Gordonville Corp. v. LR1-A Ltd. Partnership

856 A.2d 746, 151 N.H. 371, 2004 N.H. LEXIS 157
CourtSupreme Court of New Hampshire
DecidedAugust 31, 2004
DocketNo. 2004-023
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 856 A.2d 746 (Gordonville Corp. v. LR1-A Ltd. Partnership) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of New Hampshire primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gordonville Corp. v. LR1-A Ltd. Partnership, 856 A.2d 746, 151 N.H. 371, 2004 N.H. LEXIS 157 (N.H. 2004).

Opinion

Galway, J.

The defendant, LR1-A Limited Partnership, appeals orders from the Superior Court (O’Neill, J.) denying both its motion to dismiss and its cross-motion for summary judgment. We affirm.

The relevant facts follow. Lakeview Village, Inc. and its successor (Lakeview) owned property in Wakefield. The defendant held two mortgages on that property. In May 1997, the Town of Wakefield (Town) notified the defendant of its intent to take the property because of unpaid property taxes, and on June 30, 1997, the property was deeded to the Town by .tax deed. As a result of the tax deed, the defendant’s mortgages were extinguished. See RSA80:77-a (2003).

In July 2000, Lakeview paid all outstanding taxes and associated costs to the Town in order to repurchase the property pursuant to RSA 80:89. Lakeview obtained the necessary funds from the plaintiff, Gordonville Corporation N.V., which, in turn, acquired the property from Lakeview immediately after it was repurchased from the Town.

Upon learning that. Lakeview had repurchased the property, the defendant notified all interested parties of its intent to hold a foreclosure sale of .the property on January 23, 2003, given Lakeview’s continuing default on the original mortgages. The plaintiff filed a petition to enjoin the foreclosure sale, arguing that the defendant’s original mortgages were extinguished when the property was deeded to the Town. On the day of the foreclosure sale, following a hearing, the court enjoined the foreclosure on the express condition that the plaintiff post a $25,000 bond that afternoon. [373]*373No bond was posted, and the defendant proceeded with the foreclosure sale.

Following the foreclosure sale, the defendant moved to dismiss the plaintiffs lawsuit, arguing that pursuant to RSA 479:25, II (2001), the only-issues which could properly be litigated following the foreclosure sale were issues of notice and issues challenging the conduct of the foreclosure sale itself. The court denied the motion, and the plaintiff subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that RSA 80:89, IV did not revive the defendant’s mortgages. The defendant objected and filed its own cross-motion for summary judgment. The court ultimately granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff, simultaneously denying the defendant’s cross-motion for summary judgment.

On appeal, the defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying its motion to dismiss, as well as its cross-motion for summary judgment. Moreover, the defendant argues that the court likewise erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff.

I. Summary Judgment

The defendant first contends that the court erred in denying its cross-motion for summary judgment and granting the plaintiffs motion. Specifically, it argues that RSA 80:89, IV revived its original mortgages.

In reviewing the trial court’s grant of summary judgment, we consider the affidavits and other evidence, and all inferences properly drawn from them, in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Stateline Steel Erectors v. Shields, 150 N.H. 332, 334 (2003). If our review of that evidence discloses no genuine issue of material fact, and if the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, we will affirm. Id. We review the trial court’s application of the law to the facts de novo. Id.

The question before us is one of statutory interpretation — whether RSA 80:89, IV revived the defendant’s mortgages. This court is the final arbiter of the intent of the legislature as expressed in the words of the statute considered as a whole. Appeal of Ann Miles Builder, 150 N.H. 315, 318 (2003). When the issue raised presents a new question of statutory construction, we begin our analysis with an examination of the statutory language. Id. We do not consider words and phrases in isolation but rather within the context of the statute as a whole. N.H. Dep’t of Health & Human Servs. v. Bonser, 150 N.H. 250, 251 (2003). This enables us to better discern the legislature’s intent and to interpret statutory language in light of the policy or purpose sought to be advanced by the statutory scheme. Id. When a statute’s language is plain and unambiguous, we need not look beyond it for further indication of legislative intent, and we refuse to consider what the legislature might have said or add language that the [374]*374legislature did not see fit to incorporate in the statute. Balke v. City of Manchester, 150 N.H. 69, 71 (2003).

RSA 80:89, entitled “Notice to Former Owner and Opportunity for Repurchase,” sets forth a detailed procedure by which prior owners may reacquire property conveyed to municipalities through tax deed. In enacting this scheme, the legislature sought to prohibit towns from too harshly penalizing delinquent taxpayers by refusing to resell them their property. See 16 P. LOUGHLIN, New HAMPSHIRE PRACTICE, MUNICIPAL LAW And Taxation § 43.11A, at 126-27 (Supp. 2003); see also Thomas Tool Servs. v. Town of Croydon, 145 N.H. 218, 220 (2000).

Specifically, RSA 80:89,1, sets forth the first step in the notification and repurchase process. It states, in part:

Between 120 and 90 days prior to the offering for sale or conveyance by a municipality of property which is acquired by tax deed on or after the. effective date of this section, the municipal governing body ... shall send notice by certified mail, address service requested, return receipt requested, to the last known post office address of the owner of the property at the time of the tax deed, if known, or to the person to whom notice of the impending tax deed was given under RSA 80:77.

RSA 80:89, II then requires, in part:

Within 30 days after the notice required by paragraph I, or if no such notice is received, at any time within 3 years after the date of recording the tax deed, any former owner of the property may give notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, of intent to repurchase the property from the municipality, and stating that such owner is ready, willing, and able to pay all back taxes, interest, costs and penalty, as defined in RSA 80:90.

Once these notice requirements have been satisfied, RSA 80:89, III provides that: “The deed from the municipality upon such repurchase shall convey the municipality’s interest in the property, or such portion as has not been previously disposed of by the municipality, to all record former owners in the same proportional undivided interests as the former owners of record.” Pursuant to RSA 80:89, IV:

The former owners’ title upon repurchase shall be subject to any liens of record against the property as of the time of the tax deed to the municipality, and subject to any leases, easements, or other encumbrances as may have been granted or placed on the property by the municipality.

[375]*375The statutory scheme further specifies that “the date of sale or conveyance of the property shall mean the date the municipality enters into a binding contract to convey the property to a third party buyer.” RSA 80:89, VII.

We agree with the trial court’s ruling that RSA 80:89 is inapplicable to the instant case.

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Bluebook (online)
856 A.2d 746, 151 N.H. 371, 2004 N.H. LEXIS 157, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gordonville-corp-v-lr1-a-ltd-partnership-nh-2004.