New Mexico has a long history of conflict over Spanish and Mexican land grants. Who can forget the violence and turmoil which arose out of Reies Lopez Tijerina's 1967 raid on the Rio Arriba courthouse? Spanish and Mexican land grants have a long history in the state. Under Spanish rule the Governor of New Mexico made private land grants to individuals for their service to the crown or for other reasons. This practice continued under the Mexican Government (an individual grant). A second type of land grant, the community grant, was made to communities, town, colonies or pueblos or to individuals for the purpose of founding a town or community. When the United States defeated Mexico in the Mexican-American war, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo sought to preserve the land grants ownership by a system of private land claims courts. The results were mixed. For example the famous Beaubien Miranda Grant (better known as the Maxwell Land Grant) allegedly grew from a few thousand acres to a vast holding of several hundred thousand acres (now owned by Ted Turner).
The most recent chapter in the land grant wars is occuring in Taos and is bringing real estate transactions, lending on real estate collateral and the real estate business in Taos to an almost total halt. Two old Spanish land grants are involved. The Cristobal de la Serna grant is about 22,000 acres and covers much of the town of Taos. The other grant is the Arryo Hondo grant, which occupies an area to the North and West of the town. Because of its location, I will deal principally with the Serna grant. In late 2010 an individual granted to the Trustees of the Serna grant and to the heirs of grantees of the Serna grant, a warranty deed and quit claim deeds which purports to convey the Cristobal de la Serna grant to the Trustees and the heirs. Similar action occurred on the Arryo Hondo grant.
The town's two title companies began issuing commitments which excepted claims by the trustees or heirs to the two grants. Bank lending on real estate within the town boundaries and within the Serna grant effectively ceased. Several transactions for sale of Taos proprieties were terminated.
On April 14 the Town of Taos filed suit against the grantor of the Serna warranty deed and quitclaim, the five trustees of the Serna grant and "the Heirs of the La Merced de la Serna, Diego Romero and their assigns." The suit seeks a declaratory judgment that the deeds are void and should be set aside. Most interestingly, the person who signed and recorded the deeds and the five trustees have all signed waivers of service and consent to the declaratory judgment as sought by the Town.
Is it over? No. There are several hurdles ahead, most likely all navigable with skill, but consider the following factors. The judge assigned to the case, Judge Sanchez has resigned under pressure from the N.M. Supreme Court. The alleged "heirs of Serna and Romero and their assigns" must be served in manner acceptable to New Mexico rules and court precedent. Service upon those people, whoever they are, may not effective unless care is taken. A hearing date must be set for those heirs to appear and contest the Taos complaint and then the judge must be satisfied. One bright spot: in 1984 a respected Taos judge held that the Serna grant was a private grant and the trustees or heirs had no standing to make any claim against the then owners. Whether that decision will have any impact in the present dispute cannot be assured.
Will the title companies be satisfied? A recent quote in the April 25 Taos News quoted one of the title company management as being unsure, depending on how the heirs responded and the procedures used. And as every banker and businessman knows if the title companies will not change their attitude toward this dispute, the freeze on real estate transactions will continue. Even it the title companies are satisfied, the course of serving the heirs in person or by publication, the hearing and final decision could take months.
Land grants are mainly a feature of the Spanish colonization down the Rio Grande and therefore the Taos land grant battle is not likely to have any direct impact on real estate lending in other parts of the state. However, when an important art and tourist center of the State is effectively put in a situation where normal commerce cannot go forward, all of the state suffers.
This Blog was written with the assistance of Paula Cook and Michael R. Comeau , partners in Comeau, Maldegen, Templeman and Indall, LLP. Ms/ Cook (pcook@cmtissantafe.com) practices extensively in complex real estate and title matters and Mr. Comeau (mcomeau@cmtissantafe.com) is a litigator in bank and complex litigation.
Marshall G. Martin
Comeau, Maldegen, Templeman and Indall, LLP
(505) 982 4611
mmartin@cmtisantafe.com
"much of the Town of Taos" is overstating the facts. The northern boundary is south of town, leaving the vast majority of the town out of the grant. Now, if you're talking about Ranchos de Taos, that's a different story.
ReplyDeleteWell written article and I understood the complexities better.
ReplyDelete