Comstock, Ferre & Co. v. Devlin

108 N.W. 888, 99 Minn. 68, 1906 Minn. LEXIS 383
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedJuly 27, 1906
DocketNos. 14,737—(154)
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 108 N.W. 888 (Comstock, Ferre & Co. v. Devlin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Comstock, Ferre & Co. v. Devlin, 108 N.W. 888, 99 Minn. 68, 1906 Minn. LEXIS 383 (Mich. 1906).

Opinion

ELLIOTT, J.

This is an action to determine adverse claims to lot 9, block 20, St. Anthony Falls City, Hennepin county. On January 1, 1849, Cheever, the holder of the patent title, deeded the land to Mansfield and Timson. During the same year Mansfield conveyed his interest to Timson, and on May 5, 1851, Timson conveyed to Hubbard, who died in 1877. On October 28, 1904, Hubbard’s heirs conveyed the lot to Margaret M. Devlin, the defendant and appellant in this action. On September 4, ,1880, the lot was sold under the 1877 judgment for the taxes of 1877, 1878, and 1879, for $13.30, to Albert Johnson. On January 10, 1882, Johnson sold and transferred the state assignment certificate to Comstock, Ferre & Co., the plaintiff and respondent herein. Johnson paid the subsequent taxes for the years from 1881 to 1902, except [70]*70for 1895 and 1896. The taxes for all these years, except 1881, 1882, and 1883, were paid before they became delinquent. The trial court found that the defendant was the owner of the lot, that the judgment under which the plaintiff acquired the tax title was void, and that the plaintiff was entitled to a lien on the lot for the subsequent taxes paid thereon with interest and for the foreclosure of the lien. The notice of expiration of time to redeem was issued November 2, 1904, and called for the payment of $13.30 only. It did not include the amount paid for subsequent taxes. No redemption was made. The appeal is from an order denying the defendant’s motion for a new trial.

No claim for the refundment of the amount paid at the tax sale is made, and the only question is as to the right of the plaintiff to a lien on the lot for the amount paid for subsequent taxes before they became delinquent.

1. The right of the respondent to a lien for subsequent taxes paid by him is secured by section 97, c. 1, p. 59, Laws 1878. The statute provides:

When a sale of lands as provided in this act is declared void by judgment of court, the judgment declaring it void shall state for what reason such sale is declared void. In all cases where any sale has been or hereinafter shall be so declared void, the money paid by the purchaser at the sale or by the assignee of the state upon taking the assignment shall, with interest at the rate of twelve per cent, per annum from the date of such payment, be returned to the purchaser or assignee, or the party holding his right, out of the county treasury, on the order of the county auditor, and so much of said money as has been paid into the state treasury shall be charged to the state by the county auditor, and deducted from the next money 'due the state on account Of taxes. Provided, that if such purchaser or assignee, or party holding his right shall, after such purchase, or assignment from the state, have paid taxes, penalties, or interest upon such piece or parcel of land, he shall have a lien on such piece or parcel for the amount of such taxes, penalties, and interest so paid, with interest thereon from the time of payment thereof, at the rate in this section provided, and may enforce such [71]*71lien by action, or if he be in possession of such piece or parcel, shall not be ejected therefrom until such amount and interest shall be paid.

It will be observed that this section gave to the holder of a tax title which has been adjudged void the right to (1) a refundment of the amount paid at the sale, with interest, and (2) a lien on the land for all taxes, penalties, or interest which he shall have paid subsequent to the purchase, and (3) the right to enforce the lien by action. The language is plain and unambiguous. But the appellant contends that (a) section 97 of the statute was repealed by section 19, c. 10, p. 30, Laws 1881, and that the respondent acquired no rights under it; (b) that if the statute is in force a lien can be acquired thereunder for taxes only which are delinquent when paid; and (c) that if the respondent ever acquired liens for these payments, the cause of action to enforce each lien accrued at the time the payment was made,,, and the statute of limitations ran against each right of action six years from the date of such payment.

2. The appellant’s contention that the word “delinquent” must be read into the statute does violence to the natural meaning of the language and is not required by the decision in Sprague v. Roverud, 34 Minn. 475, 26 N. W. 603. The argument rests largely upon the history of the sections of the act which provide that subsequent taxes paid by the holder of a valid tax title must be included in the amount required to redeem. It appears that section 128, c. 1, p. 62, Laws 1874, originally provided that if the tax purchaser should pay the taxes for the subsequent years, the amount of such payments should be added to, and be, a part of the money necessary to redeem from the sale. This act was amended by section 88, c. 1, p. 55, Laws 1878, by inserting the words, “after they shall have become delinquent.” Section 130, c. 1, p. 63, Laws 1874, providing for the amount necessary to redeem, provided for payment by the redemptioner of all subsequent payments of taxes whether delinquent or not when paid, and this was amended by section 90, c. 1, p. 56, Laws 1878, by inserting the word “delinquent” before the word “taxes.” Section 139, c. 1, p. 68, Laws 1874, provided that taxes accruing subsequent to the sale and paid by the purchaser, should bear interest. The section was amended by sec[72]*72tion 98, c. 1, p. 59, Laws .1878, but the word “delinquent” was not inserted in this section so as to make it correspond with the other two sections. In an action against the county auditor by the holder of a tax title from which redemption had been made without the payment of subsequent taxes which were not delinquent when paid, it was held that the sections must be construed together so as to give effect to the manifest intention of the legislature that the party redeeming should only be required to pay such subsequent taxes as were delinquent when paid by the holder of the tax title. Sprague v. Roverud, 34 Minn. 475, 26 N. W. 603. But the court was considering the various sections which related to the same subject-matter, while the section now under consideration covers completely the entire subject-matter to which it relates. Sections 88, 90, and 98 relate to redemption from a valid sale, while section 97 relates to and determines the rights of the holder of a tax title which has been declared void. As the sections considered in Sprague v. Roverud related to one subject, it was proper to infer that the legislature intended them to be consistent and form a complete system.

The remedy provided by section 97 is complete. It is not necessary that the sections relating to reimbursements should harmonize with those which relate to redemption and, as a matter of fact, the legislation with reference to the two subjects has differed in many material respects. In the statutes and the various amendments relating to refundment, the word “delinquent” has been systematically omitted, but the provisions relating to redemption show clearly that the intention has been to require the repayment of only such taxes as were delinquent when paid. The holder of a tax title may assume that it is valid and pay the future taxes on the land without reference to statutes providing for a lien. There is no reason why he should wait for the tax to become delinquent.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
108 N.W. 888, 99 Minn. 68, 1906 Minn. LEXIS 383, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/comstock-ferre-co-v-devlin-minn-1906.