Harms v. Sprague

William Harms (plaintiff) and his brother John owned property as joint tenants. John used his joint tenancy interest as collateral for a mortgage to Sprague (defendant) in connection with Sprague's separate purchase of nearby property, and John later died leaving his entire estate to Sprague. William sued to quiet title in the jointly-owned property, and Sprague counterclaimed that the mortgage had converted the ownership into a tenancy in common, leaving Sprague a co-owner subject to the mortgage lien on his share. The trial court agreed the mortgage severed the joint tenancy and found for Sprague, but the appellate court reversed, holding the mortgage did not shatter the joint tenancy and that William therefore owned the whole property free and clear; Sprague and his co-mortgagees appealed.