Winters v. Birch

1934 OK 569, 36 P.2d 907, 169 Okla. 237, 1934 Okla. LEXIS 313
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 16, 1934
Docket23594
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 1934 OK 569 (Winters v. Birch) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Winters v. Birch, 1934 OK 569, 36 P.2d 907, 169 Okla. 237, 1934 Okla. LEXIS 313 (Okla. 1934).

Opinion

S WIND ALL, J.

This is an action in ejectment brought in the district court of Logan county by E. E. Birch, as plaintiff, against C. C. Winters and Lee Winters, as defendants, wherein Birch seeks to recover possession of the lot in his petition described and damages for withholding possession. Plaintiff in his petition alleges in substance that he is the owner in fee simple and holds the legal and equitable estate in and to lot 7 of block 54 in that part of the city, of Guthrie known as Guthrie Proper, and is entitled to the immediate possession thereof, and he attaches to his petition, as an exhibit, copy of resale tax deed from the county treasurer of Logan county to himself, dated September S, 1928. The petition further states that defendants unlawfully entered upon said premises on or about the 5th day of July, 1929, and have ever since kept plaintiff out of possession and have used said property for their own use and benefit, and that plaintiff has been damaged thereby in the sum of $100. The prayer of said petition is for possession of said premises described, for $100 damages, and for costs and other proper relief.

The defendants, C. C. Winters and Lee Winters, answered said petition, denying generally the allegations of the petition, and allege that the resale tax deed under which plaintiff claims is void on its face In that it shows that two separate tracts of real estate were sold and included in one tax sale certificate; that it does not show when any resale was held; that the tax deed was invalid because of defects in the notice of sale ; that the county treasurer was without authority to sell said real estate at resale in September, 1928; that the lot involved was not sold at public auction to the highest bidder; that the notary who took the acknowledgment was disqualified; and that the cause of action is barred by the statute of limitations for the reason that the resale tax deed was recorded in the office of the county clerk on September 11, 1928, and the action was not commenced until the 29th day of October, 1929. The defendants pray only that plaintiff take nothing by the action and that same be dismissed.

The plaintiff filed a reply generally denying the allegations of the answer and alleging that plaintiff was in possession of the lot in dispute from the 8th day of September, 1928, until the 5th day of July, 1929, when the defendants, without color of title or any legal right whatsoever, entered into possession.

The case was, on September 28, 1931, tried before the court without a jury, and at the close of all the evidence the court rendered judgment, specifically finding that plaintiff lias sustained the allegations of his petition and is entitled to judgment accordingly; that the plaintiff is the owner in fee simple and has the legal and equitable title to the lot in question; and, quoting from the court’s findings, “* * * that the said plaintiff at this time is in the actual, open, notorious, and adverse possession of said premises, that he has been in the actual, open, notorious, and adverse possession of the premises continuously and without interruption from the 11th day of September, 1928, until the present time. That the said defendants claim joint possession of said premises with the said plaintiff, but that such claim of said defendants was in no way adverse to the said plaintiff’s claim for possession, and the said claim of the said defendants was without color of any title whatsoever,” and that the defendants have no right, title, or interest in and to said premises. The judgment decreed the title and possession to be in plaintiff ; quieted his title as against defendants and their assigns; canceled and removed as clouds on plaintiff’s title all deeds or documents in tlie chain of title claimed by defendants ; perpetually enjoined defendants from claiming any right, title, or estate in said premises adverse to plaintiff, or from commencing any suit to disturb plaintiff in his title or possession; ordered defendants to immediately remove from said premises and not re-enter thereon; and adjudged that defendants pay all costs of the action.

From this judgment defendants appeal to this court.

The defendants, plaintiffs in error herein, in their brief first make the contention that plaintiff’s action is barred by the statute of limitations under the terms of section 12763, O. S. 1931. That section is as follows;

‘‘No action shall be commenced by the holder of the tax deed or the former owner or owners of the land by any person claim- *240 iug under him or them to recover possession of the land which has been sold and conveyed by deed for nonpayment of taxes or to avoid such deed, unless such action shall be commenced within one year after the recording of such deed; and in case of action to avoid the deed, not until all taxes, interest and penalties, costs and expenses shall he paid or tendered by the party commencing such action.”

There has been some confusion and apparent conflict in the decisions of this court as to the character of cases to which -the above statute should be applied, but it is now settled that this section does not apply to actions brought by the tax deed holder to recover possession of land claimed under tax deeds issued pursuant to a resale of the property, sometimes called “resale” tax deeds, as distinguished from tax deeds issued to holders of tax sale certificates, sometimes called “certificate” tax deeds. The deed in question is such a “resale” tax deed issued in accordance with the provisions of section 6 of chapter 158, S. L. 1923, section 12756, O. S. 1931, which section contains a provision limiting the time within which an action can be brought to void or set aside said deed, but contains no limitation on an action by the tax deed holder to recover the possession of the land or enforce his rights under the tax deed. This leaves in force as a limitation on such actions only the general statutes of limitation applicable, to owners of real estate, as contained in section 99, O. S. 1931.

In the case of Swan v. Kuehner, 157 Okla. 37, 10 P. (2d) 707, this court sets out an exhaustive history of section 12763, O. S. 1931, and section 12756, O. S. 1931, which are therein respectively referred to as section 9753, O. O. S. 1921, and section 6, chapter 158, S. L. 1923; points out the various decisions of this court which have given rise to the confusion in construing these statutes, clarifying them as far as possible, and giving at some length the reason for the rule stated. Referring to section 26 (5668) of the Statutes of Oklahoma 1893, which is in substantially the same words as section 12763, O. S. 1931, the court said:

“It. will be noted that the provisions of section 26 (5668) of the Statutes of Oklahoma 1893 applied only to deeds made to purchasers at an original sale and that they did not apply to purchasers at a resale.”

Quoting further:

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Bluebook (online)
1934 OK 569, 36 P.2d 907, 169 Okla. 237, 1934 Okla. LEXIS 313, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/winters-v-birch-okla-1934.