ADOLPH GOODMAN
v.
JIM H. CARTER, W. OTIS SMITH AND ANNA L. SMITH, HIS WIFE
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Adolph Goodman, who held a tax deed to property issued in 1944, sued to quiet title against defendants who had subsequently recorded quit claim and fee simple deeds dated January 1946. The defendants challenged the tax deed's validity on multiple grounds. The Florida Supreme Court reversed the lower court's cancellation of the tax deed, holding that technical deviations from statutory forms were insufficient to nullify the conveyance under Florida's remedial tax collection statutes.
The court held that technical departures from statutory forms of notice and deed were not sufficient to nullify the conveyance. Under Florida's remedial tax statutes, a tax sale cannot be invalidated except upon proof that the property was not subject to taxation, taxes had been previously paid, or the property had been redeemed prior to the deed's execution and delivery.
“no sale or conveyance of real or personal property for non-payment of taxes shall be held invalid except upon proof that the property was not subject to taxation, or that the taxes had been paid previous to sale, or that the property had been redeemed prior to the execution and delivery of deed based upon certificate issued for nonpayment of taxes”
Establishes the exclusive grounds for invalidating a tax deed under Florida law, limiting challenges to substantive issues rather than technical defects.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceGoodman held a tax deed issued in 1944 for certain property. In January 1946, defendants Jim H. Carter, W. Otis Smith, and Anna L. Smith recorded quit…
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Appellant-plaintiff claims title to certain property by virtue of a tax deed issued in 1944. Defendants claim title to the same property by virtue of a quit claim deed and fee simple deeds dated in January 1946 which latter deeds made the defendants’ claims good except for the tax deed held by plaintiff.
Plaintiff filed his suit to quiet title against the defendants because of the cloud cast upon his title by the recording of the deeds to the defendants above mentioned.
Defendants answered and counter-claimed, setting up that plaintiff’s deed was void because:
(1) the tax deed was based on a tax sale notice covering several pieces of property and several certificates and it was not definite as to what property each certificate related.
(2) the tax deed was issued by the clerk in the name of “State of- Florida” when it should have been “County of Broward” instead.
(3) the clerk of the circuit court acted for the purchaser-plaintiff at the sale which sale was conducted by the clerk as a part of his public duties.
Upon final hearing the chancellor found the equities with the defendants, cancelled the tax deed and adjudged the defendants to be owners of the property free and clear of all claims of the plaintiffs and plaintiffs appeal.
In considering paragraph (1) supra, we noted that section 192.21 Florida Statutes 1941, F.S.A., provides;
“ ... no act of omission or commission ... of any tax assessor . . . tax collector . . . county commissioners . . . clerk of the circuit court. . . newspaper . . . shall . . . defeat. . . taxes; : . . any omission or commission may be corrected at any time . .. when so corrected they shall be construed as valid ab initio and shall in no way affect any process provided by law for the enforcement of the collection of any such tax . . . ; all provisions of law . . . relating to the assessment and collection of *114revenue . . . shall be deemed ... to be directory only, designed for the orderly agreement of records and procedure of officers in enforcing the revenue laws of the state; and no sale or conveyance of real or personal property for non-payment of taxes shall be held invalid except upon proof that the property was not subject to taxation, or that the taxes had been paid previous to sale, or that the property had been redeemed prior to the execution and delivery of deed based upon certificate issued for nonpayment of taxes . . (Italics supplied).
In Kester v. Bostwick, 153 Fla. 450, 15 So. (2nd) 208, we held notice of application for tax deed fatally defective upon grounds similar to (1) supra because of the non-compliance with section 2 of chapter 17457, acts of 1935. Since the act under consideration in the Kester case chapter 20722, acts of 1841, has been enacted and this law specifically repealed section 2 and other sections of chapter 17457. The above quotations from 192.21 Florida Statutes 1941, F.S.A., were a part of chapter 20722, acts of 1941.
The clerk in his “notice of application for Tax Deed” published in September and October 1944 followed the form prescribed by repealed chapter 17457, acts of 1935, instead of section 194.16 Florida Statutes 1941, F.S.A. These forms are almost identical but the latter section governed.
The clerk also followed the form of deed prescribed by section 10 of chapter 17457, acts of 1935, when he should have followed Section 194.24 Florida Statutes 1941, F.S.A. This latter section provided for a deed in the name of the County while the former law provided for one from the State.
Quere: Were these departures from the statutory forms of notice and deed sufficient to nullify the conveyance? We think not.
Addressing ourselves to paragraph (3) supra, the letter from the clerk to the plaintiff would have been substantial evidence in an equity suit to set aside the sale for fraud by the then owners of the land. But such is not the case here. To begin with, if any fraud was in fact committed it was not committed against the appellees. Under the facts we are of the opinion that such showing as made is of no avail to the defendant cross-claimants.
*115It is our conclusion that the learned chancellor erred and that the decree should be reversed for further proceedings not inconsistent herewith.
Reversed.
CHAPMAN, C. J., BROWN and THOMAS, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Susye Belle Wells v. Jefferson Thomas, 78 So. 2d 378 (Fla. 1955)…e without any means of identifying the certificate with the description of the land. The Chancellor so fouud and adjudged the Ashmore tax deed fatally defective on authority of Kester v. Bostwick, 153 Fla., 450, 15 So. 2d 208. In Goodman v. Carter, 158 Fla. 112, 27 So. 2d 748, this court held that Kester v. Bostwick had to do with a tax deed issued under Chapter 17457, Acts of 1935, F.S.A. § 194.15 et seq., while Goodman v. Carter was controlled by Chapter 20722, Acts of 1941 (amended in 1943 by Chapter 22…1 / 3
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Markham v. Friedland, 245 So. 2d 645 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971)…he statutes in question are mandatory but are directory only (§ 192.21, F.S. [F.S.A.]; Overstreet v. Gordon, 121 Fla. 180, 163 So. 477; Rio Vista Hotel and Improvement Co. v. Belle Mead Development Corp., 132 Fla. 88, 182 So. 417; Goodman v. Carter, 158 Fla. 112, 27 So. 2d 748). Although the statutes seem to contemplate the preparation of a portion of the original tax roll before equalization and the completion of it thereafter, when such statutes were enacted the use of mechanical means for the preparation…
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Nichols v. Boy Brown, 159 Fla. 897 (Fla. 1948)…cause remanded with direction that decree be entered in favor of the appellant on authority of our opinions and judgments in Kester v. Bostwick, 153 Fla. 437, 15 So. (2nd) 201; Tindel v. Griffin, 157 Fla. 156, 25 So. (2nd) 200 and Goodman v. Carter, 158 Fla. 112, 27 So. (2nd) 748. It is so ordered. TERRELL, BUFORD, SEBRING and BARNS, JJ., concur. THOMAS, C. J., CHAPMAN and ADAMS, JJ., dissent.…
Authorities Cited
- Kester v. Nellie L. Cowan Bostwick (Formerly Nellie L. Cowan) a widow, 153 Fla. 450 (Fla. 1943)