§668A-8 Cotenant buyout. (a) If any cotenant requested partition by sale, after the determination of value under section 668A-7, the special master shall send notice to the parties that any cotenant except a cotenant that requested partition by sale may buy the interest of any cotenant that requested partition by sale.
(b) Not later than forty-five days after the notice is sent under subsection (a), any cotenant except a cotenant that requested partition by sale may give notice to the court that it elects to buy all the interests of the cotenants that requested partition by sale.
(c) The purchase price for each of the interests of a cotenant that requested partition by sale is the value of the entire parcel determined under section 668A-7 multiplied by that cotenant's fractional ownership of the entire parcel.
(d) After expiration of the period in subsection (b), the following rules shall apply:
(1) If only one cotenant elects to buy all the interests of the cotenants that requested partition by sale, the special master shall notify all the parties of that fact;
(2) If more than one cotenant elects to buy all the interests of the cotenants that requested partition by sale, the court shall allocate the right to buy those interests among the electing cotenants based on each electing cotenant's existing fractional ownership of the entire parcel divided by the total existing fractional ownership of all cotenants electing to buy and the special master shall send notice to all the parties of that fact and of the price to be paid by each electing cotenant; and
(3) If no cotenant elects to buy all the interests of the cotenants that requested partition by sale, the special master shall send notice to all the parties of that fact and resolve the action for partition under section 668A‑9(a) and (b).
(e) If the special master sends notice to the parties under subsection (d)(1) or (2), the court shall set a date, not earlier than sixty days after the date the notice was sent, by which electing cotenants must pay their apportioned price into the court. After the deadline for payment set by the court, the following rules shall apply:
(1) If all electing cotenants timely pay their apportioned price, the court shall issue an order reallocating all the interests of the cotenants and disburse the amounts held by the court to the persons entitled to them;
(2) If no electing cotenant timely pays its apportioned price, the court shall resolve the action for partition under section 668A-9(a) and (b), as if the interests of the cotenants that requested partition by sale were not purchased; and
(3) If one or more but not all the electing cotenants fail to timely pay their apportioned price, the court, on motion, shall direct the special master to give notice to the electing cotenants that paid their apportioned price of the interest remaining and the price for that interest. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, for any notice that the special master is required to give pursuant to this paragraph, the movant for notice to be given to electing cotenants pursuant to this paragraph shall deliver to the court a notice in blank to be completed by the special master with sufficient copies for service on the electing cotenants along with envelopes stamped with sufficient postage and addressed to each electing cotenant. The court may direct the movant to provide notice of the value by any other means.
(f) No later than twenty days after the special master gives the notice pursuant to subsection (e)(3), any cotenant that paid may elect to purchase the remaining interest by paying the entire price to the court. After the twenty-day period, the following rules shall apply:
(1) If only one cotenant pays the entire price for the remaining interest, the court shall issue an order reallocating the remaining interest to that cotenant. The court shall promptly issue an order reallocating all the interests of all the cotenants and disburse the amounts held by the court to the persons entitled to them;
(2) If no cotenant pays the entire price for the remaining interest, the court shall resolve the partition action under section 668A-9(a) and (b), as if the interests of the cotenants that requested partition by sale were not purchased; and
(3) If more than one cotenant pays the entire price for the remaining interest, the court shall reapportion the remaining interest among those paying cotenants, based on each paying cotenant's original fractional ownership of the entire parcel divided by the total original fractional ownership of all cotenants that paid the entire price for the remaining interest. The court shall promptly issue an order reallocating all the cotenants' interests, disburse the amounts held by the court to the persons entitled to them, and promptly refund any excess payment held by the court to the appropriate cotenant.
(g) No later than forty-five days after the special master sends notice to the parties pursuant to subsection (a), any cotenant entitled to buy an interest under this section may request the court to authorize the sale of the interests of cotenants named as defendants and served with the complaint but that did not appear in the action as part of the pending action.
(h) If the court receives a timely request under subsection (g), the court, after hearing, may deny the request or authorize the requested additional sale on such terms as the court determines are fair and reasonable, subject to the following limitations:
(1) A sale authorized under this subsection may occur only after the purchase prices for all interests subject to sale under subsections (a) through (f) have been paid into the court and those interests have been reallocated among the cotenants as provided in those subsections; and
(2) The purchase price for the interest of an absent cotenant is based on the court's determination of value under section 668A-7.
(i) The cotenant requesting partition by sale shall be liable for reasonable court fees. [L 2016, c 260, pt of §1; am L 2017, c 12, §75]