Levien v. Fiala

Albert J. and Shirley M. Fiala, holders of an unrecorded quit claim deed to a disputed strip of property, appeal a judgment quieting title to the property in the name of Wanda Levien, the adjacent property owner. Levien cross-appeals the trial court’s dismissal of her damage claims. Holding that Levien was a good faith purchaser for value and that the common grantor doctrine does not apply, we affirm.

Facts

In 1964, Ralph and Beverly Riddell purchased a piece of property described as Lot 25, Block 2, Lake Hills 17, in King County, Washington. In the 1970s, the Riddells constructed a wood fence…