Thomas M. Quintana Thomas M. Quintana as

This appeal arises from a sale of real estate. The principal issue is whether a vendor's lien must be foreclosed, as provided in a judgment, before the sellers employ other remedies against a defaulting purchaser. We are also asked to decide whether the judgment should be amended to direct that any sums collected from the purchaser be applied to an underlying mortgage on the property. The district court answered each question in the negative. For reasons explained below, we uphold the Judge's ruling on a motion to amend the judgment but we vacate his order on a motion relating to the vendor's lien. These issues arise from the sale of a ranch in Owyhee County. The circumstances surrounding the sale are complex and portrayed obscurely in the record before us. It appears that Thomas Quintana, et al., sold the property to Robert Anthony for $1,075,000. The price was to be paid by several means. First, the buyer agreed to discharge in part, and to assume in part, a debt secured by a mortgage against the ranch. Second, the buyer arranged for a third party to issue the sellers a promissory note, secured by a deed of trust on other property in California, and the buyer agreed to make payments on the note. Finally, the buyer agreed to make a substantial cash payment to the sellers. Performance of the buyer's obligations was not secured by any second mortgage on the ranch. The buyer defaulted. The sellers sued to collect the payments due to them and to the underlying mortgagee. The sellers also asserted a vendor's lien upon the ranch. The buyer counterclaimed for various alleged breaches of contract by the sellers.