STATE ADJUSTMENT CO.
v.
CLARENCE E. WINSLOW, AND IF MARRIED, MRS. CLARENCE E. WINSLOW, THE CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG, A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, ET AL.
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The Florida Supreme Court held that a 1929 special act purporting to give city special assessment liens equal dignity with state and county tax liens cannot apply retroactively to tax sale certificates purchased before the statute's enactment, as doing so would impair the contractual rights of the tax deed holder.
A special act enacted after a tax sale certificate is purchased cannot retroactively make special assessment liens of equal dignity with the tax sale certificate lien, as this would impair the contract rights of the tax deed holder or its assignee. The liens of special assessments relate to the date they were acquired, which predated the tax certificate purchase, but the 1929 statute cannot alter the priority established at the time of purchase.
“the special or local law here, Chapter 14396, Acts of 1929, was enacted after the State and county tax certificate had been purchased at the tax sale by the assignor of the holder of the tax deed here being foreclosed, and the statute cannot impair the contract rights of the tax deed holder.”
Establishes the temporal problem: the statute was enacted after the tax certificate purchase, making retroactive application an impairment of contract rights.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA private party purchased a state and county tax sale certificate on September 3, 1928. A tax deed was issued on December 1, 1931. The tax deed holder…
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— This appeal is from a decree, a portion of which adjudges certain liens for special assessments for local benefits to be of equal dignity with liens for State and county taxes.
It appears that a State and county tax sale certificate was by a private party purchased at the tax sale, September 3, 1928. On such certificate a tax deed was issued by the Clerk of the Circuit Court, December 1, 1931. The holder of the tax deed brought foreclosure proceedings on' the tax deed under Chapter 14572, Acts of 1929, in order to perfect title against possible outstanding liens on the land covered by the tax deed.
Among others, the City of St. Petersburg was made a party defendant and the City asserts special assessment liens which it claims were made of equal dignity with State and county taxes by Chapter 14396, Special Acts of 1929, which enacts: ,
“That the lien imposed, or to be imposed, by the City of St. Petersburg by special assessments made, or to be made, and certificates of indebtedness issued, or to be issued, by said City be and the same are hereby declared to be of equal dignity with the tax liens of the State of Florida, and the County of Pinellas.”
When the tax certificate was purchased by the private party at the tax sale, liens for special assessments were not *611of equal dignity with liens for State and county taxes under the statute. City of Sanford v. Dial, 104 Fla. 1, 142 So. 233, text 238; City of Tampa v. Lee, 112 Flá. 668, 151 So. 316; City of Lake Worth v. McLeod, 112 Fla. 843, 151 So. 318.
Even if under the Florida Constitution a special or local law may make the liens of special assessments for local benefits of equal dignity with liens for State and county taxes, the special or local law here, Chapter 14396, Acts of 1929, was enacted after the State and county tax certificate had been purchased at the tax sale by the assignor of the holder of the tax deed here being foreclosed, and the statute cannot impair the contract rights of the tax .deed holder. While some of the special assessment liens matured for payment after the tax sale certificate was purchased and after the enactment of Chapter 14396, the liens of the special assessments relate to the date they were acquired prior to the purchase of the tax sale certificate in 1928; and the statute enacted in 1929, if otherwise valid, cannot make special assessment liens of equal dignity with the lien of a State and county tax sale certificate purchased at a tax sale prior to the enactment of the statute purporting to make the liens of equal dignity, since that would in effect impair,the contract rights of the purchaser of the tax sale certificate or its assignee.
Reversed for modification of decree.
Brown and Buford, J. J., concur.
Davis, C. J., and Ellis and Terrell, J. J., concur in the opinion and judgment.
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Rorick v. Reconstr. Fin. Corp., 144 Fla. 539 (Fla. 1940)…leness,' due process, or uniformity are shown to- have been destroyed. To support the contention that Section 1538, Compiled General Laws, violates the requirement as to uniformity the following cases are relied on: State Adjustment Co. v. Winslow, 114 Fla. 609, 154 So. 325; and same title, 117 Fla. 200, 157 So. 507, and State ex rel. Maxwell Hunter, Inc., v. O’Quinn, 114 Fla. 222, 145 So. 166. We do not think any of these cases control the case at bar. The O’Quinn case dealt with State and county certific…
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Sugar Bowl Drainage Dist. v. Sallie S. Miller, 120 Fla. 436 (Fla. 1935)…entioned Act the lien for State and county taxes was generally recognized as being superior to that for drainage taxes and special assessments. Pinellas Park Drainage Dist. v. Kessler, 69 Fla. 558, 68 So. 668; State Adjustment Co. v. Winslow, [*439] 114 Fla. 609, 154 So. 325, 117 Fla. 200, 157 So. 507; City of Sanford v. Dial, 104 Fla. 7, 142 So. 233; Section 696, Revised General Statutes of 1920, Section 896, Compiled General Laws of 1927. Sugar Bowl Drainage District was incorporated under Chapter 6458,…
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State Adjustment Co. v. Winslow, 117 Fla. 200 (Fla. 1934)…Bufokd, J. This is the second appearance of this case here. See State Adjustment Company v. Winslow, et al., 114 Fla. 609, 154 Sou. 325. It is now before us on appeal from modified final decree. The modified final decree does not comport with the law of the case as enunciated in the opinion and judgment above referred to in that the decree holds: “That there is due th…
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- City of Sanford v. Dial, 104 Fla. 1 (Fla. 1932)
- City of Tampa v. Lee, 112 Fla. 668 (Fla. 1933)
- City of Lake Worth v. McLeod, 112 Fla. 843 (Fla. 1933)