John Allan Co. v. Sesser Concrete Products Co.

252 N.E.2d 361, 114 Ill. App. 2d 186, 1969 Ill. App. LEXIS 1444
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedOctober 27, 1969
DocketGen. 68-70
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 252 N.E.2d 361 (John Allan Co. v. Sesser Concrete Products Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
John Allan Co. v. Sesser Concrete Products Co., 252 N.E.2d 361, 114 Ill. App. 2d 186, 1969 Ill. App. LEXIS 1444 (Ill. Ct. App. 1969).

Opinion

MORAN, J.

The John Allan Company, petitioner-appellant, appeals from an order entered March 28, 1968, by the Circuit Court of Jefferson County which denied its application, as tax purchaser, for a tax deed to certain real estate, and further denied its motion to expunge an alleged redemption by Sesser Concrete Products Company, respondent-appellee.

On October 5, 1964, the following described property was sold at public auction to The John Allan Company’s assignor, Interstate Bond Company, for the unpaid 1963 general real estate taxes:

Lots 11 and 12, Block 1, Storm’s Survey, Mt. Vernon Township, Jefferson County, Illinois.

Interstate also paid the 1964, 1965 and 1966 general real estate taxes which subsequently became due and payable against the subject property.

Normally, the period of redemption would have expired two years from the date of sale, or on October 5, 1966. However, on September 27, 1966, pursuant to section 263 of the Illinois Revenue Act (Ill Rev Stats 1965, c 120, par 744), which authorizes the holder of a certificate of purchase to extend the period of redemption, Interstate extended the period of redemption to Saturday, August 12, 1967.

Prior to the extension of the redemption period, on December 27, 1965, Sesser filed a complaint to foreclose a note secured by a trust deed on the subject property to the City National Bank of Centralia. Neither the John Allan Company nor its assignor, Interstate Bond Company, were made a party to the mortgage foreclosure proceeding.

On February 28, 1967, a decree of mortgage foreclosure was entered, but this decree was not recorded. The decree provided that the real estate should be sold unencumbered and free of all liens for taxes.

On April 6, 1967, Interstate filed a petition for tax deed. Thereafter, timely notice was personally served upon the owners of the subject property, the party in whose name the real estate was last assessed, the occupants thereof, and the trustees and mortgagees of record. Timely publication was made as to all unknown owners or parties interested in such real estate. Sesser was not given personal notice.

On August 2, 1967, after the period provided for serving notices, a mortgage foreclosure sale was held on the subject property and the property was sold to Sesser who received a certificate of sale. The report of sale was filed and approved on August 11,1967.

On August 11, 1967, the 1966 real estate taxes in the amount of $512.55 were paid by Sesser in the County Treasurer’s Office. On that same day, an uncertified check, drawn on the account of the Sheriff of Jefferson County, pursuant to the court decree in the foreclosure proceedings, was delivered to the County Clerk by the Sheriff in the amount of $1,908.53, the amount required to redeem at the date of the foreclosure sale. The attorney for Sesser also appeared in the County Clerk’s Office on August 11, 1967, and was informed that subsequent to the foreclosure sale additional taxes had become due and after August 10, 1967, the total amount required to redeem had been increased to $2,524; he thereafter attempted unsuccessfully on that date to so advise his client by telephone. Later the same day, the County Treasurer discovered that the 1966 taxes had been paid the previous day by Interstate, but had not been posted. He therefore returned Sesser’s check by mail and refused Sesser’s payment.

On Monday, August 14, 1967, Sesser presented a check in the amount of $617.87 along with the check for $1,908.53 in order to redeem the property. Both checks were accepted by the County Clerk and a Certificate of Redemption issued, dated August 14, 1967. It was also on August 14, 1967, that The John Allan Company, assignee of the Certificate of Purchase, was substituted as petitioner.

Appellant contends that no redemption was made because the checks in the amount of the redemption price were delivered two days after the expiration of the period of redemption, while appellee contends that the date for the expiration of redemption was Monday, August 14, 1967, and not Saturday, August 12,1967.

Section 263 of the Illinois Revenue Act (Ill Rev Stats, c 120, par 744) provides that the notices required therein state when the time of redemption will expire. It is undisputed that the notices given by Interstate specified Saturday, August 12, 1967, as the expiration of the extended redemption period.

Until July 1, 1969, Ill Rev Stats, c 131, § 1.11 provided:

“The time within which any Act provided by law is to be done shall be computed by excluding the first day and including the last, unless the last day is Sunday or is a holiday as defined or fixed in any statute now or hereafter in force in this State, and then it shall also be excluded. If the day succeeding such Sunday or holiday is also a holiday or a Sunday then such succeeding day shall also be excluded.” 1

In Pettigrove v. Parro Const. Corp., 44 Ill App2d 421, 194 NE2d 521 (1963) the court applied this statute to a situation where the final day for filing a petition fell on a Saturday and the Circuit Clerk’s office was lawfully closed on that day, saying that, as a practical matter, where an office is closed on the final day for the doing of any act provided by law to be done, that day shall also be excluded and, therefore, filing the petition on the first day on which the Circuit Clerk’s office was properly open, following that Saturday, was timely.

In Burgess v. Erickson, 72 Ill App2d 85, 218 NE2d 111. where the last day for filing the record on appeal fell on a Saturday and the clerk’s office was closed on that day, the court said at pages 85-86:

“. . . The time within which the record on appeal must be filed in this court is computed by excluding the first day, that is, the day on which the notice of appeal is filed, and including the last day, unless the last day is a Sunday, a legal holiday, or a day in which the office of the clerk of this court is closed. Ill Rev Stats, c 131, § 1.111; Pettigrove v. Parro Const. Corp., 44 Ill App2d 421, 194 NE2d 521. Accordingly, the filing of the record on appeal herein on Monday, November 8, 1965, was within the time prescribed by law, and therefore the motion to dismiss the appeal is denied.”

The statute governing the operation of the County Clerk’s office provides that in counties of less than 500,000 population, the office shall be closed on Saturday unless changed by an appropriate resolution passed at a regular meeting of the County Board or Board of Supervisors. Ill Rev Stats, c 35, § 4(b). No such resolution as required by statute was passed to authorize the conducting of business on Saturday.

Although the County Clerk testified that his office was open on that day, from 8:00 a. m. to 12:00 noon, he could have, as easily as not, lawfully closed the office at any time before noon or refused to open it at all on that day. Therefore, although the County Clerk’s office was open on August 12, 1967, it was not open under any provision of law which would give notice to Sesser that he could redeem on that date.

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Bluebook (online)
252 N.E.2d 361, 114 Ill. App. 2d 186, 1969 Ill. App. LEXIS 1444, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/john-allan-co-v-sesser-concrete-products-co-illappct-1969.