Defendants in certain actions; plaintiff's complaint; plaintiff's
affidavit; notice; venue
Sec. 14. (a) This section applies to the following proceedings
brought in a state court concerning real estate or any interest in real
estate located in Indiana:
(1) An action to:
(A) quiet or determine title to;
(B) obtain title or possession of; or
(C) partition;
real estate.
(2) An action by an executor or administrator to:
(A) sell real estate to satisfy the debts of a decedent; or
(B) enforce or foreclose a mortgage or lien on real estate.
(b) A person who institutes a proceeding described in subsection
(a) may, under a circumstance set forth in subsection (c), name as a
defendant any of the following individuals:
(1) A person:
(A) who may have an interest in real estate that is the subject
of the proceeding; and
(B) whose name appears of record in a record concerning the
real estate.
(2) A person who bears one of the following relationships to a
former owner or encumbrancer of the real estate:
(A) Spouse.
(B) Widow or widower.
(C) Heir or devisee.
The person who institutes the proceeding does not have to know the
name of a person described in subdivision (2).
(c) A person who institutes a proceeding described in subsection
(a) may name an individual described in subsection (b) as a
defendant if public records in the county in which the real estate that
is the subject of the proceeding is located any of disclose the
following circumstances:
(1) There is a break or hiatus in the record title of real estate.
(2) There exists:
(A) a defect in;
(B) an apparent defect in; or
(C) a cloud upon;
the title of the real estate due to a defective or inaccurate legal
description of the real estate.
(3) There is no record that a grantor or mortgagor was
unmarried when the deed to or mortgage on the real estate was
executed.
(4) An instrument affecting the real estate, including a deed,
will, or mortgage, was not properly executed.
(5) A mortgage, vendor's lien, or other lien or encumbrance
affecting the real estate was not properly released.
(6) The person instituting the proceeding does not know:
(A) the name of another person who may claim an interest in
the real estate based on the other person's relationship to a
former owner, mortgagee, or encumbrancer of the real
estate; or
(B) whether another person, including a person described in
clause (A), who may have an interest in the real estate is
alive or dead.
(d) The plaintiff in a proceeding described in subsection (a) may
state the following in the complaint:
(1) The plaintiff asserts title to the real estate that is the subject
of the proceeding against all other persons.
(2) The purpose of the proceeding is to quiet the title to the real
estate.
(3) The plaintiff has named as defendants all persons whom the
party knows may have a claim to or interest in the real estate.
(e) The plaintiff shall file with the complaint an affidavit that
states the following:
(1) The complaint contains the names of all persons disclosed
by public record by or through whom a claim or interest in the
real estate may be asserted.
(2) The plaintiff does not know the following information about
a person described in subdivision (1):
(A) Whether the person is alive or dead.
(B) The person's legal residence.
(C) The person's marital status.
(D) If the person is or has been married, the name or address
of the person's spouse, widow, or widower.
(E) If the person is dead, whether the person has left any
heirs or devisees.
(F) The name or legal residence of an heir or devisee.
(3) The plaintiff claims full and complete right and title in the
real estate that is the subject of the proceeding described in
subsection (a).
(4) The plaintiff intends to quiet title to the real estate through
the proceeding.
(f) After the plaintiff files the complaint and affidavit, the plaintiff
shall file an affidavit for publication of notice under IC 34-32-1.
(g) After the plaintiff files the affidavit for publication of notice
described in subsection (f), the clerk of the county in which the real
estate that is the subject of the proceeding described in subsection (a)
is located shall publish notice of the following:
(1) The filing and pendency of the proceeding.
(2) The date on which the proceeding will take place.
(3) Designations and descriptions of any defendant whose name
and legal residence are unknown.
(4) A legal description of the real estate.
(5) The purpose of the proceeding, which is to quiet title to the
real estate.
(h) After the clerk publishes notice as set forth in subsection (g),
the clerk shall provide proof of the publication to the court in which
the proceeding described in subsection (a) is pending. Not earlier
than thirty (30) days after the last publication of notice, the court
may hear and determine all matters in the proceeding as if the
plaintiff had known and sued all possible claimants by their proper
names. All decrees, orders, and judgments issued by the court are
binding and conclusive on all parties and claimants. The proceeding
shall be taken as a proceeding in rem against the real estate.
(i) If the real estate that is the subject of the proceeding described
in subsection (a) is located in more than one (1) county, the plaintiff
may file a complaint in a court located in any county in which the
real estate is located. The plaintiff may not file a complaint in more
than one (1) court. The plaintiff shall publish notice of the complaint
in each county in which the real estate is located. The published
notice in each county shall contain the following:
(1) The legal description of the real estate that is located in that
county.
(2) The other counties in which the real estate is located.
(3) Notice that a certified copy of the final judgment in the
proceeding will be filed, not more than three (3) months after
the judgment is entered, in the recorder's office in each county
in which the real estate is located.
As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.15.
Last modified: May 24, 2006