There are many kinds of real estate disputes that turn into lawsuits. Some of the more common examples are boundary disputes, removal of clouds on title, adjudication of heirship and inheritance of land, and confirmation of tax sales.

Whenever a party files suit claiming an interest in land, that party is frequently required to deraign his title to the land.

What is deraignment of title?

Deraignment is the process of explaining how the plaintiff in a lawsuit obtained his title to the land. It often requires the plaintiff to begin with the original government owner of the land (often referred to as the “sovereign”). Then, each subsequent conveyance of the land is listed, ending with the conveyance to the plaintiff.

This can be expensive and time-consuming.

There are exceptions, however.

In Smith v. Overstreet, 38 So. 2d 923 (Miss. 1949), the Mississippi Supreme Court listed three situations in which full deraignment from the sovereign is not required. Those are:

1.     When the plaintiff claims the land by adverse possession. In that situation, it is sufficient to show (a) an original conveyance from the sovereign and (b) adverse possession by the plaintiff for at least 10 years.

2.     When the plaintiff claims the land as the result of a conveyance from the defendant.

3.     When the plaintiff and defendant claim title through a common source. An example would be when the defendant claims to have inherited a 100% interest in land, but in fact the plaintiff and defendant were both heirs of the prior owner.

Practice pointer: When filing suit regarding title to land, consider whether an exception to deraignment exists before incurring the time and expense of a full deraignment.

S. Craig Panter

Panter Law Firm, PLLC

601-607-3156

www.craigpanterlaw.com