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 Tennessee, a trespass to try title action, more commonly referred to as an action to quiet title, is a legal proceeding where a plaintiff seeks to resolve disputes over land ownership. The purpose of this action is to establish the plaintiff's clear title to the property by challenging any other claims to the property. If the defendant, who is the adverse claimant, cannot prove a legitimate interest in the land, they may be barred from asserting any future claims to that property. Tennessee's approach to these actions is governed by state statutes and case law. The process typically involves filing a complaint in the appropriate court, serving notice to any adverse claimants, and presenting evidence to support the plaintiff's title to the property. The court then makes a determination on the validity of the claims and may issue a judgment to 'quiet' or settle the title, thereby providing legal recognition of the plaintiff's ownership and eliminating the cloud on the title.