54 Minn. 235 | Minn. | 1893
Laws 1881, cb. 135, being “An act to enforce the payment of taxes which became delinquent in and prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine,’' provides, (section 7:) “And the judgment and sale herein provided for shall not be set aside unless the action in wdiich the validity of the judgment or sale shall be called into question, or the defense to any action alleging its invalidity, be brought within nine months of the date of said sale, except that, in case any tract or parcel shall be included in any such judgment, when such taxes shall have been paid, or such property was exempt from taxation, that said judgment and sale shall be void upon proof at any time that such taxes have been paid or such property was exempt.” The sale in question here, under said chapter, was made September 30, 1881. This action was brought in 1891. Laws 1887, ch. 127, § 1, was broad enough to repeal that part of section 7 above quoted, provided the legislature could repeal it so as to affect the rights of purchasers under said sale. To determine whether it could be repealed it is necessary to consider whether the limitation was intended to operate on the right acquired under the sale, so as to make it unassailable in any form of action, or only to. bar a particular form of action, leaving to the original owner all other remedies by which to vindicate his right of property. If the latter, then, as the legislature might have given the particular remedy or form of action, had it never existed, it might restore it after it had once been taken away. If the former, then the legislature could not affect the right by repeal of the law or otherwise. Baker v. Kelley, 11 Minn. 480, (Gil. 358;) Hill v. Lund, 13 Minn. 451, (Gil. 419;) and Kipp v. Johnson, 31 Minn. 360, (17 N. W. Rep. 957,)—are instances where the limitation was construed to operate on a particular form of action only. We think section 7 was intended to operate on the sale
Several objections to the jurisdiction of the court to render this tax judgment are made. The first is that the certified delinquent list filed by the auditor with the clerk consisted of sixty sheets fastened or bound together, and the certificate was at the bottom sheet, instead of being on each sheet. There is nothing in that objection. The second and third objections are that the list did not state the taxes for each year, and that it included taxes for the years 1879 and 1880. The act of 1881 (section 1) requires “the amount of taxes, principal and interest due thereon, according to the provisions of this act,” to be stated opposite each description, but does not require the taxes to be stated in detail year by year. It was enough, therefore, to state the amount. We do not see that the taxes for 1879 and 1880 were included in the amount of taxes stated in the list, but, if they were, it would not affect the juris-diction. Kipp v. Dawson, 31 Minn. 373, (17 N. W. Rep. 961, 18 N. W. Rep. 96.)
Order affirmed.