A trespass to try title action—sometimes known as an action to quiet title—is a lawsuit against a party who claims an interest in a piece of real property (land).

In a trespass to try title action, the plaintiff seeks to establish the plaintiff’s title (ownership interest) in the land by forcing the adverse claimant (the defendant) to establish or prove an interest in the land or be forever estopped (precluded) from asserting an interest in the land. The resolution of such a lawsuit is designed to settle or quiet a disputed claim to title or ownership of the land.

Laws regarding claims for trespass to try title vary from state to state and may be located in a state’s statutes or in its court opinions (common law or case law). The terms used for such a claim may also vary and in some states there may be a distinction between a trespass to try title claim and a quiet title claim—or a quiet title claim may be treated as an informal reference to a trespass to try title claim.

In Hawaii, an action to quiet title, which is similar to a trespass to try title action, is a legal proceeding used to resolve disputes over the ownership of real property. The purpose of a quiet title action is to establish a party's title against anyone and everyone, and thus 'quiet' any challenges or claims to the title. This type of lawsuit requires the plaintiff to prove their ownership of the property in question and compels any adverse claimants to prove their claim to the property or lose their ability to assert it in the future. Hawaii's quiet title actions are governed by state statutes, specifically Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 669. These statutes outline the procedures for filing a quiet title action, including the necessary pleadings, the parties that must be named in the lawsuit, and the type of notice required to be given to potential claimants. The resolution of a quiet title action in Hawaii results in a court judgment that clarifies the ownership of the property, thereby providing a clear title to the prevailing party.