In re Hansen
Supreme Court of North Dakota
458 N.W.2d 264 (1990)
The Hansens owned surface and mineral rights subject to a first mortgage held by the Bank of North Dakota (BND) and a second mortgage on the surface only, held by State Bank of Towner (SBT). After the Hansens defaulted and BND foreclosed, SBT asked the court to marshal assets by selling the mineral estate first to protect its junior interest in the surface; BND wanted both sold together, and Dianna Hansen wanted the surface sold first, in seven specifically sequenced parcels. The trial court sold the minerals first, in Hansen's requested seven parcels, generating enough to satisfy the foreclosure judgment; Hansen appealed, arguing her sequencing right entitled her to have the surface sold first instead.
Whether a defaulting mortgagor's right to designate the sequence of sale of parcels of land automatically defeats a junior mortgagee's right to invoke equitable principles of marshaling.