55 W. Va. 442 | W. Va. | 1904
On the 18th day of January, 1887, James Starr, Sr., by his-deed of that date, conveyed to his grandsons, Charles Starr, Samuel Starr, Allen Starr and John H. Starr, who were the-sons of James Starr, Jr., a certain tract of land, situate in Mingo county, described in the deed as Containing two hundred and fifty acres, but which, in fact, contains four hundred and jineteen acres. At the date of the conveyance, each of the said grantees was a minor. In 1892, Charles Starr, died intestate, without issue, leaving said James Starr, Jr., his father, his only heir at law- By his deed, bearing date on the 16th day of February, 1894, said James Starr, Jr., conveyed to his wife, Harriet Starr, a tract of two hundred and fifty acres of land, which the bill alleges to be a conveyance of the interest of said James-Starr, Jr., in and to the tract of land first above mentioned. Said James Starr, Jr., died intestate in the year 1895, leaving as his-, only heirs at law, his sons, Samuel Starr, Allen Starr, and John H. Starr, surviving grantees in the-first named deed. The land was returned delinquent for the non-payment of the taxes charged thereon for the year 1890, in the name of Charles Starr and others; and at a sale thereof made by the sheriff of said county in December, 1891, for said delinquent taxes, A. J. Sheppard became the purchaser of the land, which was after-wards-to-wit, on the 3rd day of April, 1893, conveyed to him by deed executed by the clerk of the county court of Mingo-county. On the 24th day of April, 1893, said Sheppard, and
For the years 1901 and 1902, said land was again returned delinquent for the non-payment of taxes charged thereon in the name of Charles Starr and others, and, at a sale thereof, made by the sheriff of' said county, in the month of November, 1893, was sold to the State for said last mentioned delinquent taxes. For the taxes charged thereon for the year 1893, in the name of Charles Starr and others, the sheriff, in the month of December, 1895, again sold the land to the State. It does not appear that the lands were charged with the taxes thereon for any of the years mentioned, otherwise than in the name of Charlgs Starr and others. The land not having been redeemed from the sale thereof to Sheppard, or the first sale to the State, in Ma)r, 1895, it was certified to the commissioner of school lands •of said county, as being liable to be sold for the benefit of the ■school fund. Afterwards, the said commissioner caused a suit to be commenced and prosecuted in the circuit court of said •county in the name of the State of West Virginia for the sale of that and other tracts of land in said county for the benefit of the school fund. To the bill filed in said cause and the proceedings had thereon, “the unknown heirs of James Starr, Jr., deceased,” were made parties defendant. At the May term, 1896, of said court, said A. J. Sheppard filed his petition in said cause, setting up title to, and claiming an interest in, said land, by reason of his purchase thereof at the sheriff’s tax sale, and the conveyance to him by the clerk of the county court as aforesaid, and praying to be allowed to redeem the same. To this petition, said Samuel Starr, Allen Sta.rr and John H. Starr, and also Roxie Runyon, Samuel, Allen J., John H., Jr., Julia, Florence
On the Slst day of March, 1899, said Samuel Starr, Allen Starr and John H. Starr, instituted their suit in equity in said circuit court, against said L. A. Sampselle, A. J. Sheppard, J. B. Ellison, Harriet Starr and others, the said Samuel Starr having, as he alleges, attained his majority within one year next before that date, and said cause, as to said Allen and'John H. Starr, infants, being prosecuted in their names by Samuel Starr as their next friend.
The plaintiffs, in their bill, allege the facts substantially as hereinbefore stated, and further aver that Samuel Starr, Allen Starr and John H. Starr, are each the owners of one undivided fourth of said tract of land; that said Harriet Starr owns the other undivided fourth thereof, and also claims, in addition thereto, a cne-half interest in the land purchased by her of defendant J. B. Ellison. They then charge that the said tax sale and tax deed to A. J. Sheppard were and are void, and passed no title of the land to Sheppard because of various alleged irregularities in the list of delinquent taxes for which the land was
The bill, stripped" of its unnecessary recitals and averments, may be treated as a. bill by the plaintiffs therein for the redemption by them of the land sold by the State under the proceedings aforesaid to Sampselle, for the benefit of the. school fund.
Appellants say that, should there not appear sufficient defects in the proceedings to avoid the tax sales, made by the sheriff, as aforesaid to Sheppard, and to the State, the infant defendants would still have the right by their guardian or next friend, to redeem the land, and cite section 30 of chapter 31 of the Code which says: “Any infant, married woman, or insane person, whose real estate may have been so sold during such disability, may redeem the same by paying to the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, within one year after the removal of the disability, the amount for which the same was sold, with the necessary charges incurred by the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, in obtaining the title under the sale, and such additional taxes on the estate, as may have been paid by the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, and interest on the said items at the rate of six per centum per an-num from the time the same were paid. If any such person own an undivided interest in the real estate so sold, he may redeem such interest in like manner, and within the same time, by paying such proportion of the purchase money, charges, taxes and interest, as his interest in the premises is to the whole tract or part sold; but he shall not have the right to redeem more than his own undivided interest.” This section refers to sales made to individuals and not to sales made to the State. The sales made to the State, upon which the school fund proceeding was and is predicated, were for the taxes charged upon said land for the years 1891, 1892 and 1893. In that proceeding, appellants
Section 10 authorizes the circuit court to decree a sale of such lands as are subject to sale for the benefit of the school fund. Section 18 declares that: “In every such suit brought under the provisions of this chapter, the court shall have full jurisdiction, power and authority to hear, try and determine all questions of title, possession and boundary which may arise therein, as well as any and all conflicting claims whatever to the real estate in question arising therein.” Section 20 reads thus: “Every final decree entered in any such, suit shall be a bar to the claim of every person to the real estate, or any part of it or any lien thereon, or to the proceeds thereof, who has failed to appear and present his claim thereto as is provided in the sixth section of this chapter, except as to the excess of the proceeds of the sale thereof, as provided in section sixteen of this chapter. And except as provided by the last clause of section seventeen of this chapter.”
By these provisions, the circuit court is given complete equitable jurisdiction of the land in controversy, and is required to determine, what lands can be sold for the benefit of the school fund. Lawson v. Hart, 40 W. Va. 56.
In Coal Co. v. Howell, 36 W. Va. 489, it is held that: “Such proceeding is a judicial one, in the nature of a proceeding against the land itself; and, when completed by a sale, is prima facie evidence of .such forfeiture against all persons. * * * The policy of these laws was to quiet titles as far as possible, and to convey a good title under these sales as far as the commonwealth had the means of doing.” On page 501 of that case, the Court says: “It is manifest, from the whole scope and tenor of the acts on the subject, that the regularity of the sale of forfeited lands under the decree of the court was never intended to be drawn in question in any collateral proceeding.”
From a final decree entered in such suit, parties may appeal as in other cases. In the school land proceeding in question the court had jurisdiction of the subject matter. All the parties in interest were before the court, “the unknown heirs of James Starr, Jr.,” being defendants in the main suit; and to
In one of the two causes of the State v. McEldowney, decided at the present term, it is held that “no defect in a sheriff’s affidavit to a list of sales of land for taxes will invalidate a tax deed made under chapter 31 of the Code of 1899. Phillips v. Minear, 40 W. Va. 58, and McClain v. Batton, 50 W. Va. 121, so far as they hold to the contrary, are overruled. In the other, it is held -ihat the failure to return a list of delinquent lands sold.for taxes by the first Monday in June is not, under chapter 31, section 25, of the Code of 1899, ground for setting aside a sale, either to the State or an individual. The defect is cured by that section. Expressions to the contrary in McGee v. Sampselle, 47 W. Va. 352, disapproved.
The curative provisions as to tax sales in section 25 of chapter 31 of the Code of 1899 apply to a purchase by the State of land sold for taxes. Point 3 of the syllabus in McGee v. Sampselle, 47 W. Va. 352, to the contrary, is overruled.”
' There appears to be no error in the decree complained of. It must therefore be affirmed.
'Affirmed.