Morris v. LANDNPULASKI, LLC

309 S.W.3d 212, 2009 Ark. App. 356, 2009 Ark. App. LEXIS 319
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedMay 6, 2009
DocketCA 08-1159
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 309 S.W.3d 212 (Morris v. LANDNPULASKI, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Morris v. LANDNPULASKI, LLC, 309 S.W.3d 212, 2009 Ark. App. 356, 2009 Ark. App. LEXIS 319 (Ark. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

LARRY D. VAUGHT, Chief Judge.

| Appellant Ed Morris appeals the trial court’s order dismissing his complaint seeking to set aside the limited warranty deed acquired by separate appellee LandNPulaski, LLC, following the tax sale of his property and quieting title to the subject property in his favor. Morris contends that notice of the tax sale did not meet strict statutory requirements and did not comport -with the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. We affirm.

Morris was the record owner of real property located at 2425 Whispering Pines Road in Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas. There was no dispute that, at all times relevant to this cause, 2425 Whispering Pines Road was Morris’s correct address and that he actually resided at that address.

Morris failed to pay real-property taxes for the year 2000, and on March 26, 2003, his property was certified to the State of Arkansas in the care of separate appellee Commissioner 12of State Lands. The Commissioner, on June 5, 2003, sent a notice, via certified mail, to Morris at 2425 Whispering Pines Road advising that taxes on the property were delinquent, he could redeem the property, and the property would be offered for sale on July 7, 2005. The notice was returned to the Commissioner marked, “unclaimed.” On February 9, 2005, the Commissioner mailed a second notice to Morris at the same address, via certified mail, containing the same information. This notice was also returned to the Commissioner marked, “unclaimed.” In June 2005, the Commissioner published notice of the sale in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

On July 7, 2005, the Commissioner sold Morris’s property to LandNPulaski at a public auction. Four days later, on July 11, 2005, the Commissioner mailed a third notice to Morris, via regular mail, notifying him that his property had been sold and advising him how to redeem it. This notice was not returned to the Commissioner. On August 12, 2005, a limited warranty deed was issued, transferring title to 2425 Whispering Pines Road to LandNPu-laski.

On October 12, 2005, Morris sued the Commissioner, LandNPulaski, and the Pulaski County Assessor, 1 seeking to set aside the limited warranty deed and to quiet title in his name. He alleged that the Commissioner’s notice of the tax sale failed to strictly comply with Arkansas Code Annotated section 26-37-301 (Repl. 1997), and that the notice violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

|sAt trial, Morris testified that he did not receive any of the notices sent by the Commissioner. He testified that some time in September 2005, he went to the office of the Pulaski County Assessor to pay his realty taxes. He was sent to the Commissioner’s office, where he was informed that his property had been sold to LandNPulaski at a public auction to satisfy delinquent taxes. Morris testified that this was the first notice that he received that his property had been subject to a tax sale. Morris immediately drove to the office of LandNPulaski and met with its associate, John Ryles. Ryles testified that when he met with Morris in September 2005, Morris admitted that he received the Commissioner’s July 11, 2005 notice, but he waited too long to file the necessary paperwork to redeem his property.

In its order dismissing Morris’s complaint and quieting title in the subject property in LandNPulaski, the trial court stated that it did not believe Morris’s testimony that he did not receive the three notices. The trial court did believe the testimony of Ryles who said that Moms admitted receiving the July 11, 2005 notice. The trial court found that the Commissioner’s notices were reasonably calculated to apprise Morris of the pendency of the action and afforded him an opportunity to present his objections. The trial court also found that because Morris did not have his property declared a homestead pursuant to proper statutory procedure, he was not entitled to personal service of the notice of the pending sale. On appeal, Morris insists that the Commissioner’s notice of the tax sale did not meet the strict requirements of Arkansas Code Annotated section 26-37-301 and did not comport |4with the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. 2

We first address whether the Commissioner complied with the notice requirements set forth in Arkansas Code Annotated section 26-37-301. The issue of notice given to the owner of tax-delinquent land is a matter of statutory interpretation. Mays v. St. Pat Properties, LLC, 357 Ark. 482, 182 S.W.3d 84 (2004). We review issues of statutory interpretation de novo, as it is for this court to decide what a statute means. Id. In this respect, we are not bound by the trial court’s decision; however, in the absence of a showing that the trial court erred, its interpretation will be accepted as correct on appeal. Id.

In construing a statute, it is the court’s duty to construe it just as it reads. Jones v. Double “D” Properties, Inc., 352 Ark. 39, 98 S.W.3d 405 (2003). When we construe a statute, we look first at the plain language of the statute and give the words their plain and ordinary meaning. Id. If the language of a statute is plain and unambiguous, and conveys a clear and definite meaning, there is no need to resort to rules of statutory construction. Id.

In cases involving redemption of tax-delinquent lands, strict compliance with the requirement of notice of the tax sale is required before an owner can be deprived of his or her property. Citifinancial Mortgage Co., Inc. v. Matthews, 372 Ark. 167, 271 S.W.3d 501 (2008). The applicable statute, Arkansas Code Annotated section 26-37-301, provided the following regarding notice:

ls(a)(l) Subsequent to receiving tax-delinquent land, the Commissioner of State Lands shall notify the owner, at the owner’s last known address, by certified mail, of the owner’s right to redeem by paying all taxes, penalties, interest, and costs, including the cost of the notice.
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(b) The notice to the owner or interested party shall also indicate that the tax-delinquent land will be sold if not redeemed prior to the date of sale. The notice shall also indicate the sale date, and that date shall be no earlier than two (2) years after the land is certified to the Commissioner of State Lands.

Ark.Code Ann. § 26-37-301(a)(l) and (b). 3

The plain language of section 26-37-301 only requires notice to the property owner “by certified mail.” Arkansas appellate courts have confirmed this and have further held that the statute does not require actual notice to the property owner.

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Bluebook (online)
309 S.W.3d 212, 2009 Ark. App. 356, 2009 Ark. App. LEXIS 319, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morris-v-landnpulaski-llc-arkctapp-2009.