City of Boston v. Jenney

• Decision Date: 20 February 1933
• Citation: 282 Mass. 168
• Parties: CITY OF BOSTON v. EDWIN C. JENNEY, trustee.
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

282 Mass. 168

CITY OF BOSTON v. EDWIN C. JENNEY, trustee.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Suffolk,

February 20, 1933

January 10, 1933.

Present: RUGG C.J., PIERCE, WAIT, DONAHUE, & LUMMUS, JJ

Tax, Sale foreclosure of tax title. Land Court, Decree.

Under G. L. (Ter Ed.) c. 60, Section 61, a city or town, which has purchased land sold for the nonpayment of taxes for a certain year and has become the holder of a valid tax deed thereon, cannot sell the land again for the nonpayment of the taxes for subsequent years if there has been no redemption of the land from such tax title nor foreclosure of the right to redeem. Following Landers v. Boston, 267 Mass. 17 .

A petition in the Land Court by a city for foreclosure of a tax title acquired by it under a sale for nonpayment of taxes for 1926, which was invalid because the city already was the holder of a tax deed made to it for nonpayment of taxes for 1919, properly was dismissed even if tax deeds for nonpayment of taxes for 1922, 1923 and 1924, upon which the respondent relied, also were invalid for the same reason: the petitioner must rely on its own title.

Furthermore, the respondent in the proceedings above described having obtained a decree of the Land Court, declaring that his title under the tax deed made for nonpayment of taxes for 1922 was absolute, in previous proceedings in which the city had not contested the validity of that deed, it was too late for the city, in the proceedings instituted by it, to challenge the earlier decree.

PETITION, filed in the Land Court on April 8, 1930, described in the opinion.

The case was heard by Corbett, J. Material facts are stated in the opinion. The judge ordered the petition dismissed. The petitioner appealed.

J. G. Wolff, Assistant Corporation Counsel, for the petitioner. M. R. Pihl, for the respondent.

WAIT, J. This is a petition for foreclosure of a tax title. The material facts are as follows: The city collector sold the land here in question for nonpayment of taxes for the year 1926. The tax deed under said sale was taken over by the city of Boston. It now seeks to have the title thus acquired declared to be absolute. The respondent claims title under a tax sale made by the collector to his testator for nonpayment of taxes assessed upon the premises for the year 1922. The city of Boston held a tax deed of the premises made by the collector for nonpayment of taxes assessed for the year 1919. The collector made sales for nonpayment of taxes for the years 1923 and 1924 to one Hodsdon and delivered deeds therefor to her. Hodsdon later quit-claimed all the right, title and interest acquired thereunder to said testator. All the deeds...