Joondeph v. Hicks

Hicks (plaintiff) held a junior lien on the Londres' property, and when the senior lienholder released its lien, Hicks believed his own lien moved into first position; a court instead found the Londres were themselves equitably subrogated into the former senior lienholder's spot because they'd had no knowledge of Hicks's lien, leaving Hicks still junior. The Londres later sold the property to the Joondephs (defendants), who knew about Hicks's lien, via a deed that excepted Hicks's lien from its title warranties; when Hicks sued again to clarify title, the trial court ruled the Londres had conveyed their equitably subrogated senior position to the Joondephs under a theory of "derivative" equitable subrogation, again leaving Hicks junior. The appellate court reversed, and the Joondephs appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court.