Halsey v. Simmons

• Decision Date: 22 January 2020
• Docket Number: Appellate Case No. 2017-001459,Opinion No. 5712
• Court: South Carolina Court of Appeals
• Parties: Brenda HALSEY, Bernay F. Halsey, Jr., Demont Halsey, Fredericka Halsey, and Brittany Halsey, Appellants, v. Gwendolette Halsey SIMMONS, Kenneth Wayne Oglesby, Roderick Terrill Oglesby, any heirs of the Rederick Gaffney Estate, known and unknown, who may claim any interest in the subject property, and any unknown heirs or parties who may claim title or ownership in the real estate which is the subject of this action, Elijah Redish, Jackie W. Williams, as Cherokee County Treasurer, or the Successor in Office, Vernon L. Price, as Delinquent Tax Collector of Cherokee County, or the Successor in Office, Defendants, Of whom Gwendolette Halsey Simmons, Elijah Redish, Jackie W. Williams, as Cherokee County Treasurer, or the Successor in Office, Vernon L. Price, as Delinquent Tax Collector of Cherokee County, or the Successor in Office, are the Respondents.

429 S.C. 385

837 S.E.2d 919

Brenda HALSEY, Bernay F. Halsey, Jr., Demont Halsey, Fredericka Halsey, and Brittany Halsey, Appellants,

v.Gwendolette Halsey SIMMONS, Kenneth Wayne Oglesby, Roderick Terrill Oglesby, any heirs of the Rederick Gaffney Estate, known and unknown, who may claim any interest in the subject property, and any unknown heirs or parties who may claim title or ownership in the real estate which is the subject of this action, Elijah Redish, Jackie W. Williams, as Cherokee County Treasurer, or the Successor in Office, Vernon L. Price, as Delinquent Tax Collector of Cherokee County, or the Successor in Office, Defendants,Of whom Gwendolette Halsey Simmons, Elijah Redish, Jackie W. Williams, as Cherokee County Treasurer, or the Successor in Office, Vernon L. Price, as Delinquent Tax Collector of Cherokee County, or the Successor in Office, are the Respondents.

Appellate Case No. 2017-001459

Opinion No. 5712

Court of Appeals of South Carolina.

Submitted December 2, 2019

Filed January 22, 2020

Rehearing Denied February 20, 2020

Richard H. Rhodes and William Hardwick Rhodes, both of Burts Turner & Rhodes, of Spartanburg, for Appellants.

George Brandt, III, of Henderson Brandt & Vieth, PA, of Spartanburg, for Respondent Elijah Redish; Joseph L. Mathis and Joseph L.V. Johnson, both of Saint-Amand Thompson & Mathis, LLC, of Gaffney, for Respondents Vernon L. Price, as Delinquent Tax Collector of Cherokee County, or the Successor in Office, and Jackie W. Williams, as Cherokee County Treasurer, or the Successor in Office; and Anna-Karina Parker, of Winter & Rhoden, LLC, of Gaffney, for Respondent Gwendolette Halsey Simmons.

GEATHERS, J.:

In this action to declare a delinquent property tax sale invalid, Appellants Brenda Halsey ("Mrs. Halsey") and her children contend that the Master-In-Equity erred in finding county officials, by way of Respondents Vernon L. Price, the Delinquent Tax Collector, and Jackie W. Williams, the County Treasurer, strictly complied with the notice requirements of S.C. Code Ann. § 12-51-40 (2014). Specifically, Appellants contend that the Master erred by (1) finding the tax sale valid because (i) the notices were not sent to the best address available, and (ii) the notices were not sent to Mrs. Halsey; and (2) granting a directed verdict for Respondents because (i) Appellants were denied the opportunity to present evidence, (ii) the testimony showed that the requirements of section 12-51-40 were not followed, (iii) the ruling was based on an incomplete record, and (iv) Price had actual notice that Mrs. Halsey was the owner of the property at issue. We affirm.¹

FACTS

The property in question is the parcel, with an unoccupied house, located at 305 Leadmine Street, Gaffney, map reference number 100-08-00-055.003 ("the Property"). The Property was originally a part of the surrounding mobile home park's parcel ("Oglesby Mobile Homes") but splintered from that parcel at some point in time. Additionally, there is a relevant parcel adjacent to the Property, with map reference number 100-08-00-056.000 ("Adjacent Property"), where Respondent Gwendolette Simmons ("Gwendolette") had a home. Appellants claim their interest in the Property through Mrs. Halsey's husband, Bernay Halsey (Gwendolette's brother), who died intestate on June 22, 2004. Bernay Halsey's estate was filed in probate court in 2014, ten years after his death. Appellants contend Bernay Halsey obtained title to the Property by deed referenced 14-Q 171. However, due to incorrect legal descriptions of the properties in the aforementioned deed, issues surrounding the discovery of any other deed to the Property, and mapping problems, the chain of title to the Property is complicated.² This confusion led to misidentification in taxing the Property, with the taxes being listed with either the wrong address, a different owner, or the wrong tax map number. There is no document in the record listing Bernay Halsey as the owner of the Property with its correct tax map number, 100-08-00-055.003.

The Property was sold at a delinquent tax sale on November 4, 2013, due to unpaid taxes from years 2008–12. It is undisputed that prior to the sale, and thereafter, Cherokee County officials sent all statutorily required notices to Gwendolette (also known as Gwendolyn Dawkins). Appellants argue that Mrs. Halsey was entitled to notice because county officials knew that Mrs. Halsey was the owner of the Property. Respondents counter that county officials did not know who owned the Property, so the notices were sent to the "Rederick Gaffney Estate" in care of Gwendolyn Dawkins (Gwendolette).

Delinquent Taxes & Notice of Tax Sale

The first set of tax receipts in the record that correctly list the Property's map reference number are from 2004 and 2005. The receipts list the Property's owner as the Rederick Gaffney Estate, in care of Gwendolyn Dawkins, as follows:

GAFFNEY REDERICK EST% GWENDOLYN DAWKINS135 IRIS LANEGAFFNEY SC 29341

Mrs. Halsey paid both 2004 and 2005 taxes on the Property to the Treasurer's Office. There are no tax receipts or assertions of taxes having been paid for the Property beyond these two years in the record.

Respondent Vernon Price began working as the Delinquent Tax Collector of Cherokee County in 2003. He was the sole employee in his department during the notice period in question. At trial, Price testified that the chains of title for the entire relevant tract of land (including Oglesby Mobile Homes and Adjacent Property) were uncertain. He stated that his office regularly tries to work with the Treasurer's Office, Tax Assessor's Office, and Mapping Office to sort out property ownership when it is unclear. The addresses Price's department uses to send notices of delinquent taxes and other correspondence are usually supplied by the Tax Assessor's Office. However, these addresses can change at any time because interested persons can call and advise the Assessor's Office that they have a new address, and that address would be used by the County for notification purposes. Price stated that he searches mobile home records, alerts the Treasurer's Office of misspellings of names that he is aware of, and asks the Assessor's Office questions to try and ensure delinquent notices are sent to the correct person.

Price testified that the County conducted multiple title and deed searches to find owners of the Property, but to no avail. Additionally, he testified that there was no documentation informing him who were the heirs to the Property. Price stated Mrs. Halsey had never represented herself to be the owner of the Property and she had never come in to speak with him regarding the Property; rather, she only spoke to him about Oglesby Mobile Homes. Price testified that when Mrs. Halsey would come to his office regarding Oglesby Mobile Homes, he would mention to her that the taxes on the Property were owed. In 2012, Mrs. Halsey went to Price's office and paid delinquent taxes on Oglesby Mobile Homes. Mrs. Halsey asserted in her original complaint that at the time she thought that she was also paying back taxes on the Property. However, Price stated Mrs. Halsey knew she was paying taxes for only Oglesby Mobile Homes.³

Price testified that the statutory notices to "delinquent taxpayers" or "grantees of record" pursuant to section 12-51-40(a) & (b) are auto-generated and mailed by a third-party service, QS-1, using the name and address of the taxpayer that the Tax Assessor's Office has listed in its system. Price stated he does not send any additional notices to any other party unless he has actual knowledge that that party is an owner of the property. The first notice, the Execution Notice, was sent on or about March 24, 2013, to:

GAFFNEY REDERICK EST% GWENDOLYN DAWKINS135 IRIS LANEGAFFNEY SC 29341

The notice advised that the taxes in the amount of $1,768.85 for the year 2012 had to be paid by April 30, 2013. The delinquent taxes were not paid, and a Final Tax Notice was sent by certified mail to Gwendolette on June 8, 2013. Gwendolette signed for the mail the same day. This Final Tax Notice gave the Rederick Gaffney Estate until July 31, 2013, to pay the delinquent taxes. Price then physically posted a Notice of Levy on the Property on September 18, 2013. The taxes were not paid, and the Property was advertised for sale at public auction in two separate newspapers: October 16 & 30, 2013, for one paper; and October 22 & 29, 2013, for the other.

The Property was sold at auction on November 4, 2013, to Elijah Redish for $12,000. This amount covered the existing delinquent tax amount of $9,627.53 owed on the Property for tax years 2008–12, plus the fees that were not applied at the time of the advertising. On November 13, 2013, Price mailed a notice to Gwendolette informing her of the sale to Redish and that the Rederick Gaffney Estate had until November 5, 2014, to redeem the Property. At some point in 2014, as previously mentioned, the estate of Bernay Halsey was filed in probate court. Finally, on October 14, 2014, Price sent delinquent tax notices via certified mail to Gwendolette at her previously designated address and to Mrs. Halsey at the Property's address of 305 Leadmine Street. Price testified that he sent Mrs. Halsey the delinquent tax notice informing her about the final date of redemption because he knew Mrs. Halsey was involved. The Property was not redeemed, and Elijah Redish was granted title to the Property on November 12, 2014.

Appellants filed their complaint in the Court of Common Pleas of the Seventh Judicial Circuit on April 15, 2015, seeking a ruling that the tax sale was conducted improperly due to the actions of Price and the Cherokee County Treasurer and a finding that Appellants were the owners of the Property over any potential heirs of Rederick Gaffney. Therefore, Gwendolette and her siblings, as well as any other potential heirs of the Rederick Gaffney Estate, were joined in the suit to protect any interest they may...