 759 (Tex.Civ.App.1935). In that case the court upheld the imposition of an equitable lien against the defendants' homestead property which was acquired partly with funds they had fraudulently acquired from the plaintiff. The defendants argued that the property had been partly acquired with their own legitimate funds, and therefore, it was error for the lower court to order a sheriff's sale of the property rather than order a proportionate division of the property interests. The court rejected that contention, stating that the defendants' proposition would have resulted in forcing the plaintiff to purchase the defendants' interest in the property to get relief. The court concluded that the only practical method of making the plaintiff whole was to enforce the lien against the property. 84 S.W.2d at 763. Other courts, while not addressing the propriety of sale versus other methods of enforcement, have affirmed orders directing execution and sale of homestead property in these circumstances. E.g., Tabish v. Smith, 572 P.2d at 380; Mack v. Marvin, 211 Ark. 715, 725, 202 S.W.2d 590, 596 (1947); Duhart v. O'Rourke, 99 Cal.App.2d 277, 280, 221 P.2d 767, 769 (1950).