In order to finance the purchase of a property, the buyer received a loan and in return gave the lender a promissory note secured by a mortgage on the property. Subsequently, the buyer divided the property into two parcels, retaining one of the parcels and selling the other to a friend. The friend took the parcel subject to the mortgage. The buyer and the friend agreed that each would be liable for one-half of the outstanding mortgage. One year later the buyer disappeared. Since the buyer was no longer paying one-half of the mortgage obligation, the lender threatened to foreclose on the property. The friend paid off the outstanding balance of the loan. The applicable jurisdiction recognizes the lien theory of mortgages. Can the friend bring a foreclosure action against the buyer's parcel? A. Yes, because the friend is subrogated to the lender's rights in the parcel.
B. Yes, because the friend obtained ownership rights in his own parcel by purchase.
C. No, because the friend does not have an ownership interest in the parcel since the jurisdiction adheres to the lien theory of mortgages.
D. No, because the friend was not under a legal duty to pay the buyer's portion of the mortgage.