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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