Smith v. Jackson State University
| Citation | 995 So.2d 88 |
| Decision Date | 18 September 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. 2007-CP-01552-SCT.,2007-CP-01552-SCT. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Mississippi |
| Parties | Ricky SMITH v. JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY, JSU, Department of Finance & Administration and Secretary of State. |
Ricky Smith (Pro Se), attorney for appellant.
Sarah E. Berry, Flowood, Nancy Morse Parkes, Regina R. Quinn, David Scott Buford, attorneys for appellees.
EN BANC.
¶ 1. This is a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. The State of Mississippi acquired land at a tax sale and then sold it to the plaintiff Ricky Smith. The same land was condemned by the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration for the use and benefit of Jackson State University. Thus, we have a dispute between the plaintiff and the State of Mississippi over who owns the property. The Chancery Court of Hinds County, First Judicial District, granted summary judgment to the State. We affirm, albeit for different reasons.
¶ 2. On August 28, 2000, certain real property (the "Property") owned by, and assessed to, the Estate of A.H. Noeinger (the "Estate"), was sold to the State of Mississippi for unpaid taxes for the year 1999.1 The Property was not redeemed, that is, no one ever paid the delinquent taxes. However, on June 12, 2001, after the tax sale but before its maturity, the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration filed a condemnation suit against the Estate for the purpose of acquiring the Property for an expansion of Jackson State University. The suit failed to name the State of Mississippi as a defendant (which had acquired the Property at the tax sale), and no notice of the condemnation suit was provided to the Mississippi Secretary of State.
¶ 3. On December 19, 2001, the Special Court of Eminent Domain (First Judicial District of Hinds County) entered a Final Judgment ("Condemnation Order") condemning the subject property and awarding it to the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration ("DFA"). The Condemnation Order specifically stated that "the real property being condemned herein is for public use and is to be used for Jackson State University...."
¶ 4. Despite the fact that the DFA had condemned the Property (that is to say, had condemned that interest in the Property held by the Estate), the Property was included on the Hinds County Chancery Clerk's Tax Forfeited Land Certificate, which was certified to the Secretary of State on September 10, 2002.2 Thus, as of September 2002, DFA thought it owned the Property through condemnation, and the State of Mississippi thought it owned the property through the tax sale, which was not redeemed.
¶ 5. On December 3, 2003, the DFA purported to convey the Property by a Special Warranty Deed to "the State of Mississippi for the use and benefit of the Board of Trustees of the Institutions of Higher Learning." This conveyance was recorded in the land deed records of Hinds County on December 8, 2003. However, the Secretary of State listed the Property at a tax forfeiture sale on August 31, 2006, and the plaintiff, Ricky Smith, purchased a forfeited tax land patent for the Property.
¶ 6. These events led to a dispute of title ownership between Smith and Jackson State University. On November 3, 2006, Smith filed a complaint seeking to confirm his forfeited tax land patent. The defendants served their answers and motions for summary judgment. The trial court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment and, in accordance with Mississippi Code Section 29-1-85, ordered the Secretary of State to refund the purchase price, together with interest, to Smith. It is from this summary judgment that Smith appeals.
¶ 7. We review a trial court's grant of summary judgment de novo. Miller v. R.B. Wall Oil Co., 970 So.2d 127, 130 (Miss.2007). A trial court may grant summary judgment where no genuine issues of material fact exist and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Miss. R. Civ. P. 56(c).
¶ 8. Our quest for a solution to this quagmire begins with a recognition that the fee to property always abides somewhere, although it may be in abeyance. Thus, we must follow the fee through the several chronicled events. Equity Servs. Co. v. Miss. State Highway Comm'n, 192 So.2d 431, 432 (Miss.1966).
¶ 9. No one disputes that, prior to August 28, 2000, the Estate owned the fee to the Property. Because the Estate failed to pay the 1999 taxes due on the Property, it was sold for the delinquent taxes and struck off to the State of Mississippi. Thus, on August 28, 2000, the fee to the Property passed to the State of Mississippi, subject to the delinquent taxpayer's right of redemption as provided in Section 27-45-3 of the Mississippi Code, which states, in part:
All such lists [of lands struck off by the tax collector to the state] shall vest in the state ... a perfect title to the land sold for taxes, but without the right of possession for the period of and subject to the right of redemption ... The lists hereinabove provided shall, when filed with the clerk, be notice to all persons in the same manner as are deeds when filed for record.
Miss.Code Ann. § 27-45-3 (Rev.2006)
¶ 10. This statutory language clearly provides that—even though the Estate retained a right of possession and redemption —the fee passed to the State of Mississippi on August 28, 2000, and the State became the "owner of the land." State v. Rogers, 206 Miss. 643, 654, 39 So.2d 533, 537 (1949).
¶ 11. After the sale and during the time allowed for redemption (in this case, August 28, 2002), the State possesses "an inchoate title" to the land which "may or may not ripen into a perfect title." Id. After the redemption period is over—assuming the property is not redeemed—the Secretary of State "shall have charge ... of the lands forfeited to the state for nonpayment of taxes." Miss.Code Ann. § 7-11-11 (Rev.2002).
¶ 12. Under Mississippi law, the DFA has authority to acquire real property through eminent domain proceedings.
If the [Department of Finance and Administration]3 shall be unable to agree with the owner or owners of any such land or real property which is necessary or desirable for the public use in connection with any such project, [the Department of Finance and Administration] shall have the power and authority to acquire any such land or real property by condemnation proceedings in the manner otherwise provided by law and, for such purpose, the right of eminent domain is hereby conferred upon and vested in said [Department of Finance and Administration].
Miss.Code Ann. § 31-11-25 (Rev.2005) (emphasis added).
¶ 13. The DFA initiated condemnation proceedings against the Estate on June 12, 2001, which was after the fee had transferred to the State of Mississippi. Thus, argues Smith, DFA had the wrong sow by the ear. We agree. The fee holder (the State of Mississippi) was not named as a party to the condemnation proceedings. Because the condemnation was filed against the Estate, DFA stood only to acquire that which was held by DFA, that is, the temporary rights of redemption and possession held by the Estate. These rights expired on August 28, 2002, and thereafter, neither the Estate nor the DFA had any interest or rights in the Property.
¶ 14. Furthermore, Smith argues that the condemnation proceeding was null and void because the Secretary of State was not notified or made a party to the proceeding. His argument is based on this Court's ruling in Mississippi State Highway Commission v. Casey, 253 Miss. 685, 178 So.2d 859, 863 (1965), which stated that a tax-sale purchaser was a necessary party to the eminent domain proceeding initiated before the redemption period was over.
¶ 15. In Casey, the plaintiff purchased land at a tax sale. Casey, 178 So.2d at 859. Prior to the expiration of the redemption period, the Mississippi State Highway Commission filed condemnation proceedings. Id. at 859-860. The Highway Commission did not redeem the tax sale, and a tax deed was duly executed and delivered to the plaintiff. Id. The Court held that the plaintiff was a necessary party to the condemnation proceedings, and since he was not joined, his tax title was sufficient to entitle him to enjoin the Highway Commission from entering the property. Id. at 863. The Court emphasized that "[c]learly Casey not only had an interest in the property, but such also entitled him to be recognized in the eminent domain proceedings." Id.
¶ 16. Moreover, Section 11-27-7 expressly provides the method of acquiring property by eminent domain, including the notice requirements.4 In New v. State Highway Commission, this Court found that the purpose of this provision of law is "to give all persons interested in the property sought to be acquired by eminent domain proceedings an opportunity to be heard at one time, so as to prevent subsequent litigation by interested persons who were not notified." New v. State Highway Comm'n, 297 So.2d 821, 823 (Miss.1974) (emphasis added). The Court held in New that:
[T]he Legislature intended to set out in detail the method of acquiring property by eminent domain; that the requirement of the law that all parties of interest be made parties and be duly notified by proper process is not directory, but is part of the procedure and must be strictly followed.
Id. (citing Miss. Power Co. v. Leggett, 197 So.2d 475 (Miss.1967) (emphasis added)). Also, in Mississippi State Highway Commission v. West, this Court stated that "a condemner must determine, at his peril, the names of the owner and other persons having an interest in, or lien on, the premises sought to be condemned ... [and] the reason underlying such rule is to protect the right both of the condemner and of parties having a beneficial interest in the premises ..." Miss. State Highway Comm'n v. West, 181 Miss. 206, 218, 179...
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