1501 - Who may maintain an action.

§ 1501. Who may maintain an action. 1. Where a person claims an estate  or interest in real property; or where he claims such estate or interest  as  executor or administrator of a deceased person; or where a municipal  corporation has purchased an estate or interest in real  property  at  a  sale  conducted by it for unpaid taxes against the property and the time  within which redemption from such sale may be made has expired and  such  municipal  corporation  claims it; such person or municipal corporation,  as the case may be, may maintain an action  against  any  other  person,  known   or  unknown,  including  one  under  disability  as  hereinafter  specified, to compel the determination of any claim adverse to  that  of  the  plaintiff  which  the defendant makes, or which it appears from the  public records, or from the allegations of the complaint, the  defendant  might make; provided, however, that where the estate or interest claimed  by  the  plaintiff  is  for  a  term  of  years,  the  action may not be  maintained unless the balance remaining of such term  of  years  is  not  less than five.    2.  Such  action  may be maintained, even though the defendant's claim  appears to be invalid on its face, or the court may  have  to  determine  the death of a person, or any statutory limitation of time, or any other  question of fact or law upon which an adjudication of the adverse claims  of the parties may depend.    3.  An action against a woman who claims a right of dower in the whole  or a part of the property cannot be commenced until  the  expiration  of  four months after the death of defendant's husband.    4.  Where  the  period allowed by the applicable statute of limitation  for the commencement of an action to foreclose a mortgage, or to enforce  a vendor's lien, has expired, any person having an estate or interest in  the real property subject to such encumbrance  may  maintain  an  action  against  any  other  person  or persons, known or unknown, including one  under disability as hereinafter specified, to  secure  the  cancellation  and  discharge  of record of such encumbrance, and to adjudge the estate  or interest of the plaintiff in such real property to be free therefrom;  provided, however, that no such action shall be maintainable in any case  where the mortgagee, holder of the vendor's lien, or  the  successor  of  either  of  them shall be in possession of the affected real property at  the time of the commencement of the action. In any action brought  under  this  section  it  shall  be  immaterial whether the debt upon which the  mortgage or lien was based has, or has not, been paid; and also  whether  the  mortgage in question was, or was not, given to secure a part of the  purchase price.    5. The interest had by  any  mortgagee  or  contract  vendee  of  real  property  or  by  any  successor  in  interest  of either of them, is an  "interest in real property" as that phrase is used in  this  article  of  the real property actions and proceedings law.