262 P. 348 | Cal. Ct. App. | 1927
Action to quiet title. If the tax deed held by the plaintiff is invalid by reason of any of *554 the irregularities mentioned by the defendant the judgment should be reversed, otherwise it should be affirmed.
[1] 1. The defendant calls to our attention the fact that the auditor did not annex his affidavit to the assessment-book of 1913 which contained the assessment on which the tax deed was based. He claims that the omission was fatal and he cites Political Code, section 3732, and Moyer v. Wilson,
[3] 2. Because all of the insertions of the delinquent notice were not made prior to June 5, 1913, the defendant claims that the notice was not given in time. (Pol. Code, secs. 3764, 3766, and 3767.) The statute contains no words to that effect and no reason whatever appears why the *555 statute should be so construed. The notice was inserted on June 5th, 12th, and 19th, and the sale was held July 2d. The statute was followed in every respect.
3. Because the auditor did not attach his affidavit to the corrected assessment-roll of 1913 the defendant argues that the auditor had no authority to compute the tax, the assessor had no authority to levy the tax, there was no tax to become a lien, there was no sale to the state, the state acquired no title, and the property in question should not have been listed on the delinquent list of 1919. He cites and relies on Leonard v.Jaffray,
4. The plaintiff testified that before he commenced this action he called on Moyer, the grantor of Chapman, and asked him if he would sign a quitclaim deed and that Moyer replied he could not do so and directed the plaintiff to commence an action to quiet title. The defendant claims that the plaintiff is therefore estopped. The record presents no questions of estoppel.
[4] 5. It is next claimed that the tax deed was void because the tax collector did not file in the office of the county clerk a copy of the publication of the delinquent list. (Pol. Code, sec. 3769.) The statute does not say the effect of such omission invalidates the deed. On the other hand, the statute provides that plaintiff's deed is conclusive evidence that a copy of the publication was filed. (Pol. Code, sec. 3787.) That such is the meaning of that section was held in Haaren v. High,
[5] 6. The last point presented is that in printing the delinquent list the publication "did not set forth the amount due for penalties," and, therefore, the sale was void. (Bussenius
v. Warden,
"The property to be sold and the subject of the notice, is situated in the County of Los Angeles, State of California, particularly described as follows, to-wit:
"No. 2151, The Palms, as per Bk. 21, p. 43 of Misc. Records, Lot 9, Block F, assessed to David B. Moyer. Lowest acceptable bid $2.53.
"Dollars and cents
"Public notice is hereby given that the figures opposite, following and last after each description of property in the foregoing list, were intended to and do represent respectively in dollars and cents, or in dollars and cents, as the case may be,the amount due for taxes and costs in the manner as follows, . . .
"W.O. WELCH, "Tax Collector, Los Angeles County, Calif" *557
The document just quoted does contain a misstatement, to wit, it recites that the sale will be for "the amount due for taxes and costs" instead of "the amount of taxes, penalties, and costs due, . . ." But the record does not disclose whether the document is a part of the tax record of 1913-1914 or of the tax record of 1918-1919. It does not appear to be a document required by any statute. On its face it appears to be a collateral instrument explaining the abbreviations used in some other instrument — possibly the delinquent list. Assuming that it was a part of the publication of the year 1918-1919, the other papers which went to make up that publication are not set forth and we are unable to ascertain from the record the entire contents of the publication. We may not assume that the document last mentioned was the entire publication — it does not purport to be the notice of sale or the delinquent list itself. On the other hand, assuming it was a part of the delinquent publication of 1913-1914, then it follows that it was attached to the notice of sale which is printed in the transcript and which was not subject to the attack made by the appellant. Still assuming the document to be a part of the publication of 1913-1914 and that it was attached to the notice of sale and that it contained a misstatement, to wit, that the sale would be for "taxes and costs" instead of "the amount of taxes, penalties and costs due," the error was not fatal. This is so because one is bound to read the entire publication and may not stop with reading only a portion. In the case of Best v.Wohlford,
The defendants cite and rely on Scott v. Beck (Cal.), 259 P. 933. A rehearing has been granted in that case. However, the facts are not the same as the facts in this case and a ruling will be of little help. In the case at bar there was a sale for delinquent taxes for the year 1913. The questions involving that sale have been discussed. Furthermore, the record discloses that other taxes were delinquent and not paid and that "plaintiff paid taxes, penalties and costs in pursuit of the state's title" in the sum of $59.21. Nothing to the contrary appearing, it must be assumed that at least a part of said sum was for the taxes levied for the year 1918-1919, that such taxes became delinquent, that the property was on the delinquent list for the year last named, and that the delinquent list for the year 1918-1919 was by the tax collector and auditor so arranged that "said publication shall designate in some particular manner the property contained in said list which was sold to the state five years previous (that is, in 1914). . . ." (Pol. Code, sec. 3764.)
The defendant has not shown that the tax deed which the plaintiff holds is invalid in any particular or for any reason. It follows that the judgment should be affirmed, and it is so ordered.
Nourse, J., and Koford, P.J., concurred.
A petition by appellant to have the cause heard in the supreme court, after judgment in the district court of appeal, was denied by the supreme court on February 9, 1928.
All the Justices concurred. *559