Harris v. Crowder
Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia
322 S.E.2d 854 (W. Va. 1984)
Mr. and Mrs. Crowder (defendants) jointly owned land as husband and wife, and one of Mr. Crowder's creditors, Harris (plaintiff), holding a judgment lien against him, sued to force a judicial sale of the property to satisfy the lien, since the property could not practically be partitioned in kind. Mrs. Crowder, who had no personal debt to Harris, moved to dismiss the action, and the trial court certified to the state supreme court the question whether a creditor of only one joint tenant could force a judicial sale of the entire jointly-held property.
Whether a creditor of one joint tenant may force partition of jointly-held property, either in kind or by sale, when doing so would prejudice the interest of the other, non-debtor joint tenant.