Dennis v. Robertson

• Decision Date: 19 September 1918
• Citation: 96 S.E. 802
• Parties: DENNIS. v. ROBERTSON.
• Court: Virginia Supreme Court

96 S.E. 802

DENNIS.

v.ROBERTSON.

Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia.

Sept. 19, 1918.

Error to Circuit Court, Bedford County.

Suit by A. W. Robertson against Charles Dennis. To review decree for plaintiff, defendant brings error. Set aside and annulled, without prejudice to plaintiff to redeem the lot in question according to law, and thereafter to sue.

This suit was instituted by the appellee, plaintiff in the court below, to cancel a certain tax deed and remove the same as a cloud upon the title of the appellee to a certain lot of land purported to be conveyed thereby to appellant from the commonwealth of Virginia.

The Material Facts.

The material facts of the case are as follows:

The appellee, by mesne conveyances, derived title to the lot in question from one W. H. Witt, the deed from the latter and wife being duly executed and recorded in June, 1907. Subsequently the lot was returned delinquent for nonpayment of the tax and levy thereon for the year 1907. The lot was a town lot in Bedford City, in the county of Bedford, being lot 6, in block 6, of what was known as the Greenwood Land Company addition to said town, and was designated as lot 6, in block 6, on the plat or subdivision of land made as provided by Acts of 1887-88, c. 486 (Code 1904, § 2510a), and acts amendatory thereof, and was owned by said W. H. Witt as of January 1, 1907, and at the time of the said conveyance from him in June of that year. The lot was assessed for taxation in 1907 in the name of its owner, W. H. Witt, under the description in the land book or tax list as "1/4 acre lot 6, b 6, G. L. Co." It appears in evidence that the letters "G. L. Co." was the usual abbreviation on the land books of said county to designate lots in said Greenwood Land Company addition and plat or subdivision of land. It was returned delinquent as aforesaid under that description, and subsequently it was advertised for sale, sold, bought by the commonwealth, and such sale to the commonwealth reported by the treasurer to the court, according to law, and the description of the lot in all of these proceedings, including the list in the report of such delinquentsale under sections 662 and 663 of the Code, was substantially the same as that aforesaid, under which the lot was assessed for taxation as aforesaid. The proceedings of such delinquent sale and purchase by the commonwealth were completed in 1910, and were otherwise regular and in accordance with the requirements of law, so that the commonwealth thereby obtained a good title to said lot, being by operation of law the same title which was vested in said W. H. Witt as of January 1, 1907, the appellee being thus divested of the title which he had derived, or would otherwise have derived, by mesne conveyances as aforesaid from said W. H. Witt. And the title to the lot, identified by the description aforesaid, thus stood vested in the commonwealth prior to the institution of this suit.

Neither the appellee, nor the said W. H. Witt, nor any one else under whom appellee claimed title as aforesaid, nor any for them or for any of them, ever redeemed said land from the sale of it aforesaid to the commonwealth.

After the expiration of over four years from the purchase of said lot by the commonwealth as aforesaid, the same not having been redeemed by or sold to any one, certain proceedings were had under Acts 1906, c. 52, p. 41 et seq., for the sale of town lots within the county of Bedford.

The clerk's list in the case before us, so far as material, was as follows:

"A list of all town lots within the county of Bedford and of all lots which are a part of some plat or subdivision of land, made as provided by Acts of 1887-88, chapter 486, and acts amendatory thereof, whether within the corporate limits of the town or city or not, which have been purchased by the commonwealth for delinquent taxes more than four years prior to January 1st, 1915, and which have not been redeemed, except such lots as have been heretofore sold under this act, and such as were reported for sale, but redeemed before the sale, showing the persons in whose names the lots stood at the time of the purchase by the commonwealth, and the amount required to redeem each of the said lots, including amount of taxes due for the year in which the lot was sold, and the amount due the state and county respectively stated in separate columns.

"Name of persons charged with taxes in whose name land is sold: Witt, W. H.

"Quantity of land charged: ——.

"Quantity of land sold: ——.

"Local description of land: ——.

"1907,.12.16. Total,.28."

The treasurer's notice of sale, so far as material, was as follows: "Commonwealth's Sale of Delinquent Lots.

"The following mentioned lots within Bedford county, which have been purchased by the commonwealth for delinquent tax, more than four years prior to January 1st, 1915, and which have not been redeemed, will be offered for sale to the highest bidder, on

"Wednesday, December 1st, 1915,

"as per Act of 1906.

"Witt, W. H.......................31."

The treasurer's report of sale, so far as material, was as follows:

"A list of town lots purchased by the Commonwealth four years prior to 1914 not redeemed and were sold at auction to the highest bidder on December 1st, 1915.

"Names of persons charged with taxes in whose name land was sold:

"Witt, W. H.

"Quantity of land charged: ——.

"Quantity of land sold: ——.

"Total for county 1907. State.12; County.16.

"Total for county.28;.02;.30.

"Remarks: Ohas. Dennis.02."

The tax deed aforesaid was as follows:

"This deed, made this the 3rd day of July, 1916, between S. M. Boiling, clerk of the circuit court for Bedford county, Virginia, party of the first part, and Charles Dennis, party of the second part,

"Whereas, 1—4 acre of land described as lot 6, block 6, G. L. Co., was duly listed for taxation in the year 1907, in corporation district in Bedford county, Virginia, in the name of W. H. Witt, the owner thereof; and

"Whereas, such taxes on said land not being paid for said year, the same were duly reported as delinquent; and

"Whereas, on the 3rd day of January, 1910, the said land was duly sold at a delinquent tax sale by the treasurer of said county, at which sale the said land was purchased by the commonwealth of Virginia; and

"Whereas, more than four years having elapsed after such purchase by the commonwealth aforesaid, prior to the first day of January, 1915, the clerk of said court did prepare a list of all town and city lots purchased by the commonwealth at delinquent tax sales, more than four years prior to the first of January, 1915, and which had not been redeemed, in conformity with the act of Assembly of Virginia, approved February 23rd, 1906; and

"Whereas, said clerk did deliver such list to the treasurer of said county not later than the 1st day of September, 1915, and said treasurer did thereupon duly post copies of said list as required by said act, and did give due notice that he would sell said land at public auction, as directed by said act, unless the said land be previously redeemed; and

"Whereas, the said parcel of land so listed for taxation in the name of W. H. Witt, and so purchased by the commonwealth aforesaid, was duly listed and posted as aforesaid, and was offered for sale at public auction by said treasurer to the highest bidder on the 1st day of December, 1915, as directed by said act at which at which sale the said Charles Dennis became the purchaser, but no description of the land or lot so sold is given in the treasurers report of sale, at the price of two cents, which sum was by said purchaser duly paid to said treasurer; and

"Whereas, the said treasurer did duly report said sale to the circuit court of Bedford county, Virginia, as prescribed and directed by said act; and

"Whereas, the said court did on the 1st day of March, 1916, confirm said report and ordered it to be recorded and indexed as required by said act, which order has been complied with by said clerk; and

"Whereas, four months having elapsed since said confirmation of said report, and the real estate so sold to Charles Dennis not having been redeemed as provided in said act, and the said Charles Dennis having applied to said clerk for a deed Conveying said land to him:

"Now, this deed witnesseth: That in consideration of the premises and of one dollar in hand paid, and in the execution of the duty of said clerk, the said S. M. Boiling, clerk as aforesaid, doth grant with special warranty, unto the said Charles Dennis, what he purchased at said sale, the report of sale not giving any description ofwhat was sold to him. The purchaser furnished the following description as being the proper description of the lot purchased by him, to wit, as being lot No. 6, block 6, map of Greenwood addition to Bedford City, fronting 50 feet on Judd street, and running back 185 feet, found in Deed Book 90, page 573.

"Witness the following signature and seal: "[Signed] S. M. Boiling, [Seal] "Clerk of the Circuit Court of Bedford County, Virginia."

Among the facts relied on by appellant is the following: It was alleged and shown by proof in the case that the said W. H. Witt was not assessed for taxation in 1907 with any other tract or parcel of land in Bedford county than said "1/4 acre, lot 6, block 6, G. L. C. Co." lot.

Upon the hearing of the cause on the merits the court below entered the decree complained of, which was, in substance, that the tax deed aforesaid was void, and that the appellee was entitled to the relief sought by his suit, as aforesaid; and the appellant brings error.

Thos. W. Miller, of Roanoke, for plaintiff in error.

Landon Lowry, of Bedford City, for defendants in error.

SIMS, J. (after stating the facts as above). The assignments of error raise but two questions for our consideration, which will be hereinafter stated and decided.

As appears from the above statement, this is a case In which the commonwealth acquired a valid title to the lot in question at a sale of it for...