Mahlum v. Thayer
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Mahlum v. Thayer
Opinion of the Court
This appeal involves the validity of the tax judgment proceedings to enforce the payment of taxes which became delinquent for 1897 and
The lands entered upon pages 160 and 16-4 of the list were described under similar headings, but the first 159 pages of the list were entered, under appropriate headings, viz.:
Defendant invokes the general rule that in tax proceedings the description of real estate must be so definite that by reading it the court can determine what land the judgment is against, and, if the description is not thus definite, it is inherently and fatally defective, and cannot be helped out by intrinsic evidence; citing National Bond & Security Co. v. Board of Co. Commrs. of Hennepin Co., 91 Minn. 63, 97 N. W. 413.
The filing of such list shall have the force and effect of filing a complaint in an action by the county against each piece or parcel of land therein described, to enforce payment of the taxes and penalties therein appearing against it, and shall be deemed the institution of such action, and the same shall operate as notice of the pendency of such action. G. S. 1894, § 1579.
Compliance with this provision is jurisdictional. County of Chisago v. St. Paul & D. R. Co., 27 Minn. 109, 6 N. W. 454; State v. Sage, 75 Minn. 452, 78 N. W. 14.
A difference has been recognized as to the strictness required in the description in a published list and in a judgment. In Tidd v. Rines, 26 Minn. 201, 2 N. W. 497, there was an omission to insert in the proper column anything- to designate whether the figures constituted, dollars or cents; and it was held that there was nothing upon the face of the judgment to indicate with reasonable certainty what the figures were intended to represent, and that it contained no reference by which
While the filing of the list is jurisdictional, in our judgment the same rule should apply in ascertaining the sufficiency of the descriptions of property listed as applies to the published list. A recent expression of the court upon this question is found in Doherty v. Real Estate T. Ins. & T. Co., 85 Minn. 518, 89 N. W. 853, where it is stated that the test of sufficiency in relation to descriptions of real estate in tax proceedings is whether a man of ordinary intelligence would with reasonable certainty identify the land described. By this is not meant that the landowner is required to resort to an unusual process of reasoning in order to determine whether his land is listed, but, if it fairly appears that his land is listed, although not under the technically proper headings, it is sufficient. On the other hand, if the headings are so inaccurate as to be likely to mislead him, then the description is insufficient.
Looking at the above diagram, it will be noticed right on the face of page 162 that the word “Sec.” at the top of the third column is not in its proper place, because the figures “28” at the top of that column are repeated by ditto marks all the way down, and “Sec. 28” is not applicable to the various subdivisions of land described, as they could not all be in the same section. Again, the figures “31, 32, 34,” in the first column, are consistent with no other designation than section, and the figures “138,” at the top of the second column, cannot refer to the section. We do not say that this description in itself is sufficient, but it is not so entirely insufficient, uncertain, and misleading as to justify a man of ordinary prudence in looking no further into the list. There are one hundred sixty five pages constituting the document, and if the owner had any doubt that his lands were not described because of the failure to place proper headings in the respective columns, the discrepancy could easily be cleared up by a reference to page 159 and the
The case differs from Olivier v. Gurney, 43 Minn. 69, 44 N. W. 887, where there were no abbreviations to represent township and range at the head of the list, and it was held that those designations appearing in the columns below the description were insufficient. Davis v. How, 52 Minn. 157, 53 N. W. 1139, is also distinguishable. >
Our conclusion is that the list filed sufficiently described the land in question, and, the law having been complied with in the subsequent proceedings in respect to the publication of the list and entry of the judgment, .the judgment was valid.
Order affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- MONS MAHLUM and Another v. H. H. THAYER
- Cited By
- 1 case
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- Published