No action for the recovery of
land for which a tax deed was issued under the provisions of article 11 of this title for delinquent
taxes shall lie unless the same is brought within five years after the execution and delivery of the
deed therefor by the treasurer, any laws to the contrary notwithstanding; except that, when any
owner of such land, for which a tax deed has been issued, at the time of the execution and
delivery of the deed by the treasurer is under legal disability, it shall be lawful for him to bring a
suit or action for the recovery of the land within the period during which he has the right to make
redemption of such land from the tax sale upon which the deed is based. When a recovery of any
of such land is effected in any suit, action, or proceeding, the value of all improvements made in
good faith on such lands, and all sums paid for the tax lien on said land and for improvements,
and all costs incident to the issuance and recording of the treasurer's deed, and all taxes and
assessments paid thereon after the sale of the tax lien thereof, including the redemption value of
all tax sale certificates redeemed, held, or surrendered for redemption by the grantee in such
treasurer's deed or his heirs or assigns, shall be ascertained by the court or jury trying the action
for recovery and shall be paid, together with interest thereon at the rate of twelve percent per
annum, by the person recovering said land to the persons entitled thereto, and the payment of
such sum shall be a condition precedent to the entry of judgment or decree in such suit, action, or
proceeding. All such treasurer's deeds executed by the treasurer purporting to convey lands and
improvements thereon for all purposes shall be deemed to be color of title from and after the
time the same is recorded in the office of the county clerk and recorder for the county in which
said lands are located. The term "improvements" includes sums and amounts of money expended
thereon in good faith by the grantee and his successors and assigns in search of minerals and oil,
as well as other expenditures for the improvements of such lands which add to the cost and value
thereof.
Source: L. 64: R&RE, p. 743, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 137-12-1. L. 85: Entire section
amended, p. 1247, § 33, effective July 1.
Cross references: For limitation of actions with respect to persons under disability, see
article 81 of title 13.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
13
cases (
2 in the last 5 years), 1974–2024 · leading case:
Arnold v. Brent, 2024 COA 104 (Colo. Ct. App. 2024).
Arnold v. Brent, 2024 COA 104 (Colo. Ct. App. 2024).
· cites it 6× “Validity of the Treasurer’s Deed ¶ 10 We first note that section 39-12-101, C.R.S. 2024, places a five-year time limit on actions to recover land.”
Welsh v. Levy, 612 P.2d 80 (Colo. 1980).
· cites it 18× “” Welsh moved to dismiss, asserting that more than five years had elapsed since the execution and delivery of the treasurer’s deed, and thus the action was barred by section 39-12-101, C.R.S. 1973. The district court granted the motion to dismiss.”
Lake Canal Reservoir Co. v. Beethe, 227 P.3d 882 (Colo. 2010).
· cites it 3× “See § 39-12-101, C.R.S. (2009) (requiring that an action for the recovery of land for which a tax deed has been issued must be brought within five years after the issuance of the deed).”
People v. Carr, 524 P.2d 301 (Colo. 1974).
· cites it 3× “44, § 39-12-101 at 253 prohibits any direct appeal of a probation revocation order.”
Parkison v. Burley, 667 P.2d 780 (Colo. Ct. App. 1983).
· cites it 2× “The judgment is reversed and the cause is remanded with directions that the trial court determine the sums due under § 39-12-101, C.R.S.1973, and that upon payment of those sums, enter judgment for plaintiffs.”
People v. Bergstrom, 544 P.2d 396 (Colo. 1975).
· cites it 2× “44 § 39-12-101. [5] This error, argues appellant, was not cured when after the trial the court granted the People's motion to strike the statutory reference as surplusage.”
Levy v. Welsh, 612 P.2d 1135 (Colo. Ct. App. 1979).
· cites it 4× “Consequently, when defendant moved for summary judgment, a different judge heard the motion, found that defendant was in possession, and concluded that plaintiff’s claim was barred by § 39-12-101, C.R.S. 1973, the five-year statute of limitations.”
Notch Mountain Corp. v. Elliott, 898 P.2d 550 (Colo. 1995).
“§§ 39-12-101 to -113,16B C.R.S. (1994). As pertinent here section 39-12-103(1) provides: Real property for which a tax hen is sold under the provisions of Article 11 of this title as a result of delinquent taxes may be redeemed by the owner thereof or his agent, assignee, or…”
Charles F. Overton v. Clarence Chess (Colo. Ct. App. 2022).
· cites it 20× “Chess — Taxation — Property Tax — Redemption — Limitation of Actions for Recovery of Land — Improvements — Expenditures — Interest A division of the court of appeals considers from when interest accrues for certain types of expenditures under section 39-12-101, C.R.S. 2021. The…”
Wells Fargo Fin. Colo., Inc. v. Del Olivas, 410 P.3d 1284 (Colo. Ct. App. 2017).
· cites it 5× “If the court concludes that laches does not bar WFFC's claims, it shall address the request for declaratory relief contained in the prayer for relief in WCCF's amended complaint.”
LLC v. Johnson, 2019 COA 122 (Colo. Ct. App. 2019).
“Legal Disability and Guardianship ¶ 17 The statutes outlining the right of redemption do not define the phrase “under legal disability,” see §§ 39-12-101 to -113, C.R.S. 2018, and its plain and ordinary meaning is capable of alternative reasonable interpretations.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.