Reliance Equities, LLC v. Lanier 5, LLC

792 S.E.2d 680, 299 Ga. 891
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedOctober 31, 2016
DocketS16A1013; S16A1014
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 792 S.E.2d 680 (Reliance Equities, LLC v. Lanier 5, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Reliance Equities, LLC v. Lanier 5, LLC, 792 S.E.2d 680, 299 Ga. 891 (Ga. 2016).

Opinion

HUNSTEIN, Justice.

Appellant Frederick Whitney (hereinafter “Whitney”) owned a piece of property located in Habersham County, Georgia (“the property”). Whitney became delinquent on his property taxes. As a result, Habersham County sold the property at a tax sale to Appellee Lanier 5, LLC (hereinafter “Lanier”), on August 6,2013. Over a year later, on August 15, 2014, Lanier sent a notice of foreclosure of the right to redeem the property by certified and first class mail to Whitney at his residence in Forsyth County, giving Whitney until September 21, 2014, to exercise his right of redemption. While the certified mailing sent to Whitney went unclaimed, the first class mail notice was never returned as undeliverable.

Meanwhile, on August 29, 2014, a security deed was created1 between Whitney and Appellant Reliance Equities, LLC (hereinafter [892]*892“Reliance”). Two days after the September 21 foreclosure date, Whitney’s agent attempted to redeem the property. After confirming its certified and first class mailings were sent to the proper address, Lanier rejected the tender as untimely.

Shortly thereafter, Lanier published a Notice of Foreclosure of Right to Redeem in The Northeast Georgian, the newspaper in the county where the property is located, for four consecutive weeks in October 2014. The publication gave notice of foreclosure of the right to redeem by October 23, 2014 to “any and all parties or persons having any right or interest [in the property] that have not been previously served with notice.” Receiving no other tenders for redemption, Lanier filed a “Petition to Remove a Cloud on Title — Conventional Quia Timet” in the Superior Court of Habersham County, requesting the court remove the cloud of title in Lanier’s favor. Whitney filed a counterclaim requesting the trial court quiet title in his favor and also filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings, arguing that he did not receive sufficient notice of Lanier’s foreclosure of his right of redemption. The trial court denied Whitney’s motion on June 9, 2015, finding as follows:

After considering the motion and brief in opposition, this Court finds that [Lanier], by mailing the notice certified mail, and by mailing an additional copy by regular mail, and by speaking to [Whitney] on the telephone to verify the address, has satisfied the due process requirements of statutory and common law concerning the right of redemption of property.

On October 1, 2015, Lanier filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings based upon the trial court’s June 9 order and requested the court quiet title in its favor. The next day, Reliance contacted Lanier and attempted to tender its redemption, which was rej ected by Lanier as untimely. Shortly thereafter, Reliance filed a motion to intervene in the underlying lawsuit, and Whitney filed a “Motion to Reconsider the Prior Denial of Whitney’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings or Motion for Summary Judgment.”

On November 19, 2015, the trial court entered an order granting Lanier’s motion for judgment on the pleadings based upon its findings in the June 9 order. The trial court also entered a “Decree Quieting Title to Land Conventional Quia Timet” finding that Lanier had properly foreclosed on any rights to redeem the property pursuant to Georgia law. That same day, the trial court denied Reliance’s motion to intervene, Whitney’s motion for reconsideration and Whitney’s motion for summary judgment, finding all motions to be moot. [893]*893On appeal, Reliance argues that the trial court erred in denying its motion to intervene; Whitney argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion for judgment on the pleadings and quieting title in favor of Lanier. We agree with Whitney and reverse the trial court in Case No. S16A1014. Because our decision effectively ends the underlying litigation between Whitney and Lanier, Reliance’s appeal in Case No. S16A1013 is rendered moot and dismissed.

Case No. S16A1014

1. Appellant Whitney alleges that the trial court erred by denying his motion for judgment on the pleadings, granting Lanier’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, and quieting title in Lanier’s favor. Specifically, the parties dispute whether Whitney was entitled to receive both notice through the mail pursuant to OCGA § 48-4-45 (a) (2), as well as notice via publication pursuant to OCGA § 48-4-45 (a) (3) prior to the foreclosure of Whitney’s right to redeem the property. We conclude, based upon the plain language of the statute, that Lanier could not foreclose Whitney’s right to redeem until all three paragraphs of OCGA § 48-4-45 (a) were satisfied.

“On appeal, we review de novo the trial court’s decision on a motion for judgment on the pleadings, and we construe the complaint in a light most favorable to the appellant, drawing all reasonable inferences in his favor.” (Citations and punctuation omitted.) Haldi v. Piedmont Nephrology Assoc., P.C., 283 Ga. App. 321, 322 (641 SE2d 298) (2007). Applying this standard, we find that the trial court erroneously denied Whitney’s motion and further erred in granting relief in favor of Lanier.

This Court has repeatedly addressed the constitutional due process requirements a tax deed purchaser must meet in order to properly notify a property owner that their right to redeem is being foreclosed. See, e.g., Saffo v. Foxworthy, Inc., 286 Ga. 284 (687 SE2d 463) (2009); Hamilton v. Renewed Hope, Inc., 277 Ga. 465 (589 SE2d 81) (2003) (holding that, before resorting to notice via publication, the tax sale purchaser is required to ascertain the address of the delinquent taxpayer and provide notice via personal service, overnight delivery, or registered/certified mailing); Funderburke v. Kellet, 257 Ga. 822 (1) (364 SE2d 845) (1988) (holding that where an interested party resides outside the county where the property is located, merely publishing a notice of foreclosure of the right to redeem does not satisfy due process) (citing Mennonite Bd. of Missions v. Adams, 462 U. S. 791, 800 (II) (103 SCt 2706, 77 LE2d 180) (1983)).

While it appears that the notice given to Whitney met constitutional requirements, Georgia’s statutory law may require more than [894]*894does constitutional law. See Harper v. Va. Dept. of Taxation, 509 U. S. 86, 102 (III) (113 SCt 2510, 125 LE2d 74) (1993) (“[s]tate law may provide relief beyond the demands of federal due process” (citation omitted)). As a result, it is necessary to go beyond the constitutional analysis and examine the requirements of OCGA § 48-4-45 to determine when an interested party’s right to redeem has been properly foreclosed.

Under our well-established rules of statutory construction, we presume that the General Assembly meant what it said and said what it meant.

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Bluebook (online)
792 S.E.2d 680, 299 Ga. 891, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reliance-equities-llc-v-lanier-5-llc-ga-2016.