73 Fla. 708 | Fla. | 1917
J. E. Futch instituted an action of ejectment against John K. Stephens and R. B. Roberts for the recovery of tire possession of lot one and the north half of lot two of block thirty-nine in Worthington, in section thirty-two, township six south, range nineteen east. The declaration is in the usual statutory form, to which the defendants filed a plea of not guilty. A jury was waived aid the case tried before the Circuit Judge upon an agreed statement of facts, which resulted in a finding and judgment in favor of the plaintiff. The judgment has been brought here by the defendants for review.
We see no occasion to set out the -agreed statement of facts. It is sufficient to state that the plaintiff’s title is based upon a tax deed executed to- him on behalf of the State of Florida by W. T. Weeks, the Clerk of the Circuit Court in and for Bradford County, on the 22nd day of March, A. D. 1915. This tax deed embraces several different parcels of land, covered by different tax certificates, and includes the two parcels in question as having, been covered by Certificate No-. 169, assessed to John K. Stephens. All of such lands are stated therein to have been sold by the Tax -Collector of Bradford County on the first day of July, A. D. 1912, for unpaid taxes for the year 1911. Nine errors are assigned, but the plaintiff and the defendants agree that only two points aré presented for determination, which are stated in the briefs as follows: “One is whether or not the failure of. a Board of County Commissioners to select at a proper time, in each year, a newspaper in which to publish the delinquent tax list, as provided by Section .50 of Chapter 5596, Acts of 1907, Section 558 Compiled Laws, 1914, is a fatal defect and
“The other main question is, whether or not at a sale of land for unpaid taxes under, the provisions of said Section 50, Chapter 5596, Acts of 1907, aforesaid, there can be added to the tax upon the land the taxes due by the same person upon the personal property, assessed to him upon the same assessment roll and such land can be sold under said Section- 50, for the unpaid tax upon both the real and personal property; in other words, can you add the tax for personal property to- the land and sell the land for both the tax on real estate and personal property, under this section of the law ? These are the main issues to be reviewed or decided by this Court.”
The agreed statement of facts upon which the cause was submitted for determination contains the following statement: “It is agreed that the minutes of the Board of County Commissioners of Bradford County, Florida, do not show that they selected any newspaper at any time during the year 1912, in which to publish a §ale of real estate in the year 1912, for the unpaid faxes of 19x1, as provided by Sec. 50, Chapter 5596, Acts of 1907.
“It is agreed that the said Board of County Commissioners did, at their regular meeting in January, 19x1, pass the following order, to-wit: ‘The Bradford County Telegraph was designated the - County .official paper to continue for the full term: of two years, and the Clerk was instructed to notify the Secretary of State the action of said Board.’
. “That said order constitutes the only, action of said Board in selecting any newspaper until after the expiration of the year 1912, so far as shown by the minutes of ■ said-Board. The notice of tax sale in 191.2 was published in the Bradford County Telegraph.”
We had occasion to discuss this statute in Townsend v. Brown, 69 Fla. 155, 67 South. Rep. 869, wherein we held: “The provision of the statute requiring a publication in a newspaper, ‘said newspaper to be selected * * * in February,’ is not mandatory as to the time of the selection, but the duty continues till properly performed.” We also held therein: A failure to comply strictly with those provisions of tax laws which are intended for the guidance of officers in the conduct of business devolved upon them, designated to' secure order, system and dispatch in proceedings, and by a disregard of which rights of parties interested cannot be injuriously affected, will not usually render the proceedings void; but where the requisites prescribed are intended for the protection of the citizen, and to prevent a sacrifice of his property, and a disregard of them1 might and generally would injuriously affect his rig'hts, they cannot be disregarded, and failure to comply with them will render the proceeding invalid. In this holding we followed our prior decisions in Starks v. Sawyer, 56 Fla. 596, 47 South. Rep. 513, and Clark-Ray-Johnson Co. v. Williford, 62 Fla. 453, 56 South. Rep. 938. Also see Hightower v. Hogan, 69 Fla. 86, 68 South. Rep. 669. In Parker v. Evening News Publishing Co., 54 Fla. 544, text 548, 45 South. Rep. 309, we held that under the provisions of Section 5 of Article VIII of the State Constitution, as amended, the powers and duties of County Commissioners are purely statutory, and cited in support of such holding
Having found that the tax deed conveyed no' title to the defendant in error by reason of the fatal defect in the proceedings which we 'have pointed out, there is no occasion to' determine the other point presented.
Judgment reversed.
Browne, C. J., and Taylor, Whitfield and Ellis, JJ-, concur.