Ridgeway v. Peacock

• Decision Date: 20 November 1930
• Citation: 131 So. 140,100 Fla. 1297
• Parties: RIDGEWAY et al. v. PEACOCK, Circuit Court Clerk, et al.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

131 So. 140

100 Fla. 1297

RIDGEWAY et al. v. PEACOCK, Circuit Court Clerk, et al.

Florida Supreme Court

November 20, 1930

Suit by Townsend Burns Ridgeway against J. R. Peacock, Clerk of the Circuit Court, and others, in which suit J. Louis Houle intervened. From orders sustaining demurrer to original bill and bill of intervention, complainant and intervener appeal.

Affirmed.

See also, 131 So. 136.

ELLIS J., dissenting. Appeal from Circuit Court, Sarasota County Paul C. Albritton, judge.

COUNSEL

Lucas & Twomey, of Tampa, for appellants.

Edwin Brobston, of Tampa, for appellees.

Fred H. Davis, Atty. Gen., and Albert B. Bernstein, of Miami, as amici curiae.

OPINION

WHITFIELD J.

Townsend Burns Ridgeway brought a bill of complaint against J. R. Peacock, clerk of the circuit court, Horace G. Reese, Jr., and Ernest Amos, comptroller, in which it is in effect alleged that Ridgeway is the owner of described lands in Sarasota county, Fla.; that at a sale of tax certificates by the clerk of the circuit court, J. R. Peacock, to the highest bidder under chapter 14572, Acts 1929 (Ex. Sess.), Horace G. Reese, Jr., was the highest bidder for two tax sale certificates covering said lands, issued in 1927 for the unpaid taxes of 1926; that the amount of such highest bids for said certificates is less than the full amount of such certificates for the taxes of 1926 and subsequent taxes on such lands; that said highest bids were approved by the comptroller, and certificate No. 924 has been delivered to Horace G. Reese, Jr., upon payment of the amount bid by him; that the clerk still has in his possession certificate No. 916 which he will deliver upon payment of the amount bid; that Horace G. Reese, Jr., has demanded of complainant the full amount of said certificate No. 924 and subsequent taxes, and stated that, unless the same was immediately paid, he would, without delay, foreclose said certificate No. 924, together with the subsequent taxes assigned to him, accruing on the property covered by said certificates, and would immediately upon receipt of certificate No. 916 proceed to foreclose it, together with the subsequent taxes accruing on the property covered by said certificate; that complainant has offered to pay the said Horace G. Reese, Jr., the amount bid and paid by him for said certificates, and subsequent taxes, assigned to him, accruing on the property covered by said certificate, but that the said defendant Horace G. Reese, Jr., has refused the offer and demanded the full amount of the tax certificates, and subsequent taxes, assigned to him, which have accrued on the property covered by said certificate, purchased by him.

It is alleged that chapter 14572, Acts 1929 (Ex. Sess.), under which tax sale certificates are sold to the highest bidder and the tax lien foreclosed in equity, is unconstitutional on numerous grounds. Relief by injunction is prayed.

By permission of the court, J. Louis Houle, a resident, citizen and taxpayer, filed a bill of intervention containing allegations affecting the validity of chapter 14572, and prayed that operations under it be enjoined.

Demurrers to the original bill and the bill of intervention were sustained, and the complainant appealed.

The statute gives the state a lien upon lands for taxes duly assessed thereon. Sections 896, 1020, Comp. Gen. Laws 1927. Such lien is evidenced by tax sale certificates issued at the sale for nonpayment of taxes. When the certificates are purchased by private parties at the sale, or from the state when the certificates are sold to the state, the statute provides that the owner of the land or others interested therein may redeem the certificates within two years. At the end of the two-year redemption period, the private holder may get a deed or foreclose the lien evidenced by the tax certificate. If the state holds the tax certificate when the redemption period expires, the title to the land vests in the state under the statutes. The state may sell the certificate and issue a deed thereon after due notice to the owner, or may authorize the lien of the tax certificate to be foreclosed and the rights of the owners cut off. The state exercises this authority by virtue of its sovereignty to enforce tax payments. The sovereign power is exerted through statutes that afford due process and equal protection of the laws to property owners.

Section 42 of chapter 14572, Acts 1929 (Ex. Sess.), provides for the sale of tax certificates held by the state, after the period of redemption expired. Such provisions are properly connected with the general subject 'relating to and concerning taxation,' expressed in the title, and the provisions of section 42 are not inconsistent with, but are in complement to, the matters relating to and concerning taxation that are specifically stated in the title of the act; and the title is not double...