In re APPLICATION OF THE COUNTY COLLECTOR, for Judgment and Order of Sale Against Lands and Lots Returned Delinquent for Nonpayment of General Taxes for the Year 2014 and Prior Years (Blossom63 Enterprises, LLC, Appellee, v. Devonshire, LLC, Appellant)
Docket No. 126929
Supreme Court of Illinois
March 24, 2022
2022 IL 126929
JUSTICE NEVILLE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Chief Justice Anne M. Burke and Justices Garman, Theis, Michael J. Burke, Overstreet, and Carter concurred in the judgment and opinion.
¶ 1 On February 15, 2018, GAN C, LLC (GAN C), filed a petition for a tax deed to acquire property it purchased at Cook County‘s 2016 annual tax sale for the tax year 2014. On April 24, 2018, GAN C assigned its interest in the property to
¶ 2 I. BACKGROUND
¶ 3 On June 3, 2016, GAN C purchased the delinquent property taxes on “Unit A” in a commercial condominium building in Lincolnwood at Cook County‘s annual tax sale for the tax year 2014. At the time of the tax sale, 6420 Longmeadow LLC owned the property. GAN C also paid the second installment on the 2013 property taxes on the condominium to complete the sale. See
¶ 4 On September 16, 2016, the county clerk for Cook County issued a certificate of purchase to GAN C for the property pursuant to section 21-250 of the Tax Code. See
¶ 5 On September 27, 2016, GAN C delivered a notice of sale form, pursuant to section 22-5 of the Tax Code (the notice of sale form provision), to the county clerk for Cook County for delivery. See
¶ 6 On April 11, 2017, GAN C filed a notice, pursuant to section 22-10 (the nоtice of expiration of period of redemption form), with the county clerk for Cook County. See
“[a] purchaser or assignee shall not be entitled to a tax deed to the property sold unless, not less than 3 months nor more than 6 months prior to the expiration of the period of redemption, he or she gives notice of the sale and the date of expiration of the period of redemption to the owners, occupants, and parties interested in the property.”
Id.
GAN C‘s section 22-10 notice of expiration of period of redemption form, on the line “Sold for Gеneral Taxes of (Year),” read “2014 (2013 Incld).” See Appendix II, infra ¶ 56. The section 22-10 notice of expiration of period of redemption form stated the period of redemption would expire on September 13, 2017.
¶ 8 On February 15, 2018, GAN C filed an application in the circuit court of Cook County for an order directing the county clerk to issue a tax deed. GAN C attached copies of its certificate of purchase, the section 22-5 notice of sale form, and the section 22-10 notice of expiration of period of redemption form to the application.
¶ 9 On April 24, 2018, GAN C assigned its rights and interest in the certificate of purchase to Blossom63. On May 6, 2018, 6420 Longmeadow LLC transferred its property to Devonshire by warranty deed. On May 17, 2018, Devonshire moved to intervene in the tax sale proceedings, and the circuit court granted its motion. On May 18, 2018, the circuit court entered an order to issue a tax deed to the property to Blossom63. Blossom63 recorded the tax deed to the property.
¶ 10 On June 14, 2018, Devonshire moved, pursuant to section 2-1203 of the Code of Civil Procedure (
¶ 11 B. Appellate Court
¶ 13 The appellate court found that the purpose of the first part of the section 22-5 notice of sale form requiring the tax purchaser to list the year of the property taxes purchased at the sale (” ‘Sold for General Taxes of (year)’ “) is to inform the property owner of the sale for delinquent taxes and specifically “requires the [purchaser] to list the tax year sold—2014, in this case.” Id. ¶ 26. The appellate court found that the second part of the section 22-5 notice of sale form serves a different purpose: to advise the property owner of the need to redeem the property to avoid losing title and to inform the ownеr that the property will go to tax deed unless redeemed by a specified date for a specified sum of money. Id. ¶ 29. The appellate court held Blossom63 satisfied the purpose of the first part of the notice of sale form by listing 2014 as the tax year sold “as required by the form” without also listing prior years that had to be paid. Id. ¶ 27.
¶ 14 The appellate court also found that a completely separate section of the Tax Code, section 21-240, provides that the purchaser must pay all prior unpaid taxes to obtain a certificate of purchase. Id. ¶ 26. The appеllate court held that “Blossom63 was required to pay the unpaid 2013 second installment to complete the 2014 tax sale purchase, but it did not purchase the 2013 taxes at the 2014 tax sale. So Blossom63 complied with the requirement that it list ‘Sold for General Taxes of (year)’ by listing 2014 only.” (Emphases added.) Id. The court also held Blossom63 satisfied the purpose of the second part of the section 22-5 notice of sale form by “informing Devonshire that, by a specified date, it must pay $47,309.57, which includes both the 2014 and 2013 taxes,” because that was the “information necessary to avoid the owner losing the property.” Id. ¶ 29.
¶ 15 The dissenting justice found that “[t]he use of ‘(year)’ on the [section 22-5 noticе of sale form] *** refers to the ‘year or years’ for which the purchaser paid
¶ 16 The parties also disagreed as to the amount Devonshire was required to pay Blossom63 pursuant to section 22-80. However, in light of its disposition, the appellate сourt found that Blossom63 prevailed on its tax purchase, no sale in error was declared, and Blossom63 was not entitled to any reimbursement under section 22-80. See id. ¶ 31 (majority opinion).
¶ 17 II. ANALYSIS
¶ 18 A. The Standard of Review
¶ 19 The issue in this case—the tax year required on the “Sold for General Taxes of (year)” line of the section 22-5 notice of sale form—presents a question of statutory construction. See In re Application of Skidmore, 2018 IL App (2d) 170369, ¶ 10 (finding the question of whether using a property index number (PIN) as the certificate of sale number required by the section 22-5 notice of sale form strictly complied with section 22-5 of the Tax Code to be a questiоn of statutory construction). The primary goal of statutory construction is to ascertain and give effect to the intent of the legislature. In re Application of the County Treasurer, 214 Ill. 2d 253, 258 (2005) (Dwyer). The best evidence of legislative intent is the language of the statute, which should be given its plain and ordinary meaning. Lakewood Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, LLC v. Department of Public Health, 2019 IL 124019, ¶ 17. Because the statute is viewed as a whole, words and phrases must be construed in light of other relevant statutory provisions and not in isolation. Pooh-Bah Enterprises, Inc. v. County of Cook, 232 Ill. 2d 463, 493 (2009). Each word, clause, and sentence of a statute must be given a reasonable meaning, if possible, and should not be rendered superfluous. A.P. Properties, Inc. v. Goshinsky, 186 Ill. 2d 524, 532 (1999). In determining legislative intent, a court may consider not only the language of the statute but also the reason and necessity for the law, the problems sought to be remedied, the purpose to be achieved, and the consequences of construing the statute one way or another. Oswald v. Hamer, 2018 IL 122203, ¶ 10. Further, we must presume that the legislature did not intend to enact a statute that leads to absurdity, inconvenience, or injustice. Dwyer, 214 Ill. 2d at 259. When an issue requires this court to construe or interpret the relevant statute, we сonduct that review de novo. In re Application for a Tax Deed, 2021 IL 126150, ¶ 17.
¶ 20 B. General Tax Sale Procedures
¶ 21 1. Relevant Procedures Before the Sale
¶ 22 The sale of property for taxes is governed by article IX, section 8(a), of the Illinois Constitution.
¶ 23 2. Relevant Procedures at the Sale
¶ 24 At the “sale of property for taxes,” the collector shall “proceed to offer for sale *** all property in the list on which the taxes, special assessments, interest or costs have not been paid.”
¶ 25 3. Relevant Procedures After the Sale
¶ 26 The owner or any person interested in the property sold at the tax sale has a right to redeem the property (
¶ 27 The purchaser or assignee is not entitled to a tax deed unless the purchaser or assignee also sends the notice referenced in section 22-10 not less than three months nor more than six months prior to the expiration of the redemption period and gives notice of the salе and the date of expiration of the period of redemption to the owners, occupants, and parties interested in the property.
¶ 28 The judgment in a tax deed case is subject to attack as any other judgment in a nonjury case. Dwyer, 214 Ill. 2d at 270 (“the statute permits a direct attack, by postjudgment motion, pursuant to section 2-1203 of the Code of Civil Procedure”
¶ 29 C. The Section 22-5 Notice of Sale Form
¶ 30 Initially, we note that the purpose to be achieved by the section 22-5 notice of sale form is to protect property owners from losing their property in a tax sale, not to assist tax purchasers to obtain properties with delinquent taxes. See
¶ 31 This court has held that a petitioner for a tax deed must demonstrate strict compliance with the notice requirements in the Tax Code. Clark v. Zaleski, 253 Ill. 63, 74 (1911); Skidmore, 2018 IL App (2d) 170369, ¶ 10. Tax deed petitioners are required to use the form notice set forth in section 22-5 of the Tax Code, and the plain language of the statute requires that the section 22-5 notice of sale form must be ” ‘completely filled in.’ ” See Skidmore, 2018 IL App (2d) 170369, ¶ 10 (quoting
¶ 32 D. The Parties’ Arguments
¶ 33 The issue Devonshire raises in its brief is whether section 22-5 of the Tax Code requires all delinquent tax years “included in the sale” to be listed on the section 22-5 notice of sale form. See Appendix I, infra ¶ 55. Devonshire maintains that Blossom63 failed to strictly comply with section 22-5 of the Tax Code when it failed to list both the 2014 and 2013 taxes on its section 22-5 notice of sale form. See Appendix I, infra ¶ 55. Devonshire maintains that section 22-5 requires specific information regarding the years of general taxes paid by the purchaser at the tax sale and in support notes that section 21-240 of the Tax Code requires full payment of all delinquent taxes—in this case for tax year 2014 and partial tax year 2013—to complete the purchase and entitle the purchaser to a certificate of purсhase. Devonshire also cites Gage v. Davis, 129 Ill. 236 (1889) (per curiam), and Gaither, 2 Ill. 2d 293, in support of its position that the section 22-5 notice of sale form is intended to provide information regarding the actual years of taxes paid at the tax sale and not simply the year of the delinquent taxes purchased at the sale.
¶ 34 Blossom63 disagrees and maintains that, because a delinquent property may be subject to multiple tax sales for separate tax years, including for taxes that accrue after the sale, the purpose of the section 22-5 notice of sale form is to notify the last taxpayer (1) which tax sale to request an estimate of redemption for and (2) which tax sale year to redeem. Blossom63 maintains that the estimate of redemption, not the section 22-5 “Take Notice,” serves to provide the information on all of the years associated with the tax sale.
¶ 35 E. Application of Tax Sale Provisions and Section 22-5 to Parties’ Arguments
¶ 37 The notice of sale form has three headings: The first heading in the section 22-5 notice of sale form is titled “Take Notice,” the line for “Sold for General Taxes of (year)” is found in the first part of the section 22-5 notice of sale form, and this part of the section 22-5 notice of sale form requires the purchaser, or his or her assignee, to list the following:
- the county the property is located in,
- the date the property was sold,
- the certificate of purchase number, and
- the year of the general taxes sold, “Sold for General Taxes of (year).” See
35 ILCS 200/22-5 (West 2020) ; Appendix I, infra ¶ 55.
¶ 38 The second heading in the section 22-5 notice of sale form is titled “THIS PROPERTY HAS BEEN SOLD FOR DELINQUENT TAXES,” and the second part of the section 22-5 notice of sale form requires the purchaser or assignee to list the following:
- the location of the property,
- the legal description or PIN for the property,
- the date the period of redemption will expire,
- that a petition for tax deed will be filed if the property is not redeemed, and
- the total dollar amount needed to redeem the property. See
35 ILCS 200/22-5 (West 2020) ; Appendix I, infra ¶ 55.
¶ 39 The third heading in the section 22-5 notice of sale form is titled “YOU ARE URGED TO REDEEM IMMEDIATELY TO PREVENT LOSS OF PROPERTY,” and the third part of the section 22-5 notice of sale form requires the purchaser or assignee to list the following:
- that redemption can be made at any time before (the redemption period expiration date) by applying to the county clerk of (Cook) County, Illinois, at the office of the cоunty clerk, and
- that the above amount is subject to increase at six-month intervals from the date of sale. See
35 ILCS 200/22-5 (West 2020) ; Appendix I, infra ¶ 55.
¶ 40 This court will not construe a word, clause, or sentence of a statute or different sections of the statute in a way that renders any word or part superfluous. Lakewood Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, LLC, 2019 IL 124019, ¶ 17. We find that the purpose served by the first part of the 22-5 notice of sale form is to provide the property owner with information of the fact of the sale. All of the other information intended to be conveyed by the section 22-5 notice of sale form—(1) the date when the period of redemption will expire, (2) the information that a petition for a tax deed will be filed if the property is not redeemed by a certain date, and (3) the total amount needed to redeem—is provided in another part of the section 22-5 notice of sale form. See
¶ 41 We agree with the appellate court that, while the first part of the section 22-5 notice of sale form informs the property owner that the property has been sold for delinquent taxes at an annual tax sale, the second part of the section 22-5 notice of sale form serves a different purpose: to advise the propеrty owner that the property
¶ 42 Devonshire, relying on section 21-240 of the Tax Code, maintains that informing the property owner of all the years for which the purchaser paid delinquent taxes in the first part of the sеction 22-5 notice of sale form is necessary to inform the property owner of the amount it must pay to redeem the property. We reject Devonshire‘s argument that section 22-5 requires the purchaser to list all of the years of delinquent general taxes paid by the purchaser at the tax sale in the first part of the section 22-5 notice of sale form. It should be noted that the purpose of section 22-5 is to provide the owner with notice of the sale and with notice of his or her redemption rights.
¶ 43 Article 21 of the Tax Code is titled “Due Dates, Delinquencies, and Enforcement of Payments.” See
¶ 44 We hold that the appellate court correctly held that Blossom63 satisfied the requirements of the first part of the section 22-5 notice of sale form by listing 2014 as the tax year sold without also listing the prior years of delinquent taxes it paid to cоmplete the sale pursuant to provisions of the Tax Code. See 2020 IL App (1st)
¶ 45 F. The Cases Relied on by Devonshire Are Inapposite
¶ 46 We note that Devonshire cites this court‘s decisions in Gage, 129 Ill. at 239, and Gaither, 2 Ill. 2d at 300, in support of its position that the notice issued by the tax purchaser or assignee must state each tax year the purchaser paid to complete the sale. We find the aforementioned cases do not support Devonshire‘s position.
¶ 47 In Gage, this court found that two notices to property owners following a tax sale were insufficient. Gage, 129 Ill. at 239. The first was insufficient because the notice only stated that the property was sold for taxes and special assessments levied for the year 1872 but failed to inform the property owner whether the property was sold for a tax or for a special assessment. Id. The second notice was insufficient because it specified the wrong date when the period of redemption would terminate. Id. at 240. Gage clearly did not interpret the language in section 22-5 requiring a tax purchaser to list “Sold for General Taxes of (year).” See id. at 239-40;
¶ 48 In Gaither, the property owner argued the notice was defective because it did not show for what year‘s tax the land was sold and did not specify whether the sale was for general taxes or special assessments. Gaither, 2 Ill. 2d at 300. This court held the notice in that case was not sufficient to even show substantial compliance with the statute because the notice was “completely lacking” as to whether the sale had been for taxes or special assessments or for what year‘s taxes or assessments the land was sold. Id. at 302. Although Gaither held the notice must identify what year‘s taxes or the special assessments the land was sold for, it does not address whether the year for which taxes were sold means the tax sale year or all of the delinquent tax years the purchaser paid at the tax sale. Id. Gaither does not address
¶ 49 G. Remaining Arguments
¶ 50 Based on our findings, we have no need to address Devonshire‘s remaining arguments on appeal, including Devonshire‘s arguments (1) that the amount paid pursuant to section 22-80 should not include interest on taxes paid by the purchaser for the period between the expiration of the period of redemption and the date the order to issue a tax deed is vacated and (2) that property, not taxes, is sold at the annual tax sale. A decision on either issue would not result in any relief to Devonshire, and “this court does not render аdvisory opinions or decide issues that would not result in appropriate relief.” See Fillmore v. Taylor, 2019 IL 122626, ¶ 34.
¶ 51 III. CONCLUSION
¶ 52 In sum, we hold that Blossom63 strictly complied with section 22-5 by listing the delinquent tax year for which the sale was held without listing the additional delinquent tax years for which it paid taxes to complete the sale. Accordingly, the judgment of the appellate court is affirmed.
¶ 53 Appellate court judgment affirmed.
¶ 54 Circuit court judgment reversed.