Court Opinion

ID: 9734732
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 17:44:39.479737+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:50.875926
License: Public Domain

OTIS, Justice
(dissenting).
The facts giving rise to these proceedings are undisputed. In 1974 the plaintiffs agreed to loan their son and daughter-in-law $5,700 for the purchase of a home in Bloomington on condition they be repaid from the proceeds when the property was sold. Subsequently the plaintiffs’ son and the defendant were divorced and defendant was awarded the home which she no longer occupies as her homestead.
All that the plaintiffs seek is a judicial determination that they have an enforceable claim against the property when it is sold, fashioned in a manner which will protect their interests against innocent third parties without notice.
Although it may be that the judgment in itself constitutes notice to third persons, since the court has found that plaintiffs do in fact have a legal interest in the proceeds of any sale of the home, I submit they are entitled to some equitable protection of that interest. To that end I would hold that the agreement in 1974 constituted an equitable lien which would give plaintiffs nothing more than what defendant bargained for. It would simply ensure that those who made the purchase of the home possible will ultimately receive what they have coming, free from the risk of losing their adjudicated rights.