Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. v. Rooney

Leben, J.:

From the time our state was founded, Kansas has had a constitutional provision prohibiting creditors from forcing a sale of a family’s homestead. Similar language has been included in statutes, and the Kansas Supreme Court has broadly interpreted them over the years. Even though court judgments generally constitute a lien against real estate, the Kansas Supreme Court determined in 1869 that a judgment lien had no effect against a homestead. Morris v. Ward, 5 Kan. 239, 244 (1869). Two judgment lienholders now claim that their liens became effective against a homestead at the time…