Thursday, December 08, 2016

tax sale - judicial sale - notice

In re Amended Petition of TCB of Washington County v. Miller – Cmwlth. Court – November 16, 2016


Undisputed facts show that former owner of property sold by repository sale, after judicial sale failed for lack of a bid, did not received notice required by 72 P.S.  5860.610.

The former owner is a party of interest that must be served. See Rivera v. Carbon County Tax Claim Bureau, 857 A.2d 208, 213-16 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2004); also Montgomery County Tax Claim Bureau v. Mermelstein Family Trust, 836 A.2d 1010 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2003); Bell v. Berks County Tax Claim Bureau, 832 A.2d 587 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2003).   This is because “owner” is defined by the Law as “the person in whose name the property is last registered, if registered according to law, or, if not registered according to law, the person whose name last appears as an owner of record on any deed or instrument of conveyance recorded in the county office designated for recording. . . .” Section 102 of the Law, 72 P.S. § 5860.102.

Although the owners were provided with proper notice prior to the initial upset sale, which did not go through, 72 P.S. § 5860.607(g), requires,  that they be served with notice regarding the judicial sale of the Property. The record clearly demonstrates they were not. Consequently, because strict compliance with the notice provisions of the Law is required, which the Bureau did not adhere to when selling the Property, the repository sale of the Property must be deemed void ab initio.
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