Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
The Eddy County Commission is proceeding with the quiet title action for the former Mill Pump and Cheers. Eddy County State’s Attorney Ashley Lies reported on the status of the action at the June 4 county commission meeting. A quiet title action is a legal proceeding to determine who owns which rights in a tract of land. The proceeding is initiated when there is a conflict or uncertainty, as to who owns which legal interest in the tract, such as, more than one person claiming ownership of the property. In the case in the former Mill Pump and Cheers, the property came back to the county in lieu of taxes but has been unable to sell because of the uncertainty of ownership. The quiet title action is initiated by a party who feels they have ownership-interest in the land but are uncertain about the ownership interest of others. In this case, Eddy County will be commencing the action against all other parties who also claim an interest in the property. Other persons who have a claim to the property are directly notified of the legal proceeding.
The parties involved must establish that they have a claim to the land and request that all others with a claim to the land appear in court to present their claim. A court hearing will be held, and all interested persons will be allowed to present information or evidence of their claim to the land. After the hearing a judge will review each person's claim to the land and determine ownership. Essentially, the court "quiets" any dispute over the ownership of the land by determining who holds which interest in the property and establishing the validity and extent of each claim. This will allow the parties to proceed with future decisions, confident that the ownership of the property has been clarified.
Once the action is complete, either Eddy County will be able to move forward and confidently sell the property, or ownership will revert to the owner who held the contract for deed. In the latter case, the property would once again be placed on Eddy County’s tax roll.
Lies said the notification will be published as a public notice in the “New Rockford Transcript” for three weeks and then a copy will be mailed to the involved parties before a hearing is scheduled.
Lies also reported on her recent work, which has involved charging out several drug offenses and hunting violations as well as assisting both Foster and Wells counties.
The commissioners opened bids for the 1977 Caterpillar 140G Grader and accepted the high bid of $21,750 submitted by Stuart Richter.
In other business, the commission approved the gaming site authorization for the New Rockford Golf Club and agreed to enter $2,500 in the county budget for the Safe Alternatives for Abused Families (SAAF) shelter in Devils Lake.
