Montgomery v. Gipson
| Decision Date | 05 January 1954 |
| Citation | 69 So.2d 305 |
| Parties | MONTGOMERY v. GIPSON et al. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Graham, Dixon & Flynn, Tampa, for appellant.
Reeves, Allen & Dell, Tampa, for appellee.
This case involves the validity of a tax deed and, more specifically, the sufficiency of the notice of the application for the deed required by Section 194.18, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., to be sent to the owner of the property. The lower court held the notice insufficient, declared the tax deed to be null and void, and quieted title to the property in the record title holders, the appellees Gipson. From this decree the holder of the tax deed, appellants here, has appealed.
Briefly, the facts are that the property was purchased by the appellees Grady C. and Mary L. Gipson as an estate by the entirety in 1949, at which time they were advised by the then owner that the 1949 taxes had been paid. This was not the case, however; and in due course a tax certificate was issued and sold for the delinquent 1949 taxes, and application was made to the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Hillsborough County for a deed. Upon receiving the request for the tax deed application, the Clerk (as was his custom, although not required by law to do so) directed a letter to the appellees Gipson advising them that he had received a request for a tax deed application to be filed on property which was assessed to them on the 1951 tax roll, and stating the amount necessary to redeem the outstanding certificate if they desired to do so within ten days. This latter, referred to hereafter as the 'unofficial notice,' was directed by the Clerk to the Gipsons at 8105 12th Street, Tampa, the street address of the property in question and the address of the Gipsons as shown on the tax role. The Gipsons had, however, moved to Georgia and had leased the premises and, according to their testimony, did not receive this 'unofficial notice'.
Subsequently, the Clerk published a notice of the application for tax deed, as required by Section 194.16, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., and mailed to each of the Gipsons the notice required by Section 194.18, Florida Statutes, F.S.A. The notice to Grady C. Gipson was properly addressed to him at 8105 12th Street, Tampa; but through a clerical error the notice directed to Mary L. Gipson was mailed to her at 8501 12th Street, Tampa, and was returned to the Clerk as being an erroneous address. Thereafter, the property was sold at public sale and a tax deed issued to the appellant. Grady C. Gipson testified that he never received the notice mailed to him, but this is unimportant in view of the provisions of Section 194.18 that 'The failure of the owner * * * to receive such notice shall not affect the validity of the tax deed issued pursuant to such notice.'
Two questions are argued here. The first may be stated as follows: As to property held as an estate by the entirety, will a notice of application for a tax deed to such property which is properly mailed to only one of the spouses be sufficient as a 'notice to the owner' required by Section 194.18, supra? We do not think the nature of an estate by the entirety requires that this question be answered in the affirmative, as contended by appellant. While it is true, as contended by appellant, that the estate held by the spouses in an estate by the entirety is one per tout and not per my, there are still two owners of the property, and both must join in a conveyancy of the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Johnson v. Arbabi
...observe the notice procedures governing tax sales has resulted in the nullification of an entire transaction. See, e.g., Montgomery v. Gipson, 69 So.2d 305 (Fla.1954) (holding notice of right to redeem to one spouse was insufficient and tax deed was void); Brousseau v. Conklin, 301 Mich. 24......
-
Wells v. Thomas
...was followed in the later cases of Swigert v. Parker, Fla., 46 So.2d 16, 17; Thacker v. Biggers, Fla., 48 So.2d 750; and Montgomery v. Gipson, Fla., 69 So.2d 305. But in none of these cases did we consider the question of the impact of Section 192.48, supra, on a tax deed which could be hel......
-
Locke v. Stuart
...statute, it follows that there was no issue of fact for determination by a jury. See Wells v. Thomas, Fla., 78 So.2d 378; Montgomery v. Gipson, Fla., 69 So.2d 305; Swigert v. Parker, Fla., 46 So.2d 16; Heinberg v. Andress, Fla., 45 So.2d 488, and Ozark Corp. v. Pattishall, 135 Fla. 610, 185......
-
Thompson-Green v. Estate of Drobish
...owner was properly served with notice of the expiration of the right to redeem, but person in possession was not); Montgomery v. Gipson, 69 So.2d 305, 305-06 (Fla.1954) (requiring strict compliance with the applicable statutes; tax deed invalid where husband and wife owned the property as t......