Kahn v. Thorpe
Kahn v. Thorpe
Opinion of the Court
The defendant Thorpe filed a petition, in the court below, to vacate a tax judgment and sale, and for leave to appear in the tax foreclosure action and redeem or defend therein. Respondents filed separate demurrers to' the petition, which demurrers were sustained by the court. The petitioner appeals.
The petition was filed in the action to' foreclose delinquent tax certificates. It sets out the allegations of the complaint in that action, and then alleges, in substance^ that the plaintiff caused a summons to' be placed in the hands of the sheriff, who made a return that the defendant could not be found; that thereupon one of the plaintiff’s attorneys made and filed an affidavit stating that he believed the defendant is a nonresident of the state and cannot be found therein, and that the residence of the said defendant is unknown. The petition then alleges that such affidavit was false, because the deed by which the petitioner acquired the property was of record in the county where the action was brought, and such deed showed upon its face the residence of the petitioner ; that if the affiant did not actually know the petitioner’s residence, he should have known it. The petition further alleges that
The petition avers that the judgment was obtained by fraud, because of the affidavit of the attorney stating that he did not know the address of plaintiff, whereas he should have known it, and because the land was assessed on the rolls to Joseph G. Thorpie and the certificate was foreclosed against petitioner under the name of J. G. Thorpe; that the judgment was erroneous because it included $5 attorney’s fees, taxed as costs; that the petitioner has a good defense to> the action, because he avers that during the year 1899 and sub
While this action is in form a petition to vacate a judgment and for leave to defend, it is-, in substance
We have heretofore held that the provisions of these sections apply to actions in ejectment where the property was sold for taxes. Merritt v. Corey, 22 Wash. 444, 61 Pac. 171; Rowland v. Eskeland, 40 Wash. 253, 82 Pac. 599. We have also held that the provisions of these sections apply to actions to remove a cloud and quiet title. Denman v. Steinbach, 29 Wash. 179, 69 Pac. 751; McManus v. Morgan, 38 Wash. 528, 80 Pac. 786; Moyer v. Foss, 41 Wash. 130, 83 Pac. 12.
If this is an action to recover property, or one in ejectment, or to remove a cloud where the property has been sold for taxes* the demurrer was properly sustained under the de
Another cause shown is that petitioner relied upon his agent to keelp his taxes paid, and the agent failed to do so. We have held in a number’ of cases' that this is not sufficient. Swanson v. Hoyle, 32 Wash. 169, 72 Pac. 1011; Whitney v. Knowlton, 33 Wash. 319, 74 Pac. 469; Williams v. Pittock, 35 Wash. 271, 77 Pac. 385; Warner v. Miner, 41 Wash. 98, 82 Pac. 1033.
Other reasons alleged in the petition go to the jurisdiction of the court to render the judgment. We held in Stoll v. Griffith, 41 Wash. 37, 82 Pac. 1025, that where land was assessed to E. Coulon and the published summons ran to Emil Coulon, such description was sufficient where it appeared that Emil Ooulon was the owner of the land. We based our holding upon the theory that these proceedings are in rem against the land, and not against the person of the owner. It appears throughout the record before us that Joseph G. Thorpe is commonly known by the name of “J. G.
As to the affidavit for publication of tbe summons, tb© attorney followed the statute strictly. It is alleged that the affiant should have known the address of the defendant by reason of the fact that the deed by which defendant acquired the land contained his address. This deed was filed some five years before the foreclosure action was begun. Deeds in this state are not required to give the address of the grantee therein, and it is not usual to find the address of the grantee in a deed. Even if the address was given in the deed five years before, and the attorney knew that fact, it does not follow that the ¡plaintiff or her attorney knew defendant’s, address at the time the affidavit was mada The statute does not provide that the summons shall be sent to the last known address, hut it prof vides that if the plaintiff, his agent or attorney, states in the affidavit that the residence is not known to the affiant^ then the summons need not he mailed to the defendant. Bal. Code, § 4877 (P. C. § 335). The affidavit was thereifore sufficient. Warner v. Miner, supra; Moynahan v. Superior Court 42 Wash. 172, 84 Pac. 655.
We are of the opinion that the objections to tbe jurisdiction of the court are without merit. As to. questions relating to defects, in the judgment and sale of the property, before these questions can he raised appellant was required by the terms of the statute to tender the amount justly due and plead such tender. Petitioner not having done so> the lower court was not requited to vacate the judgment or set aside the sala
The demurrers were properly sustained, and the judgment ia therefore affirmed.
Root, Crow, Dunbar, and Fullerton, JJ., concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Mrs. A. Kahn v. J. G. Thorpe, S. M. Blumauer
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- 5 cases
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- Published
- Syllabus
- Taxation — Sale—Redemption. The statute does not permit a redemption from delinquent foreclosure sales after a deed is issued. Taxation — Action to Recover Land Sold — Pleading—Complaint —Sufficiency. Where, an action, in form a petition to vacate a judgment, is clearly one to remove a cloud from the title and to recover possession of lands sold for taxes, a demurrer to the complaint is properly sustained, where it is not shown that the lands were not taxable, or that the taxes were not due, or that the taxes, penalty and costs paid by the purchaser at the tax sale had been repaid or tendered; and this whether the action is in ejectment or to remove a cloud from .the title. Taxation — Excessive Tax — Objections—Estoppel. Where a tax payer had made no objection to a tax for six years, he cannot claim that the taxes are excessive because personal property was assessed at only fifty per cent of its value while the real estate was assessed in excess of its value. Taxation — Sale—Vacation—Tender of Tax. In a proceeding to vacate a tax judgment and sale where the land was subject to some taxes, the petitioner must allege the amount admitted to be due and a tender of the amount. Same — Vacation oe Sale — Grounds. The failure of an agent to pay the taxes of his nonresident principal is not a sufficient ground for setting aside a tax judgment and sale. Same — Foreclosure—Summons for Publication — Name of Owner. In a tax lien foreclosure, a summons for publication directed to “J. G. Thorpe” is sufficient where “Joseph G. Thorpe” was the nonresident owner to whom the land was assessed, and who was commonly known by the name of “J. G. Thorpe.” Same — Affidavit — Nonresidence — Notice to Put on Inquiry. Under the statute requiring an affidavit for the publication of a summons in a tax foreclosure to the effect that the residence of the defendant is not known to the affiant, a tax judgment and sale will not be set aside where the affidavit follows the statute, because of the fact that the record of the owner’s deed, filed five years before, gave the owner’s address, no statute requiring such address to be given in the record. Taxation — Judgment—Defects—Vacation—Tender of Tax. A defect in a tax judgment and sale in that it included an unwarranted charge of $5 for an attorney’s fee, cannot be taken advantage of until the amount justly due is tendered and the tender pleaded.