Davidsen v. Salt Lake City

In Davidsen v. Salt Lake City, 95 Utah 347, 81 P.2d 374 (Utah 1938), the plaintiff had agreed to deed certain real property to the city. Id. at 374. When he sent the deed to an agent of the city, the plaintiff included a letter stating that the deed was conditioned on the city making certain improvements. Id. The agent, annoyed that the conditions had not been mentioned in previous negotiations, sent the deed to the city commission without the letter. Id. The city accepted the deed and thereafter had it recorded. Id. The plaintiff subsequently demanded that the conditions specified in the letter be met, and brought suit when the city refused. Id. at 374-75. In his suit, the plaintiff asked to have the deed set aside on the grounds of fraud, to quiet title, and for general relief. Id. at 374. The Court held that the statute of limitations applicable to actions for relief on the ground of fraud or mistake barred the plaintiff's entire suit, including the quiet title claim. Id. at 376-77. The statute of limitations was applicable despite the fact that the plaintiff sought to quiet title to the real property because the relief sought by the plaintiff was "that a deed which he executed to defendant be cancelled for fraud." Id. at 376. The Court stated that the plaintiff was seeking "affirmative relief other than removal of a cloud on his title." Id. The Court noted that the plaintiff could seek both to quiet title and to have the deed set aside in the same suit, "but if his relief in each case depends as here upon the cancellation of a deed for fraud or mistake, he must bring his quiet title action within the period provided by law for an action based on that ground." Id. at 376-77. Because the plaintiff's quiet title claim depended on the merits of the fraud claim, the statute of limitations applicable to fraud applied to the quiet title claim as well. Id.