Adams v. Nibbor Realty Co.

93 N.E.2d 727, 57 Ohio Law. Abs. 241, 1950 Ohio App. LEXIS 839
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 8, 1950
DocketNo. 21686
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 93 N.E.2d 727 (Adams v. Nibbor Realty Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Adams v. Nibbor Realty Co., 93 N.E.2d 727, 57 Ohio Law. Abs. 241, 1950 Ohio App. LEXIS 839 (Ohio Ct. App. 1950).

Opinion

OPINION

By McNAMEE, J:—

The issue presented by this appeal relates to the tax title of a purchaser of forfeited land theretofore registered under the Torrens Title Law (§8572-1, §8572-118 GC) and may be stated thus:

Where a purchaser at a tax sale theretofore registered under §8572-1 GC, et seq., receives a deed from the County Auditor and thereafter in proceedings in the Court of Common Pleas seeks to have the title registered in her, — is it error for the court to refuse to register said tax title subject to future installments of assessments, for the reason that notice of the legislation authorizing the assessments and a list of the lands to be assessed was not filed with the County Recorder as required by §8572-56 GC, which was in effect at the time the assessments were levied?

From the agreed statement of facts the following are recited as sufficient to an understanding of the decision reached herein.

Prior to 1925, the title to the land in question was registered pursuant to §8572-1 GC et seq. Between the years 1925 and 1930 the Village of Parma (hereinafter called Parma) levied assessments on the land to defray the cost of sewer and water improvements installed in Ridgewood Avenue on which the land abuts. Bonds were issued in anticipation of the collection of the assessments. These assessments were certified to the Auditor of Cuyahoga County and placed upon the tax duplicate for collection, but Parma failed to file with the County [243]*243Recorder notice of the passage of the assessment ordinance and other pertinent information as then required by §8572-56 GC. In 1938 Parma refunded its outstanding assessment bonds and reassessed and re-spread the unpaid portion of said assessments and the remaining future installments over twenty-eight annual installments from 1938 to 1965, inclusive. The re-assessments were certified to the County Auditor for collection. In 1948, the land was forfeited to the State for nonpayment of taxes, assessments, penalties and interest and pursuant to appropriate proceedings was sold to the plaintiff at tax sale on June 7,1948. Prior to the sale the County Auditor advertised the same in booklet form as follows:

“10826-Nibbor Realty Company, The: M 443-15-12; SL 61; Ridgewood Gardens Subd; Blake Tr. O. L. 5; 40 ft. front; st. Ridgewood Ave., near W. 60 St. V $220. DT 392.84. FA 114.90 (Torrens).”

Before receiving the bids at public auction, the Auditor caused this advertisement to be read in full. At the time of the sale plaintiff had actual knowledge that the improvements had been installed; that the cost thereof had been assessed against the land and duly certified to the County Auditor of collection and listed upon the tax duplicate. She also knew that the sum of $114.90 following “FA” as it appears in the advertisement, represented the amount of future installments of re-assessments upon the land. Upon receiving the Auditor’s deed, plaintiff instituted this action in the court of common pleas to register the title to the land under §8572-1 GC et seq., and prayed that said title be registered free of all liens and encumbrances.

Parma as defendant, filed its answer and a cross-petition in which it asked that the court register plaintiff’s title subject to the lien of the future installments of the re-spread assessments. The court ordered that the title be registered free of all encumbrances except taxes and assessments “not abated by the sale” but dismissed Parma’s cross-petition. It is this latter action of the court that is assigned as error.

Sec. 8572-56 GC in effect at the time the assessments were levied, required as a prerequisite to the imposition of an assessment lien upon registered land that notice of the legislation levying the assessments and a list of the lands assessed or to be assessed be filed promptly with the county recorder.

In Curry v. Lybarger, 133 Oh St 55, it was held that the validity of assessment liens levied prior to the repeal of §8572-58 GC (in 1937) were conditioned upon compliance with [244]*244the terms of that section. The assessments here involved being levied prior to the repeal of §8572-56 GC, must be deemed not to have been valid liens upon the registered land in question prior to its forfeiture to the state.

About two years after its decision in the Curry case, the Supreme Court in Amrich v. Boyle, 136 Oh St 325, held that notwithstanding the failure of the municipality levying assessments upon registered land to comply with §8572-56 GC, an owner who petitioned for the improvements for which the assessments were levied was estopped from preventing their collection by the county treasurer.

In Shaker Corlett Land Co. v. Cleveland, 139 Oh St 536, the principle of the Amrich case was extended to include the immediate grantee of a petitioning owner of registered land and the court held that such a grantee was precluded from asserting the invalidity of the assessment liens although in that case also, there was a failure of the taxing authority to comply with the requirements of §8572-56 GC.

In Lauriel Hill Land Co. v. Collister, 43 Oh Ap 229, this court held that the owner of registered land, whose deed from a private corporation contained a reservation of right in the grantor to petition for improvements,' was estopped to deny the validity of assessments levied in payment of improvements petitioned for by the grantor. The foregoing authorities illustrate the principle that under appropriate circumstances Courts will apply the doctrine of equitable estoppel in denial of a claim of the owner of registered land, that assessment liens are invalid because of the failure of the taxing authorities to comply with §8572-56 GC. Indeed such is the weight accorded this equitable principle that in Groene v. Boyle, 141 Oh St 553, the three dissenting members of the court were of the opinion that its application ought to be extended to a case where the owner of registered lands did not petition for the improvements but merely “stood by” and allowed them to be made.

Upon similar equitable principles the common pleas court of Cuyahoga County in Robinson v. Euclid, 34 O. O. 94, held that a purchaser at a tax sale of land theretofore registered under the Torrens Act was bound by the terms of the auditor’s deed which provided that the property was subject to taxes and assessments and in addition recited that the grantee “assumed and agreed to pay the taxes and assessments.” The decision of the common pleas court in the Robinson case was affirmed by this court without opinion and was dismissed by the Supreme Court because of the failure of appellant therein to file a proper bill of exceptions. 146 Oh St 627. In the [245]*245Robinson case there was no legislative sanction for the inclusion in the tax deed of the exceptions of taxes and assessments, §5762 GC, as then in effect, provided that a grantee of an auditor’s deed at tax sale was invested with a new and perfect title, free from all liens and encumbrances, “except such easements and covenants running with the land as were created prior to the time the taxes and assessments for the non-payment of which the land was forfeited became due and payable.”

Whether the action of the auditor in enlarging the exceptions in the tax deed in the Robinson case beyond the scope of §5762 GC, to include taxes and assessments was within his authority is open to question. But there is little doubt of the correctness of the decision that held the grantee of the tax deed to be estopped to deny the validity of the exceptions included therein.

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Related

Gundersen v. South Euclid (City)
107 N.E.2d 380 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 1951)

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Bluebook (online)
93 N.E.2d 727, 57 Ohio Law. Abs. 241, 1950 Ohio App. LEXIS 839, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/adams-v-nibbor-realty-co-ohioctapp-1950.