Singer v. Village of Goodridge

• Decision Date: 16 May 1941
• Docket Number: No. 32815.,32815.
• Citation: 210 Minn. 324,298 N.W. 35
• Parties: SINGER v. VILLAGE OF GOODRIDGE et al.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

298 N.W. 35

210 Minn. 324

SINGER v. VILLAGE OF GOODRIDGE et al.

No. 32815.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

May 16, 1941.

Appeal from District Court, Pennington County; M. A. Brattland, Judge.

Suit by Stephen Singer against the Village of Goodridge and others, to restrain forfeiture proceedings against certain lots located in the Village of Goodridge. From a judgment in favor of the defendants dismissing the action, the plaintiff appeals.

Judgment affirmed.

Theo. Quale, of Thief River Falls, for appellant.

H. O. Berve, of Thief River Falls, for Village of Goodridge.

Paul A. Lundgren, of Thief River Falls, for Pennington County and its officers.

J. A. A. Burnquist, Atty. Gen., Chester S. Wilson, Deputy Atty. Gen., and Geo. B. Sjoselius, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., amici curiæ.

LORING, Justice.

This was a suit to vacate tax judgments and to restrain forfeiture proceedings thereunder against certain lots in the village of Goodridge in Pennington county, and it comes here on appeal by plaintiff from a judgment for defendants dismissing the cause of action on the merits.

The sole question presented by this appeal is whether the inclusion in the notice accompanying the delinquent tax list of 1934 of the paragraph required by L.1927, c. 119, § 3, 1 Mason Minn.St.1927, § 2139-2, which was an erroneous statement in regard to redemption, vitiated the jurisdiction of the court over the tax proceedings and rendered void its judgment thereon.

May 1, 1932, under unrecorded deeds plaintiff was the owner of the lots here involved, of which he then was and now is in possession. The taxes for 1932 were assessed against the lots, and on March 19, 1934, pursuant to a list of the delinquent taxes upon real estate (including plaintiff's lots) filed by the county auditor with the clerk of the district court, as required by 1 Mason Minn.St.1927, § 2106, and the clerk's return of the notice, as required by 1 Mason Minn.St.1927, §§ 2107 and 2139-2, judgment was entered by default against each of the lots for the 1932 taxes. May 14, 1934, the lots were offered for sale and bid in by the state. Subsequently, by appropriate action of the county officials, the delinquent taxes for the years 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, and 1939 were attached to and became a part of the tax judgments. November 15, 1939, pursuant to 3 Mason Minn.St.1940 Supp. § 2164-1, plaintiff was personally served with notice of the expiration of the time to redeem. December 12, 1939, plaintiff commenced the present action to enjoin forfeiture of his property and to get permission to redeem his property from the sale of May 14, 1934. At the close of plaintiff's case the court granted defendants' motion to dismiss the action on the merits on the grounds that plaintiff was barred by the statute of limitations, 1 Mason Minn.St.1927, § 2139-2, and that the tax judgments were res adjudicata. From the judgment entered thereon plaintiff appeals.

Plaintiff contends (1) that the notice of the filing of the list of taxes remaining delinquent on the first Monday in January, 1934, as published by the clerk of the district court, did not give the court jurisdiction to enter the tax judgments for the reason that the notice, after setting forth verbatim the words required by G.S.1923, § 2107, recited as required by L.1927, c. 119, § 3 (1 Mason, § 2139-2) "You are further notified that at the expiration of five years from the date of the tax judgment sale pursuant to such judgment, each parcel of land sold at such sale, and not redeemed, will become and be the absolute property of the purchaser or of the State, or of his or its assigns, without...