Arizona Supreme Court holds that property owners may quiet title to their property after the statute of limitations on a debt runs. The confusion comes from a 1914 case from the Arizona Supreme Court called Provident v. Schwerner. The court, over a hundred years ago, relied upon the notion that equity (clearing title) was not available to a mortgagor when his mortgage debt remained unpaid. In 1941, the legislature enacted A.R.S. § 12-1104, which states that a person may quiet title when the statute of limitations runs on an action to enforce a lien or judgment.  The argument was that a deed of trust is something different and remains even if the statute of limitations on the debt has expired. Provident conflicts with the statute. Under Arizona’s constitution, the common law is subordinated to the legislature. Further, equity cannot upset rights defined by statute. We agree with all of this, but doesn’t it feel strange that in 2025 we are overruling a 1914 Arizona Supreme Court decision by applying a 1941 statute?

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