169 P. 1019 | Cal. | 1917
Defendant Shafer held the record title to the real property, ownership of which is here in controversy. Plaintiffs' title rests upon a sheriff's deed made after foreclosure of the lien of a street assessment upon this property, in which action the predecessor in interest of defendant Shafer was impleaded and served as a party defendant, suffered default and an adverse judgment. Defendants Campbell and Smith deraign title through a tax deed from the state antedating the lien of the street assessment.
Appellant Shafer's contentions may be disposed of with brevity. His attack upon plaintiff's title, in which he is joined by his fellow defendants, amounts to but a collateral attack upon a judgment rendered by a court having jurisdiction of the person of the defendant and the subject matter of the action. The judgment is neither void nor invalid upon its face, and such a collateral attack will not be listened to. (Wood v. Jordan,
As between plaintiffs and defendants Campbell and Smith, the controversy is over the validity of the tax deed through *156
which the latter deraign title. The court found with the contentions of the plaintiffs that it was invalid. The principal irregularities amounting to illegalities urged against the validity of the tax deed are two. Section 3897 of the Political Code at the time of the proceedings required the tax collector about to sell the property to "give notice of such sale by first publishing a notice for at least three successive weeks in some newspaper published in the county or city and county, or if there be no newspaper published therein, then by posting a notice in three conspicuous places in the county or city and county, one of which shall be at the United States postoffice nearest the land, in addition to a notice conspicuously posted on the land itself for the same period." Still further, that "it shall be the duty of the tax collector to mail within five days after the publication of said notice of sale a copy of said notice, postage thereon prepaid and registered, to the party to whom the land was last assessed next before the sale, at his last known postoffice address." (Pol. Code, sec. 3897.) The notice in this instance was by publication, but in addition to publication the tax collector did not post a notice conspicuously on the land. Smith v.Furlong,
Section 3650 of the Political Code requires that the address, if known, shall be entered on the assessment-roll. In this case it is shown that on the assessment-roll appeared the *157
name of "Mary B. Scott, 687 Burlington Avenue." Under the index required to be kept by law (section 3651) appeared in reference to the same property, "Mary B. Scott, 687 Burlington Street, L. A." The law does not require the index to show the address. Mary B. Scott was the person to whom the land was last assessed and to whom notice should have been sent, if her address was known to the tax collector. He sent no notice, and the question is whether the information before him was such as to call for the mailing of the notice as matter of law. This consideration is not at all affected by the decision of this court inCampbell v. Shafer,
The further objections of respondents to the deed of the tax collector to the state are without force. The recitals in that deed are made conclusive. (Krotzer v. Douglas, supra.) Those recitals are sufficient, and respondents' attempts to show certain technical informalities in the recitals are without avail. It follows herefrom that defendant Shafer is without title in that his predecessor in interest, while the owner of the property, was divested of ownership by virtue of the tax deed; second, that the tax deed to defendant from the state was sufficient to vest title of the property in Campbell and his successors in interest; third, that the title by tax deed being good, it admittedly follows that plaintiffs' title, resting upon a sheriff's deed under foreclosure against Shafer, at a time when Campbell held title, is invalid.
Wherefore, the order denying a new trial is affirmed as to appellant Shafer, and reversed as to appellants Campbell and Smith.
Shaw, J., Sloss, J., Victor E. Shaw, J., pro tem., and Angellotti, C. J., concurred.
Rehearing denied. *159