COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4486
(By Delegates Frazier, Moore, Ellem and Hunt)
(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)
(February 25, 2010)
A BILL to amend and reenact §11A-3-19, §11A-3-22, §11A-3-52 and
§11A-3-55 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
relating to the procedures, notice and redemption requirements
which apply when real property is sold to satisfy a tax lien;
requiring the purchaser of real property at a tax lien sale or
auction to provide the actual mailing address for the Class II
property as a part of the post-auction information provided to
the clerk; requiring that a copy of the notice of the right to
redeem the property be sent to the actual mailing address of
the Class II property, in the name of "Occupant"; and
establishing similar requirements whenever Class II real
property is auctioned or sold by a the auditor's office or the
deputy commissioner of delinquent and nonentered lands as a
result of a tax lien.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11A-3-19, §11A-3-22, §11A-3-52 and 11A-3-55 of the Code
of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. SALE OF TAX LIENS AND NONENTERED, ESCHEATED AND WASTE
AND UNAPPROPRIATED LANDS.
§11A-3-19. What purchaser must do before he or she can secure
deed.
(a) At any time after October 31 of the year following the
sheriff's sale, and on or before December 31, of the same year, the
purchaser, his or her heirs or assigns, in order to secure a deed
for the real estate subject to the tax lien or liens purchased,
shall:
(1) Prepare a list of those to be served with notice to redeem
and request the clerk to prepare and serve the notice as provided
in sections twenty-one and twenty-two of this article;
(2) When the real property subject to the tax lien is
classified as Class II property, provide the clerk with the
physical mailing address of the property that is subject to the tax
lien or liens purchased;
(2)(3) Provide the clerk with a list of any additional
expenses incurred after January 1, of the year following the
sheriff's sale for the preparation of the list of those to be
served with notice to redeem including proof of the additional
expenses in the form of receipts or other evidence of reasonable legal expenses incurred for the services of any attorney who has
performed an examination of the title to the real estate and
rendered a written opinion and certification thereon;
(3)(4) Deposit, or offer to deposit, with the clerk a sum
sufficient to cover the costs of preparing and serving the notice;
and,
(4)(5) Present the purchaser's certificate of sale, or order
of the county commission where the certificate has been lost or
wrongfully withheld from the owner, to the clerk of the county
commission.
(b) For failure to meet these requirements In the event that
the purchaser should fail to fulfill the requirements set forth in
paragraph (a) of this section, the purchaser shall lose all the
benefits of his or her purchase.
(b)(c) If the person requesting preparation and service of the
notice is an assignee of the purchaser, he or she shall, at the
time of the request, file with the clerk a written assignment to
him or her of the purchaser's rights, executed, acknowledged and
certified in the manner required to make a valid deed.
(c)(d) Whenever any certificate given by the sheriff for a tax
lien on any land, or interest in the land sold for delinquent
taxes, or any assignment of the lien is lost or wrongfully withheld
from the rightful owner of the land and the land or interest has
not been redeemed, the county commission may receive evidence of the loss or wrongful detention and, upon satisfactory proof of that
fact, may cause a certificate of the proof and finding, properly
attested by the county clerk under the seal of the county, to be
delivered to the rightful claimant, and a record of the certificate
shall be duly made by the county clerk in the recorded proceedings
of the commission.
§11A-3-22. Service of notice.
As soon as the clerk has prepared the notice provided for in
section twenty-one of this article, he shall cause it to be served
upon all persons named on the list generated by the purchaser
pursuant to the provisions of section nineteen of this article.
The notice shall be served upon all such persons residing or
found in the state in the manner provided for serving process
commencing a civil action or by certified mail, return receipt
requested. The notice shall be served on or before the thirtieth
day following the request for such notice.
If any person entitled to notice is a nonresident of this
state, whose address is known to the purchaser, he shall be served
at such address by certified mail, return receipt requested.
If the address of any person entitled to notice, whether a
resident or nonresident of this state, is unknown to the purchaser
and cannot be discovered by due diligence on the part of the
purchaser, the notice shall be served by publication as a Class
III-0 legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication
area for such publication shall be the county in which such real
estate is located. If service by publication is necessary,
publication shall be commenced when personal service is required as
set forth above, and a copy of the notice shall at the same time be
sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known
address of the person to be served. The return of service of such
notice and the affidavit of publication, if any, shall be in the
manner provided for process generally and shall be filed and
preserved by the clerk in his office, together with any return
receipts for notices sent by certified mail.
In addition to the other notice requirements set forth in this
section, if the real property subject to the tax lien was
classified as Class II property at the time of the assessment, at
the same time the clerk issues the required notices by certified
mail, the clerk shall forward a copy of the notice to sent to the
delinquent taxpayer by first class mail, addressed to "Occupant",
to the physical mailing address for the subject property. The
physical mailing address for the subject property shall be
supplied by the purchaser of the tax lien pursuant to the
provisions of section nineteen of this article.
§11A-3-52. What purchaser must do before he can secure a deed.
(a) Within forty-five days following the approval of the sale
by the auditor pursuant to section fifty-one of this article, the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, in order to secure a deed for the
real estate purchased, shall:
(1) Prepare a list of those to be served with notice to redeem
and request the deputy commissioner to prepare and serve the notice
as provided in sections fifty-four and fifty-five of this article;
and
(2) When the real property subject to the tax lien was
classified as Class II property, provide the deputy commissioner
with the actual mailing address of the property that is subject to
the tax lien or liens purchased; and,
(2)(3) Deposit, or offer to deposit, with the deputy
commissioner a sum sufficient to cover the costs of preparing and
serving the notice.
(b) For failure to meet these requirements If the purchaser
fails to fulfill the requirements set forth in paragraph (a) of
this section, the purchaser shall lose all the benefits of his or
her purchase.
(c) After the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section
have been satisfied, the deputy commissioner may then sell the
property in the same manner as he sells lands which have been
offered for sale at public auction but which remain unsold after
such auction, as provided in section forty-eight of this article.
(b)(d) If the person requesting preparation and service of the
notice is an assignee of the purchaser, he shall, at the time of the request, file with the deputy commissioner a written assignment
to him of the purchaser's rights, executed, acknowledged and
certified in the manner required to make a valid deed.
§11A-3-55. Service of notice.
As soon as the deputy commissioner has prepared the notice
provided for in section fifty-four of this article, he shall cause
it to be served upon all persons named on the list generated by the
purchaser pursuant to the provisions of section fifty-two of this
article. Such notice shall be mailed and, if necessary, published
at least thirty days prior to the first day a deed may be issued
following the deputy commissioner's sale.
The notice shall be served upon all such persons residing or
found in the state in the manner provided for serving process
commencing a civil action or by certified mail, return receipt
requested. The notice shall be served on or before the thirtieth
day following the request for such notice.
If any person entitled to notice is a nonresident of this
state, whose address is known to the purchaser, he shall be served
at such address by certified mail, return receipt requested.
If the address of any person entitled to notice, whether a
resident or nonresident of this state, is unknown to the purchaser
and cannot be discovered by due diligence on the part of the
purchaser, the notice shall be served by publication as a Class
III-0 legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication
area for such publication shall be the county in which such real
estate is located. If service by publication is necessary,
publication shall be commenced when personal service is required as
set forth above, and a copy of the notice shall at the same time be
sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known
address of the person to be served. The return of service of such
notice, and the affidavit of publication, if any, shall be in the
manner provided for process generally and shall be filed and
preserved by the auditor in his office, together with any return
receipts for notices sent by certified mail.
In addition to the other notice requirements set forth in this
section, if the real property subject to the tax lien was
classified as Class II property at the time of the assessment, at
the same time the deputy commissioner issues the required notices
by certified mail, the deputy commissioner shall forward a copy of
the notice sent to the delinquent taxpayer by first class mail,
addressed to "Occupant", to the physical mailing address for the
subject property. The physical mailing address for the subject
property shall be supplied by the purchaser of the property,
pursuant to the provisions of section fifty-two of this article.
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