CAPE SABLE CORPORATION, A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
METROPOLITAN DADE COUNTY, ET AL., APPELLEES
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Cape Sable Corporation purchased a tax sale certificate in 1977 and received a tax deed in 1979. Florida amended its tax code in 1979 to allow county liens to survive tax deeds, but the court held this amendment did not retroactively apply to certificates purchased before the change, protecting the appellant's contractual rights under the law existing at the time of purchase.
The 1979 statutory amendment does not retroactively affect the appellant's rights in the tax certificate purchased in 1977. The appellant acquired vested contractual rights when it purchased the certificate under the then-existing statute, and those rights cannot be diminished by subsequent changes in law.
[1] A tax certificate constitutes a contract between the state and the purchaser, granting the purchaser the benefit of the laws in force at the time of purchase that secure…
[2] A statutory amendment enacted after the purchase of a tax certificate does not retroactively affect the contractual rights of the certificate purchaser that existed under…
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“a tax certificate is a contract between the state and the purchaser thereof who is granted by such certificate the benefit of the laws of the state in force at the time securing and defining his rights under it.”
Establishes the fundamental principle that rights under a tax certificate are defined by the law existing at the time of purchase, not subsequent amendments.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceCape Sable Corporation was assigned a tax sale certificate on February 1, 1977, by the Tax Collector of Metropolitan Dade County. A tax deed was issue…
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HENDRY, Judge.
This is an appeal from a final judgment of the Circuit Court of Dade County in favor of Metropolitan Dade County in an action by the appellant to quiet title.
On May 30, 1975, the County duly issued a tax sale certificate (Certificate No. 6055), on one of the properties at issue herein, i.e., the Everglades Heights property. On February 1,1977, appellant, Cape Sable Corporation, was assigned the certificate for value by the Tax Collector of Metropolitan Dade County. On August 21, 1979, pursuant to the statutory procedures and after the tax sale, the appropriate tax deed was issued to appellant. The deed included the following provision:
THIS DEED IS SUBJECT TO ANY RIGHT, INTEREST, PUBLIC EASEMENTS, RESTRICTIONS, COVENANTS AND GOVERNMENTAL LIENS THAT MAY SURVIVE THE ISSUANCE OF THIS TAX DEED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAW.
Section 197.271, Florida Statutes provided in pertinent part at the time of the purchase of the tax certificate that:
Except as specifically provided in this chapter, no right, interest, restriction, or other covenant shall survive the issuance of a tax deed.
In 1979 this section was changed by adding the additional words:
except that a lien of record held by a municipal or county governmental unit, when such lien is not satisfied as of the disbursement of proceeds of sale under the provisions of s. 197.291, shall survive the issuance of a tax deed.
By law the change in the statute took effect and was to affect the assessments for 1980 and subsequent years. The liens in question were filed in 1977.
By summary judgment the trial court ruled that the tax deed was subject to the recorded liens claimed by the County. It is from this ruling that this appeal is taken.
The sole point on appeal is whether section 197.271, Florida Statutes, which was amended after a party purchased a tax certificate, affects retroactively the contractual rights of the purchaser under the statute existing at the time of the purchase of the tax certificate. It is appellant’s contention that it does not, and we agree.
The change in the law in 1979 that went into effect in 1980 does not affect appellant’s rights in the tax certificate. The appellant had acquired certain contractual rights when it purchased the certificate in 1977 and those rights could not be changed by the subsequent change in the law. As was said in State ex rel. Seville Holding Co. v. Draughon, 127 Fla. 528, 173 So. 353, 354 (1937),
[a] tax certificate is a contract between the state and the purchaser thereof who is granted by such certificate the benefit of the laws of the state in force at the time securing and defining his rights under it.
Accord Ivey v. State ex rel. Watson, 147 Fla. 635, 3 So. 2d 345 (1941); Overstreet v. Gordon, 121 Fla. 180, 163 So. 477 (1935); State Adjustment Co. v. Winslow, 114 Fla. 609, 154 So. 325 (1934).
For the reasons stated, the judgment appealed is reversed and the cause is remanded with directions to enter summary judgment in favor of the appellant.
Reversed and remanded with directions.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Overstreet v. Gordon, 121 Fla. 180 (Fla. 1935)
- State Adjustment Co. v. Winslow, 114 Fla. 609 (Fla. 1934)
- Ivey v. State of Fla. ex rel. J. Tom Watson, 147 Fla. 635 (Fla. 1941)
- State v. Draughon, 127 Fla. 528 (Fla. 1937)