CopyCited 30 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 1992 WL 342013
...HARDING, Justice. We have for review Saada v. Dawson,
573 So.2d 1008 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991), in which the Fourth District Court of Appeal certified the following question as one of great public importance: WHETHER FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE NOTICE REQUIREMENTS OF SECTION
197.522, FLORIDA STATUTES, INVALIDATES THE ISSUANCE OF A TAX DEED NOTWITHSTANDING THE LANGUAGE IN SECTIONS 197.404 AND
65.081(3), FLORIDA STATUTES? Id....
...owed and to make sure they were paid. The Fourth District Court of Appeal found that "the clerk failed to comply with the statutory requirements for attempting personal service of the notice of sale on resident owners by the sheriff" as provided in section
197.522(2), Florida Statutes (1987). Saada,
573 So.2d at 1009. The district court held that the validity of a tax deed depends upon strict compliance with the notice provisions of section
197.522(1) and (2), and thus reversed the trial court's judgment. Section
197.522 sets forth the procedure for giving notice to property owners that a tax sale purchaser has applied for a deed to their property. Section
197.522(1) provides in relevant part: (1)(a) The clerk of the circuit court shall notify, by certified mail with return receipt requested ......
...gal interest. The property will be sold at public auction on (date) unless the back taxes are paid... . ... . (d) The failure of anyone to receive notice as provided herein shall not affect the validity of the tax deed issued pursuant to the notice. Section 197.522(2) provides for the following additional notice: (2) In addition to the notice provided in subsection (1), the sheriff of the county in which the legal titleholder resides shall, at least 20 days prior to the date of sale, notify the...
...s last known address. The inability of the sheriff to serve notice on the legal titleholder shall not affect the *808 validity of the tax deed issued pursuant to the notice. The record reflects that the clerk complied with the notice requirements of section 197.522(1). [1] However, the sheriff was unable to serve the additional notice provided by section 197.522(2) because the clerk did not prepare the necessary documents....
...erefore entitled to notice of a pending tax deed sale. Wright v. Spriggs,
567 So.2d 3 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990). However, we do not agree with Saada's contention that due process requires strict compliance with the notice provisions in both subsections of section
197.522....
...Florida's statutory scheme governing the sale of real property for the collection of delinquent taxes and the validity of tax deeds issued pursuant to such sales is comprehensive. The notice provisions contained in chapter 197 are an integral part of that scheme. Section 197.522(1) meets constitutional due process requirements by mandating notice reasonably calculated to apprise landowners of the pending deprivation of their property. Section 197.522(2) provides an additional opportunity for owners of tax-delinquent property to redeem their interest when circumstances allow the sheriff to make service of notice upon the landowner. However, the legislature has clearly stated that any failure on the part of the sheriff to serve notice upon the titleholder would "not affect the validity of the tax deed." § 197.522(2), Fla. Stat. (1987). Moreover, "[t]he failure of anyone to receive notice" as provided in section 197.522(1) does not affect the validity of the tax deed as long as the clerk complies with the notice requirements of subsection (1). Based upon the plain language of section 197.522, we find that subsection (1) specifies the mandatory duties of the clerk upon an application for a tax deed, namely that the clerk must notify by mail the persons listed in the tax collector's statement. However, subsection (2), which provides for additional notice by the sheriff, is directory only. This construction of section 197.522 is consistent with the modern trend of courts to regard many statutory provisions relating to the validity of tax sales as merely directory rather than jurisdictional....
...of of validity of tax sales. Courts have responded in kind by regarding many provisions as directory only. Id. In the instant case, a copy of the Notice of Application for Tax Deed was duly mailed to Saada and other interested parties as required by section 197.522(1). Due to the clerk's failure to prepare the necessary documents, however, the local sheriff was unable to serve additional notice pursuant to section 197.522(2)....
...Invalidity of Tax Deed The question as phrased by the district court also requires us to consider the effect of sections
65.081(3) [2] and 197.404, [3] Florida Statutes (1987), which specify the defenses to either a tax deed or tax sale. Dawson contends that sections
65.081(3) and 197.404 supersede section
197.522, thereby excluding insufficient notice as grounds for challenging the validity of tax deeds....
...en the effect designed for them unless a contrary intent clearly appears." State v. Gadsden County,
63 Fla. 620, 629,
58 So. 232, 235 (1912). Thus, the legislature must have intended for sections
65.081(3) and 197.404 to be read in pari materia with section
197.522, so as to give each part a field of operation....
...Lathrop, 90 Nev. 230, 523 P.2d 838 (1974). Accordingly, we find that sections
65.081(3) and 197.404 specify the bases by which either a tax deed or tax sale may be invalidated, provided that there has been compliance with the notice requirements of section
197.522(1). Without the notice mandated by section
197.522(1), the fundamental requirement of due process has not been satisfied and the tax deed or sale is not valid....
...ligation to inform interested parties of the pendency of a tax sale. See id. at 799,
103 S.Ct. at 2711-12. Thus, as qualified by the above opinion, we answer the question as posed in the affirmative. Failure to comply with the notice requirements of section
197.522 invalidates the issuance of a tax deed, notwithstanding the language in section 197.404 and
65.081(3). However, based on our conclusion that section
197.522(2) is directory only, we hold that the statutory notice requirements have been fully complied with when the clerk adheres to the mandatory provisions contained in section
197.522(1)....
...n. It is so ordered. BARKETT, C.J., and OVERTON, McDONALD, SHAW, GRIMES and KOGAN, JJ., concur. NOTES [1] The record does not indicate whether the owners actually received notice because the notice was not mailed to their present residence. However, section 197.522(1)(d), Florida Statutes (1987), specifically provides that "failure of anyone to receive notice as provided herein shall not affect the validity of the tax deed issued pursuant to the notice." Thus, the relevant issue is whether the c...
CopyCited 8 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 2006 WL 3229420
...ion in Alwani v. Slocum,
540 So.2d 908 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989). We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const. The conflict issue is whether notice to a property owner that the property is scheduled for a tax deed sale, sent in compliance with section
197.522(1), Florida Statutes (2000), nonetheless violates due process of law when the taxing authority has received a change of address from the property owner but sends the tax sale notice to the owner's former address. The property owners in this case, who provided the taxing authority with a change of address, assert that the notice sent to their former address pursuant to section
197.522(1), was constitutionally inadequate to give them the opportunity to take action that could have prevented the sale....
...*292 On April 3, 2000, the holder of the tax certificate applied for a tax deed to the Rosados' Altamonte Springs property pursuant to section
197.502, Florida Statutes (2000). A tax deed is a deed that is issued to the highest bidder on property sold at a public auction because of nonpayment of ad valorem taxes. Sections
197.522(1)(a) and
197.502(4)(a), Florida Statutes (2000), require the clerk of court to mail notice of the application for the tax deed to the address of the legal titleholder as listed on the latest tax assessment roll....
...e was sent in compliance with the statutory requirements. The trial court concluded it was bound by Alwani and Eurofund Forty-Six, Ltd. v. Terry,
755 So.2d 835 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000), both of which held that notice of a tax deed sale that complies with section
197.522(1) comports with due process even though the titleholder had sent the taxing authorities notice of a change of address....
...The Fifth District receded from its decision in Eurofund to the extent it conflicted with its opinion and certified conflict with the Second District's decision in Alwani. See id. at 514. ANALYSIS The conflict issue is whether notice that complies with section 197.522(1) violates the requirements of due process where the taxing authority receives actual notice from the titleholder of a change of address but sends the notice of the tax deed sale to the former address. This issue does not require us to determine whether section 197.522(1) is facially constitutional. Rather, we are presented with an as-applied challenge to the constitutionality of the statute; that is, whether section 197.522(1) is unconstitutional as applied to the facts of this case....
...hen discuss the constitutional due process requirements that must be satisfied before a person may be deprived of his or her property. Next, we explore case law addressing the effect of a titleholder's change of address on the notice requirements of section 197.522....
...Finally, we explain why the notice provided in this case did not comport with constitutional due process requirements. I. Statutory Notice Requirements Applicable to a Tax Deed Sale Chapter 197 governs tax collections, sales, and liens in this state. Section 197.522(1)(a) states that the clerk of the circuit court shall notify, by certified mail with return receipt requested or by registered mail if the notice is to be sent outside the continental United States, the persons listed in the tax collector's statement pursuant to s....
...ax roll for the year in which the property was last assessed, then the notice may only be mailed to the address of the legal titleholder as it appears on the latest assessment roll. (Emphasis supplied.) When read together, sections
197.502(4)(a) and
197.522(1)(a) "require the clerk to mail a notice of tax deed sale to the legal titleholder at the titleholder's address *294 as it appears on the latest assessment roll." Delta Prop. Mgmt., Inc. v. Profile Investments, Inc.,
875 So.2d 443, 447 (Fla.2004). However, section
197.522(1)(d), Florida Statutes (2000), states that the "failure of anyone to receive notice as provided herein shall not affect the validity of the tax deed issued pursuant to the notice." Relying on language from this provision, we have explained that "`[t]he failure of anyone to receive notice' as provided in section
197.522(1) does not affect the validity of the tax deed as long as the clerk complies with the notice requirements of subsection (1)." Dawson v. Saada,
608 So.2d 806, 808 (Fla.1992) (alteration in original) (quoting §
197.522(1)(d), Fla....
..."Subject to this limitation, the legislature has the authority to determine the extent and character of the notice which shall be given by the state before property is sold for nonpayment of taxes." Dawson,
608 So.2d at 808. In Dawson, we addressed whether due process requires strict compliance with section
197.522(2) as well as section
197.522(1). Section
197.522(2) states that "[i]n addition to the notice provided in subsection (1), the sheriff of the county in which the legal titleholder resides shall, at least 20 days prior to the date of sale, notify the legal titleholder of record of the property on which the tax certificate is outstanding." In Dawson, the legal titleholders asserted that the clerk's failure to provide proper notice of the location of the tax deed sale and the sheriff's failure to serve additional notice pursuant to section
197.522(2) rendered the tax deed invalid for lack of due process of law. See
608 So.2d at 807. In rejecting the "contention that due process requires strict compliance with the notice provisions in both subsections of section
197.522," we explained that "subsection (1) specifies the mandatory duties of the clerk upon an application for a tax deed" and that "subsection (2), which *295 provides for additional notice by the sheriff, is directory only." Id. at 808. Therefore, a tax deed may not be set aside for failure to comply with section
197.522(2) where the clerk of court satisfies the requirements of section
197.522(1), id....
...e pending deprivation of their property." Id. at 808. In Dawson, we also considered whether sections
65.081(3) and 197.404, Florida Statutes (1987), which specified the defenses available to challenge either a tax deed or a tax deed sale, superseded section
197.522. See Dawson,
608 So.2d at 809. [4] Neither section
65.081(3) nor section 197.404 listed inadequate notice as an available defense. The Court ruled that these statutory provisions did not supersede the notice requirements set out in section
197.522, and therefore a legal titleholder could challenge the validity of a tax deed based on a lack of notice....
...forwarded the bills to one of the titleholders at his Florida address. Although aware of the error, the titleholders "took no action to change the mistake in the Property Appraiser's address records." Id. After correcting the error, and pursuant to section 197.522(1)(a), the clerk of court mailed notice of the tax deed sale to the titleholders' address as listed on the latest tax assessment roll. Relying on section 197.522(1)(d) and this Court's decision in Dawson, the Second District concluded that because notice was mailed in accordance with the requirements of section 197.522(1), "the fact that [the titleholders] did not receive the notice does not invalidate the tax deed." Id....
...The First District recently addressed this issue in Bozeman v. Higginbotham,
923 So.2d 535 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006). There, the clerk of court mailed the statutory notice "to the address Higginbotham had listed as his address [which] was [also] his last known address, as required by section
197.522(1)(a), Florida Statutes." Id....
...However, the notice was returned to the clerk of court, stamped "Return to Sender Attempted Not Known." Id. In rejecting the assertion that the tax deed was invalid, the First District ruled that as long as the clerk of court complies with the requirements of section 197.522(1)(a), the failure of an owner to receive actual notice does not affect the validity of the tax deed....
...de that no due process violation occurred. Unlike Evans, Kidder, and Bozeman, in which the titleholders did not provide a correct or updated mailing address, the certified conflict issue in this case raises a due process concern over the adequacy of section 197.522(1) when the titleholder has informed taxing authorities of a change of address prior to the mailing of the statutory notice and the taxing authorities have actual notice of the change of address. On this basis, Evans, Kidder, and Bozeman are distinguishable. [5] B. Notice of a Change of Address Provided by Titleholder In Alwani, the conflict case, the Second District rejected an as-applied challenge to the constitutionality of section 197.522....
...s were not mailed to their correct address. See id. The Second District rejected the titleholders' assertion that the tax deeds were invalid for lack of notice. The Second District held that where the clerk of court complies with the requirements of section 197.522(1)(a), notice of a tax deed sale comports with titleholders' due process rights even where the clerk, through error, fails to send the notice to the titleholders' correct mailing address....
...to notice that a tax sale is *298 pending. '" Id. (emphasis supplied) (quoting Mennonite Bd. of Missions,
462 U.S. at 800,
103 S.Ct. 2706). In addition, as discussed more fully above, we disagreed with the contention that section 197.404 superseded section
197.522 and thereby precluded a titleholder from challenging the validity of a tax deed based on lack of notice....
...We recently rejected the remaining basis underlying Alwani when we concluded in Delta Property Management that under certain circumstances, the clerk of court has a duty to go beyond the tax collector's statement to ascertain the titleholder's correct address prior to mailing notice of a tax deed sale as required by section 197.522(1)(a)....
...was "completely the fault of the taxing agencies." As did the Fifth District, we conclude that there is no basis on which to disturb this factual finding. The notice sent to the Rosados at their Altamonte Springs address, although in compliance with section 197.522(1), was not reasonably calculated under all the circumstances to apprise the Rosados of the tax deed sale....
...parcel described in the certificate. In case there are no bidders, the certificate shall be issued to the county. The tax collector shall offer all certificates on the lands as they are assessed. [2] This Court has previously stated that "[s]ection
197.522(1) meets constitutional due process requirements by mandating notice reasonably calculated to apprise landowners of the pending deprivation of their property." Dawson v. Saada,
608 So.2d 806, 808 (Fla. 1992). Because this case involves an as-applied challenge to the constitutionality of section
197.522(1), our ruling will not disturb the determination in Dawson that the statute is constitutional on its face....
CopyCited 8 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 29 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 228, 2004 Fla. LEXIS 670, 2004 WL 1064828
...till the titleholder because the clerk had failed to provide proper notice of the sale. Profile and Delta each moved for summary judgment with the dispositive legal issue being whether the clerk had complied with the statutory notice requirements of section 197.522(1), Florida Statutes (1999), when he relied exclusively upon the tax collector's statement in preparing the notice of the tax sale....
...can only be mailed to the address of the legal titleholder as it appears on the latest assessment roll. The clerk must, after receipt of the statement, notify by mail the parties listed in the statement at least twenty days before the tax sale. See § 197.522(1), Fla....
...h of the official public records, including the most recent tax roll, in order to provide notice to the parties. Id. [6] In 1985, however, the Legislature changed these statutory procedures, deleting the requirement in section 197.256 (renumbered as 197.522) that the clerk search through public records....
...Because this is precisely what the clerk did in the present case, he fully satisfied his responsibilities. Id. at 869-70. Delta urges this Court to quash the decision of the First District and embrace the reasoning of Judge Ervin's dissent. Judge Ervin opined that sections
197.502(4) and
197.522(1)(a), construed in pari materia, require that the clerk mail the notice of the tax sale to the address of the legal titleholder as listed in the latest tax assessment roll....
...t he would then be forced to conduct a laborious search of the public records in order to ascertain the correct names and addresses of the persons listed in section
197.502(4) before sending the notice. I do not understand sections
197.502(4)(a) and
197.522(1)(a) to impose any such burden on the clerk....
...When construing these statutes, we seek to give effect to the Legislature's *447 intent. See State v. J.M.,
824 So.2d 105, 109 (Fla.2002). In order to discern this intent, we first look at the actual language of the statutes. See Joshua v. City of Gainesville,
768 So.2d 432, 435 (Fla.2000). Section
197.522(1)(a) unequivocally indicates that the clerk of the circuit court must notify by mail those persons listed in the tax collector's statement of any pending tax deed sale....
...te of its obligation to give adequate notice of a pending tax sale. Id. at 810. No valid tax deed can be issued without complying with the statutory notice requirements. Id. This includes proper notice by the clerk pursuant to section
197.502(4) and section
197.522(1)(a)....
...tment may for good cause shown extend the time for completion of assessment of all property. [9] The only exception to this requirement of mailed notice is in situations where no address in listed for the person in the tax collector's statement. See § 197.522(1)(a), Fla....
CopyCited 6 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 37 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 157, 2012 Fla. LEXIS 487, 2012 WL 739193
...vard, # 201, Hallandale, Florida 33009 — before issuing the tax sale notice. Profile and Delta both moved for summary judgment. Profile asserted that the tax deed was valid because it was undisputed that notice was sent to Delta in accordance with section
197.522(l)(a), Florida Statutes (1999). In contrast, Delta asserted that the tax deed was invalid because the Clerk failed to comply with the notice requirements of sections
197.502 and
197.522, Florida Statutes (1999)....
...le. One of the clerk’s statutory obligations was to “notify, by certified mail with return receipt requested ... the persons listed in the tax collector’s statement pursuant to s.
197.502(4) that an application for a tax deed has been made.” §
197.522(l)(a), Fla....
...The Supreme Court has further explained that whether a particular method of notice is “reasonably calculated” to provide adequate notice requires “due regard for the practicalities and peculiarities of the case.” Id. at 314,
70 S.Ct. 652 . In Dawson v. Saada,
608 So.2d 806, 808 (Fla.1992), we concluded that section
197.522(1) mandates “notice reasonably calculated to apprise landowners of the pending deprivation of their property” and thus is facially constitutional. In the instant case, however, Delta raises an as-applied challenge to the notice requirements of section
197.522. Delta asserts that because the Clerk knew the notice mailed pursuant to section
197.522 was ineffective, due process required the Clerk to take additional reasonable steps to notify Delta of the tax sale....
...The trial court found that the failure of the Rosados to receive notice was “completely the fault of the taxing agencies” but concluded that the unsuccessful notice did not violate the Rosados’ right to due process of law because the notice was sent in compliance with section 197.522(1), Florida Statutes (2000)....
...nstructions that the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Delta be affirmed. It is so ordered. PARIENTE, LEWIS, QUINCE, POLSTON, LABARGA, and PERRY, JJ„ concur. . If the titleholder's last known address is in the State of Florida, section 197.522(2), Florida Statutes (1999), requires the sheriff of the county in which the legal titleholder resides to attempt to serve notice of the tax sale pursuant to chapter 48, Florida Statutes, and if unable to complete service, the sheriff...
CopyCited 6 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 1989 WL 29032
...The appellants argue that the clerk of the circuit court and the tax collector had been notified of appellants' change of address to the UAE but nonetheless, through error, failed to send the notices to the correct address. This argument is to no avail. Section 197.522(1)(a), Florida Statutes (1987), provides, "The clerk of the circuit court shall notify ......
...ccurate and he used what he thought were the true ones, he would be acting wholly without authority, and his actions might well be challenged because of disregard of the law. Also to no avail is appellants' argument that the lack of a requirement in section 197.522 that the clerk use either actual knowledge represented by records in the clerk's office or due diligence to search those records to determine the best available address renders the statute unconstitutional as a denial of due process....
...." Thus, it is not determinative that in this case the appellants' address was wrongly corrected for two of the lots so as to accurately change the city and country but not the post office box number. Nor, for the same reasons, do we conclude with reference to other contentions of appellants that section 197.522 is unconstitutional as applied or that the failure of governmental personnel to exercise due diligence to ascertain appellants' correct address from their records relieved the appellants of the consequences of their failure to pay the taxes owed....
CopyCited 5 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 18006, 2010 WL 4740313
...(2010) ("The holder of any tax certificate, other than the county, at any time after 2 years have elapsed since April 1 of the year of issuance of the tax certificate . . . may file the certificate and an application for a tax deed. . . ."). [5] See § 197.522(1)(a), Fla....
CopyCited 5 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2008 WL 724043
...l fact precludes the entry of final summary judgment." Further, the moving party has the burden to refute any affirmative defenses or to establish their legal insufficiency. Morroni v. Household Fin. Corp. III,
903 So.2d 311, 312 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005). Section
197.522, Florida Statutes (2003), is titled, "Notice to owner when application for tax deed is made." When such an application is made, section
197.522(1)(a) requires the clerk of the circuit court to give notice by certified mail to those persons listed in the statement provided by the tax collector pursuant to section
197.502(4). However, if no address is listed in the tax collector's statement, then notice is not required. §
197.522(1)(a)....
...dress listed on the tax roll was incorrect." Id. The Florida Supreme Court approved Rosado and the court described the issue as follows: [W]hether notice to a property owner that the property is scheduled for a tax deed sale, sent in compliance with section 197.522(1), Florida Statutes (2000), nonetheless violates due process of law when the taxing authority has received a change of address from the property owner but sends the tax sale notice to the owner's former address....
CopyCited 5 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2002 WL 1232927
...ctually appearing on the deed of conveyance which the owner knows is correct and which he knows has been provided to the taxing authorities. This peculiar priority of address in notification is ameliorated and perhaps explained by the requirement in section 197.522(1)(a), Florida Statutes, which requires the clerk to notify such owner by "certified mail with return receipt requested." But what happens if the return shows that the address selected by the taxing authorities does not exist so that...
...Due process, says the supreme court in that case, requires notice reasonably calculated under all the circumstances to apprise all interested parties of the pendency of the action and afford them an opportunity to present their objections. Thus, the test for the validity of notice under section 197.522(1)(a), Florida Statutes, is not merely whether the notice was sent to the address appearing on the tax collector's statement, it is whether the notice was sent to the owner's address and was thus sufficient to reasonably apprise the landowner of the pendency of the action....
CopyCited 5 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2006 WL 297404
...Appellant, Timothy Bozeman, an investor in tax certificates and tax deeds, appeals from the trial court's order nullifying the tax deed he purchased for the home of Appellee, Brad Higginbotham. Appellant argues that, because the tax collector complied with the statutory requirements of section 197.522(1)(a), Florida Statutes, sale of the tax deed is final, and the trial court lacks discretion to set aside the sale....
...ation for a tax deed had begun, and unless the delinquent taxes were paid in full, he could lose his property. The notice was sent by certified mail to the address Higginbotham had listed as his address and was his last known address, as required by section 197.522(1)(a), Florida Statutes....
...The notice was returned, stamped "Return to Sender Attempted Not Known." Higginbotham's testimony that he never received actual notice that a tax deed sale of his property was scheduled was uncontested. However, Higginbotham's actual notice is not required. If the clerk complies with the requirements of section 197.522(1)(a), as the clerk did here, the failure of the party to receive notice shall not affect the validity of the tax deed issued pursuant to the notice. See § 197.522(1)(d), Fla....
CopyCited 5 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2004 Fla. App. LEXIS 2351
...Hutchinson claimed that because title to the Property was taken from it without due process of law, the tax deed was void. I. NOTICE REQUIREMENTS Hutchinson and Copp contend that they have been deprived of their respective interest in the Property without due process of law because the notice requirements of section 197.522(1), Florida Statutes (2000), were not met when the clerk failed to mail a notice to Hutchinson Island Realty, Inc....
...last assessed. §§
197.502(4)(a), (c), (f), Fla. Stat. (2000). The tax collector then delivers the statement to the clerk of the circuit court. Upon receipt of the tax collector's statement, the clerk is required to notify the persons listed in it. §
197.522(1), Fla. Stat. (2000); Dawson v. Saada,
608 So.2d 806 (Fla.1992). Section
197.522(1) provides: The clerk of the circuit court shall notify, by certified mail with return receipt requested or by registered mail if the notice is to be sent outside the continental United States, the persons listed on the tax collector's statement pursuant to s....
...rise interested parties of the pendency of the action and afford them an opportunity to present their objections." Dawson,
608 So.2d at 808 (quoting Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co.,
339 U.S. 306, 314,
70 S.Ct. 652,
94 L.Ed. 865 (1950)). "Section
197.522(1) meets constitutional due process requirements by mandating notice reasonably calculated to apprise landowners of the pending deprivation of their property." Id....
...In addition, "[t]he failure of anyone to receive notice as provided in section
197.122(1) does not affect the validity of the tax deed as long as the clerk complies with the notice requirements of subsection (1)." Id. In the instant case, the due process notice requirements of section
197.522(1) were met by the clerk of court when the clerk adhered to those mandatory provisions....
...s without protest. II. CRITERIA FOR INVALIDATING A TAX DEED OR TAX SALE Section
197.122, Florida Statutes (2000), specifies the criteria by which a tax deed *532 or tax sale may be invalidated when there is compliance with the notice requirements of section
197.522(1):(a) the property was not subject to taxation; (b) the taxes have been paid before the sale of personal property; or (c) the real property had been redeemed before the execution and delivery of a deed based upon a certificate issued for the nonpayment of taxes. §§
197.122(1)(a), (b), (c), Fla. Stat. (2000). Under Dawson, if the notice requirements of section
197.522(1) are met, a sale of real property for the nonpayment of taxes must be held valid unless one of the criteria for invalidation in section
197.122(1) is not met....
...[2] There is no contention that the posting of the notice was not made within the boundaries of the Property that was the intended parcel incurring the unpaid taxes. [3] Additional, but not mandatory, notice is provided by the statute: service of notice by the sheriff, section
197.522(2), Florida Statutes (2000), and publication of notice in a general circulation newspaper, section
197.512, Florida Statutes (2000).
CopyCited 5 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 1998 WL 51477
...ot have a recorded interest in Parcel D. The Tax Collector delivered the certification and statement to the Clerk of Court on or about August 29, 1995. Based on the information received from the Tax Collector, the Clerk of Court then, as required by section 197.522, Florida Statutes (1995), published the four weekly notices of Application for Tax Deed....
...There is nothing in this record to support that Epstein and Johnson had any legal interest in this property. Notice was sent to the legal owners of the property and the fact that they did not receive the notice does not invalidate the tax deed. See § 197.522(1)(d), Fla....
...er created in their name to establish an ownership interest in Parcel D. [2] The NAL history records are routine business records maintained by the Property Appraiser in the regular course of business and are used in preparation of the tax roll. [3] Section 197.522(1)(d), Florida Statutes (1995), provides that "failure to receive notice as provided herein shall not affect the validity of the tax deed issued pursuant to the notice."
CopyCited 4 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2003 WL 21077608
...sed, then the notice may only be mailed to the address of the legal titleholder as it appears on the latest assessment roll. * * * (f) Any person to whom the property was assessed on the tax roll for the year in which the property was last assessed. Section 197.522(1)(a), Florida Statutes, states: The clerk of the circuit court shall notify, by certified mail with return receipt requested or by registered mail if the notice is to be sent outside the continental United States, the persons listed in the tax collector's statement pursuant to s....
...Accordingly, because the clerk was entitled to "rely exclusively upon the information contained in the tax collector's statement," the court affirmed the trial court's decision. Id. at 870. Judge Ervin dissented. In doing so, he reasoned that when sections
197.502(4)(a) and
197.522(1)(a) are read in pari materia, the clerk was required to mail the notice to the address as it appeared on the latest assessment roll....
...know, that the information might be outdated because it was not based on the latest assessment roll, which he was aware at the time of mailing, had superceded the 1999 roll." Id. Judge Ervin concluded: I do not understand sections
197.502(4)(a) and
197.522(1)(a) to impose [an onerous] burden on the clerk....
...That is precisely what happened here. The clerk waited approximately five months before noticing and setting the tax deed sale; during the time lapse, the name on the tax assessment roll changed. In its final summary judgment, the trial court recognized that section 197.522 does not state how soon after the filing of an application for tax deed the clerk must set the tax sale and mail notice thereof to the required persons....
...The court opined that "[i]t would, however, be absurd to view the absence of such an explicit provision to mean that the clerk was intended to have no time limit to act after the filing of an *1036 application for tax deed." The court further stated: Section 197.522, Florida Statutes should be construed to required that the clerk set the tax sale and mail advance notice thereof within a reasonable time after the filing an application for tax deed so as to minimize the chance that persons who acqu...
...ot identified on a stale certificate of interested persons. This construction is the only one that will promote the statute's purpose of providing due process to interested persons and that will maintain the statute's constitutionality. If, however, section 197.522, Florida Statutes is not so construed for some reason, it is unconstitutional as applied to Rhett....
...within a reasonable time after the filing of an application for a tax deed, and a new tax roll assessment intervenes during such period of delay, the clerk must obtain an updated statement from the tax collector for notification purposes under *1037 section 197.522(1)(a), Florida Statutes....
CopyCited 3 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2002 Fla. App. LEXIS 14786, 2002 WL 31293886
...ill the titleholder because the clerk had failed to provide proper notice of the sale. Profile and Delta each moved for summary judgment, with the dispositive legal issue being whether the clerk had complied with the statutory notice requirements of section 197.522(1), Florida Statutes, when he relied exclusively upon the tax collector's statement in preparing the notice of the tax sale....
...And if the legal titleholder as revealed by the public record is the same as the person to whom the property was last assessed, which both parties agree is the case here, "the notice may only be mailed to the address of the legal titleholder as it appears on the latest assessment roll." Section 197.522(1) then requires the clerk of the circuit court to notify by mail the persons listed in the tax collector's statement at least 20 days before the tax sale....
...In 1985, however, the legislature altered these statutory procedures. It repealed section 197.241, replacing it with the newly-created section
197.502. See Ch. 85-342, § 126, at 2090; § 187, at 2118-20, Laws of Fla. It then deleted all requirements in section 197.256 (renumbered as
197.522) that the clerk perform a diligent search of the public records to ascertain the names and addresses of the parties entitled to notice, and instead provided, as reflected in the current statute, that the clerk would be required only to send notice to those parties listed in the tax collector's statement....
...e property was last assessed, then the notice may only be mailed to the address of the legal titleholder as it appears on the latest assessment roll. (Emphasis added.) The specific procedure regarding the mailing of the tax sale notice is set out in section 197.522(1)(a), Florida Statutes (1999), which states: The clerk of the circuit court shall notify, by certified mail with return receipt requested or by registered mail if the notice is to be sent outside the continental United States, the persons listed in the tax collector's statement pursuant to s....
...e information contained in the tax collector's statement, regardless of whether such information may be outdated at the time of mailing. What the majority and the lower court apparently fail to understand, however, is that sections
197.502(4)(a) and
197.522(1)(a), when construed in pari materia, require the clerk to mail the notice to the record titleholder's address as it appeared on the latest assessment roll, which in this case was required by law to have been completed as of July 1, 2000....
...roll containing the correct address at the time of mailing, such interpretation, in my judgment, would have serious constitutional implications. In Dawson v. Saada,
608 So.2d 806, 808 (Fla.1992), the Florida Supreme Court made a distinction between section
197.522(1), pertaining to the clerk's mailing of a pending tax sale notice, and section
197.522(2), which requires the sheriff to serve notice of the tax sale on the legal titleholder of record....
...ice, if its name and address are reasonably ascertainable.
462 U.S. at 800,
103 S.Ct. 2706 (emphasis added and omitted). *873 In Dawson,
608 So.2d at 809, the Florida Supreme Court clearly stated that strict compliance with the mailing provisions of section
197.522(1) was necessary in order to carry out the notice requirements of due process....
...t he would then be forced to conduct a laborious search of the public records in order to ascertain the correct names and addresses of the persons listed in section
197.502(4) before sending the notice. I do not understand sections
197.502(4)(a) and
197.522(1)(a) to impose any such burden on the clerk....
...n of supplementing information based on an obsolete tax roll would cause any great discomfort to the clerk's office. For all of the above reasons, I dissent. NOTES [*] The dissent would effectively rescind the 1985 statutory enactments by construing section 197.522(1)(a)'s directive that the clerk send notice of the tax sale to "the persons listed in the tax collector's statement pursuant to s....
...as of the date that the clerk sends out his notice of the tax sale, and provide notice of the sale to all such persons discovered by the search at the addresses revealed by the search. This is the very procedure rejected by the legislature in 1985. Section 197.522(1)(a) is therefore properly read to mean that the clerk satisfies the statutory directive when he gives the specified notice to "the persons listed in the tax collector's statement."
CopyCited 3 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 12 Fla. L. Weekly 1188
...814,
143 So. 656 (1932); Stuart v. Stephanus,
94 Fla. 1087,
114 So. 767 (1927); Lee v. Carpenter,
132 So.2d 433 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961). [6] The legal issues presented by the pleadings are resolved by this appeal which now become "the law of the case." [7] Section
197.522, Florida Statutes (1985), formerly section 197.256, Florida Statutes....
CopyCited 3 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2000 WL 554118
...The appellant seeks a determination that tax deeds issued to appellees are invalid because appellant did not receive notice of the impending tax sales [1] . Our review of the record reveals that the clerk of the circuit court sent notices to the addresses listed on the tax collector's statement, as required by section 197.522(1)(a), Florida Statutes (1997), [2] and the tax collector's statement contained the names and addresses of the legal title holders as listed on the last assessment roll....
CopyCited 3 times | Published | District Court, M.D. Florida | 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6061, 1993 WL 319597
...In issuing this tax deed, Marion County complied with all of the requirements of Chapter 197, Florida Statutes. In particular, the notice of sale of the tax deed was sent by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, to the Veteran's Administration, Office of District Counsel, prior to the sale, in compliance with Fla.Stat. § 197.522....
...§
197.502(1). The Clerk of Court must provide notice of the application for a tax deed to several parties, including "[a]ny mortgagee of record if an address appears on the recorded mortgage." Fla. Stat. §
197.502(4)(c). The notice must comply with Fla.Stat. §
197.522; otherwise, the tax deed may be declared void. Jernigan v. Harrison,
136 Fla. 320,
186 So. 511 (1939). However, "the failure of anyone to receive notice as provided herein shall not affect the validity of the tax deed issued pursuant to the notice." Fla.Stat. §
197.522(1)(d)....
CopyCited 3 times | Published | United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Florida | 15 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. B 87, 2002 Bankr. LEXIS 100, 39 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 39, 2002 WL 229962
...767, 777,
196 So. 200 (1940). When an application for a tax deed is made, "clerk of the circuit court shall notify . . . the persons listed in the tax collector's statement pursuant to §
197.502(4) *667 that an application for a tax deed has been made." F.S. §
197.522(1)(a)....
..."The clerk shall enclose with every copy mailed a statement as follows: WARNING: There are unpaid taxes on property which you own or in which you have a legal interest. The property will be sold at public auction on . . . (date) . . . unless the back taxes are paid." F.S. § 197.522(1)(b)....
CopyCited 3 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2005 WL 2043046
...ange of address in the assessment roll, and the clerk of court did not update the address in the clerk's records. 6. On April 3, 2000, the tax certificate holder filed an application for a tax *507 deed to the Rosados' property. Pursuant to Sections
197.522(1)(a) and
197.502(4)(a) Fla....
...Despite these findings, the trial court felt bound to follow Alwani v. Slocum,
540 So.2d 908 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989) and Eurofund Forty-Six, Ltd. v. Terry,
755 So.2d 835 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000), which both held that notice of a tax deed sale that complied with section
197.522(1) was sufficient, despite a property owner's prior efforts to send authorities notice of a change of address. The Statutory Notice Scheme The procedure for giving notice of a tax deed sale is prescribed in Chapter 197 of the Florida Statutes. Section
197.522 states, in pertinent part: (1)(a) The clerk of the circuit court shall notify, by certified mail with return receipt requested or by registered mail if the notice is to be sent outside the continental United States, the persons listed in the tax collector's statement pursuant to s....
...was assessed on the tax roll for the year in which the property was last assessed, then the notice may only be mailed to the address of the legal titleholder as it appears on the latest assessment roll. (Emphasis added). When read together, sections
197.522(1)(a) and
197.502(4)(a) require the clerk to mail the legal titleholder notice to his or her address "as it appears on the latest assessment roll" as provided to the clerk in the tax collector's statement....
...not get notice of the tax deed sale. In a one paragraph opinion, this Court affirmed, stating: Our review of the record reveals that the clerk of the circuit court sent notices to the addresses listed on the tax collector's statement, as required by section 197.522(1)(a), Florida Statutes (1997), and the tax collector's statement contained the names and addresses of the legal title holders as listed on the last assessment roll....
...ermining if the 2000 tax roll was available. The court ruled that to hold otherwise would deny Delta its property without due process of law, citing to Mullane and Mennonite. While acknowledging the statutory notice scheme in sections
197.502(4) and
197.522(1), the court stated: While the clerk should use the tax collector's statement when preparing the tax sale notices, circumstances may warrant some additional action by the clerk....
...Nor does the constitution make an exception because such rights might burden the collection of taxes. Kidder,
821 So.2d at 1111. The Vosilla partners nevertheless argue that Dawson mandates an affirmance. They note that the court in Dawson stated that "[s]ection
197.522(1) meets constitutional due process requirements by mandating notice reasonably calculated to apprise landowners of the pending deprivation of their property." Id. at 808. They also point to footnote 1 in Dawson, which stated: The record reflects that the clerk complied with the notice requirements of section
197.522(1).[FN1] FN1. The record does not indicate whether the owners actually received notice because the notice was not mailed to their present residence. However, section
197.522(1)(d), Florida Statutes (1987), specifically provides that "failure of anyone to receive notice as provided herein shall not affect the validity of the tax deed issued pursuant to the notice." Thus, the relevant issue is whether the clerk complied with the notice provisions, not whether the owner actually received notice. Id. However, there are important distinctions between Dawson and the instant case. First, the issue in Dawson was not whether section
197.522(1) was constitutional. It was whether failure to comply with section
197.522(2) was constitutional....
...a Statutes (2000). The tax collector sends a statement of person to be notified of the tax deed sale based on the latest assessment roll pursuant to section
197.502(4), Florida Statutes (2000). And the clerk of court sends the notice out pursuant to section
197.522(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2000)....
CopyCited 3 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 1990 Fla. App. LEXIS 6462, 1990 WL 123116
...st in a *843 mobile home can perfect its lien is by registering it with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Appellant then correctly points out that the holder of such a perfected security interest is nevertheless not entitled under Section 197.522, Florida Statutes, to prior notice of the issuance of a tax deed on real property to which a mobile home, which is the subject of a perfected security interest, has become affixed....
CopyCited 2 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2001 WL 1386060
...Ruby Ave., Suite A., Kissimmee, FL 34741." There is no requirement that notice of the tax deed sale be sent to the preparer of the mortgage. Even if there was, the clerk of court only is responsible to notify the names provided to him in the tax collector's statement. Neither Section
197.502(4), Florida Statutes, nor section
197.522(1), Florida Statutes, requires the clerk to search all public records available to determine the actual status of ownership....
CopyCited 2 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2000 WL 287663
...We are not persuaded by this argument because the language of subsection (2) clearly states that the posting method is "in addition to providing notice as set forth in subsection (1)." "In addition to" does not mean "instead of." Cf. Dawson,
608 So.2d at 810 (holding that posting of notice procedures outlined in section
197.522(2), Florida Statutes (1987), is directory rather than jurisdictional and that as long as mandatory statutory notification procedures of section
197.522(1) are complied with, tax deed is not invalidated)....
...Although this may explain certain of the City's actions, we do not find that it excuses them, as explained below. [3] Dawson dealt with the validity of a tax deed issued by a municipal clerk after the clerk complied with the mandatory notice requirements of section 197.522(1), Florida Statutes (1987), but the clerk failed to comply with the notification requirements of section 197.522(2).
CopyCited 2 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2006 WL 1787991
...The Court also held that the taxpayer's failure to comply with his obligation to keep his address updated did not result in the forfeiture of his right to constitutionally sufficient notice. In the present case, Weingarten alleges the notice sent by the Clerk pursuant to the mandatory notice requirements of section 197.522, Florida Statutes, [1] was returned *588 as undeliverable....
...r Weingarten received constitutionally sufficient notice of the tax sale and whether the Clerk took additional reasonable steps to provide notice after return of the unclaimed notice. REVERSED AND REMANDED. GRIFFIN and PALMER, JJ., concur. NOTES [1] 197.522....
CopyCited 2 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2008 Fla. App. LEXIS 2036, 2008 WL 397388
...t constitutionally sufficient notice. Based on the holding in Jones, we reversed the final judgment and remanded the case, writing: In the present case, Weingarten alleges the notice sent by the Clerk pursuant to the mandatory notice requirements of section 197.522, Florida Statutes, was returned as undeliverable....
...were returned. Jocalbro responds that the procedure utilized satisfied due process requirements because the taxing authorities followed the statutory scheme for providing notice of the tax sale. Chapter 197 governs tax collections, sales, and liens. Section 197.522, Florida Statutes (2004), prescribes the procedures for notifying a property owner when an application for a tax deed has been made for his property. Relevant to this appeal is section 197.522(1)(a), which mandates that the Clerk of the Circuit Court shall notify, by certified mail with return receipt requested or by registered mail if the notice is to be sent outside the continental United States, the persons listed in the tax collector's statement pursuant to s....
...le to the legal titleholder at the titleholder's address as it appears on the latest assessment roll." Delta Prop. Mgmt., Inc. v. Profile Invs., Inc.,
875 So.2d 443, 447 (Fla. 2004). However, "`the failure of anyone to receive notice' as provided in section
197.522(1) does not affect the validity of the tax deed" so long as the notice requirements of the statute were followed, Dawson v. Saada,
608 So.2d 806, 808 (Fla.1992) (quoting section
197.522(1)(d), Florida Statutes (1987)), provided that, as required by Jones, the Clerk takes such additional reasonable steps as are practicable to insure that the property owner receives notice of the sale. In Vosilla v. Rosado,
944 So.2d 289, 291 (Fla.2006), the Florida Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether notice to a property owner of a pending tax deed sale that complies with section
197.522(1) can nonetheless violate constitutional due process when the notice is not reasonably calculated to apprise the owners of the tax deed sale....
...5th DCA 2004), review denied,
892 So.2d 1012 (Fla.2004), [3] some reasonable follow-up measures must be employed when the government knows or has reason to know that the notice did not reach the property owner, Jones,
547 U.S. 220,
126 S.Ct. 1708,
164 L.Ed.2d 415. See generally §
197.522(3), Fla....
...1708 (recognizing that some states, including Florida, "require that notice be posted on the property or at the property's owner's last known address . . . as a follow[-]up measure when personal service cannot be accomplished or certified mail is returned ") (citing § 197.522(2)(a), Fla....
CopyCited 2 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal
...4
any…. If, after all liens of governmental units are paid in full, there
remains a balance of undistributed funds, the balance shall be retained
by the clerk for the benefit of persons described in s.
197.522(1)(a) . .
. as their interests may appear. The clerk shall mail notices to such
persons notifying them of the funds held for their benefit….
§
197.582(2), Fla. Stat. (2014). Section
197.582 references section
197.522(1)(a):
The clerk of the circuit court shall notify, by certified mail with return
receipt requested or by registered mail if the notice is to be sent
outside the continental United States, the persons listed in the tax
collector’s statement pursuant to s....
...197.502(4) that an application for
a tax deed has been made. Such notice shall be mailed at least 20 days
prior to the date of sale. If no address is listed in the tax collector’s
statement, then no notice shall be required.
Id. §
197.522(1)(a). Section
197.522(1)(a) then references section
197.502(4):
The tax collector shall deliver to the clerk of the circuit court a
statement that payment has been made for all outstanding certificates
or, if the certificate is held by t...
...of who is entitled to the surplus is made at the time of the sale.
First time. After the property tax bill and other government liens are paid
off, the court clerk holds the “balance” (or surplus) of the tax deed sale “for the
benefit of person described in section
197.522(1)(a).” Id. §
197.582(2). Section
197.522(1)(a) refers to “the persons listed in the tax collector’s statement pursuant
to section
197.502(4).” Id. §
197.522(1)(a)....
...notified, payment to Regions Bank was presumed once the clerk sent the notice
following the sale.
Third time. After the sale, once the tax deed is issued to the new owner, “no
right, interest, restriction, or other covenant shall survive the issuance of a tax
deed.” Id. § 197.522....
CopyCited 1 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2000 WL 1532844
...State of Florida. Steven L. Jones of Larson And Jones, Miami Shores, for Appellee-Turnberry Investments, Inc. PER CURIAM. We affirm the summary final judgment quieting title. Appellants' primary contention is that they did not receive proper notice. Section
197.522(1), Florida Statutes (1999), the statutory notice to an owner when an application for a tax deed is made, meets constitutional due process requirements. See Dawson v. Saada,
608 So.2d 806, 808 (Fla.1992). Even the failure of someone to receive notice as provided in section
197.522(1), does "not affect the validity of the tax deed as long as the clerk complies with the notice requirements of subsection (1)." Dawson,
608 So.2d at 808; see §
197.522(1)(d), Fla....
...elinquent taxes and paying them before April 1 of the year following the year in which taxes are assessed." Section
197.432(1), authorizes the tax collector to "commence the sale of tax certificates on those lands on which taxes have not been paid." Section
197.522(1)(a), states that while the clerk of the circuit court "shall notify" a property owner of an application for tax deed, "[i]f no address is listed in the tax collector's statement, then no notice shall be required." The Saggeses' asse...
...deed does not affect the validity of the tax deed. See Alwani v. Slocum,
540 So.2d 908, 909 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989) (rejecting appellants' argument that failure to send notice to proper address rendered tax deed sale invalid because notices complied with section
197.522 and "`[i]t would place an intolerable burden on the clerk to make an independent examination in every case to determine if the names and addresses recorded in the collector's office were accurate'") (quoting Mullin v....
CopyPublished | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Argued: Apr 19, 2024
days prior to the date of sale.” Id. §
197.522(1)(a). 5 “If no address is listed in the
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida
the persons listed in section
197.522(1), Florida Statutes (2004). Section
197.522(1)(a) refers to “the
CopyPublished | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2007 WL 4179324
...sealed and unopened, are still in the tax deed file; and that the sheriff failed to notify them by posting a copy of the notice in a conspicuous place at their home or otherwise failed to notify them of the tax deed sale. They further asserted that section 197.522, Florida Statutes, which governs notice to an owner when application for tax deed is made, is unconstitutional. The trial court granted Eli B. Investment's motion for summary final judgment quieting title. Section 197.522, Florida Statutes, prescribes the procedures for notifying a property owner when an application for a tax deed has been made for his property: (1)(a) The clerk of the circuit court shall notify, by certified mail with return receipt r...
...d the minimum requirements of this chapter. In Vosilla v. Rosado,
944 So.2d 289, 291 (Fla.2006), the Florida Supreme Court recently resolved a certified conflict issue: whether notice to a property owner of a pending tax deed sale that complies with section
197.522(1) can nonetheless violate due process of law if the notice is not reasonably calculated to apprise the owners of the tax deed sale....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1991).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
excess proceeds as a service charge.1 (e.s.) Section
197.522(1)(a), F.S., refers to the persons listed in
CopyPublished | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal
...il to his New
York address.
Rainess appealed.
Final summary judgement orders are reviewed de novo. See Volusia
Cnty. v. Aberdeen at Ormond Beach, L.P.,
760 So. 2d 126, 130 (Fla. 2000).
6
Section
197.522, Florida Statutes (2018), provides the general
requirements for notice before the commencement of a tax deed sale. Rule
12D-13.062(3), Florida Administrative Code (2018), provides what the Clerk
should do if notice is returned “undeliverable”:
(3) If the notice to titleholders required by Sections
197.502(4)(a)
and
197.522(1), F.S., is returned to the clerk as “undeliverable,”
the clerk should review the most recent property tax roll and the
clerk’s court and other records containing address
information to attempt to get a valid address....
...lder at that
address.
(Emphasis added).2 “[W]hen, as here, a mailed notice of a tax sale is returned
unclaimed, the state, as a matter of due process, must take additional
reasonable steps to attempt to provide notice to the property
2
Section 197.522, Florida Statutes, which set forth the Clerk’s duties upon
receiving the Tax Collector’s statement, was amended in 2018 to include
subsection (3), which provides:
(3) When sending or serving a notice under this section, the...
...ion
reports. The clerk of the circuit court has no duty to seek further
information as to the validity of such addresses, because
property owners are presumed to know that taxes are due and
payable annually under s.
197.122.
§
197.522(3) Fla....
...Saada,
608 So. 2d 806 (Fla. 1992):
[W]e find that section[ ] [197.122] specif[ies] the bases by which
either a tax deed or tax sale may be invalidated, provided that
there has been compliance with the notice requirements of
section
197.522(1). Without the notice mandated by section
197.522(1), the fundamental requirement of due process has not
been satisfied and the tax deed or sale is not valid.
Id....
...2
The Clerk of Courts complied with the law in the first instance by
providing notice via certified mail. The Clerk then performed the additional
steps required to meet minimal due process. 3 Maybe the Clerk could have
1
As the majority points out, the relevant statutory provision was amended in
2018, see § 197.522(3), Fla....
CopyPublished | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 1996 WL 93686
...Martin failed to redeem the certificate by August 25, 1993, Bank Atlantic requested a tax deed sale pursuant to section
197.502, Florida Statutes (1991). The clerk of court scheduled a tax deed sale for January 19, 1994, and sent Mr. Martin the statutory notice to owner warning him of that sale. §
197.522(1), Fla.Stat....
CopyPublished | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 4483, 2012 WL 955506
...ng a condominium unit in Bay County, Florida. Capital Plaza, Inc., Appellee, initiated the action, claiming that it is the rightful owner of the unit pursuant to a tax deed it obtained through the tax deed sale process set forth in sections
197.512,
197.522, and
197.542, Florida Statutes (2009)....
...When the plain meaning of a statute is clear, a court should look no further than the language of the statute. Wolf v. Progressive Am. Ins. Co.,
34 So.3d 81, 81 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010). Accordingly, we begin our analysis with a review of the pertinent statutes. Pursuant to section
197.522(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2009), the tax deed sale process begins with notification by certified or registered mail to certain persons identified in section
197.502(4), Florida Statutes (2009), including any legal titleholder of record. This notification must advise the recipient that an application for a tax deed has been made, and it must be mailed at least twenty days before the date of the sale. §
197.522(1)(a)....
...Appellants do not assert any deficiency in the notice they received about the initial tax deed application and date of sale. Their only complaint is that they were not given similar notice of the second tax deed sale. However, Appellants cite no statutory language or case law suggesting that section
197.522(1)(a) has any application to notification of any tax deed sales following a cancellation of the first one. The fact that the Legislature enacted a separate section prescribing the clerk's notification duties for all subsequent tax deed sales belies Appellants' claim that section
197.522(1)(a) applies. See §
197.542(2) Fla. Stat. (2009) (requiring the clerk to "readvertise the sale as provided in this section," rather than section
197.522)....
...ents for a second sale; namely, the clerk must readvertise the sale once, the new sale must take place within 30 days of the canceled sale, and no other notice is necessary. The Legislature's precise description of the initial notice requirements in section 197.522(1)(a) indicates that it knew how to put in specific language as to re-notification in the event an initial sale is canceled and a second sale necessitated....
CopyPublished | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 1992 Fla. App. LEXIS 3224, 1992 WL 48701
PER CURIAM. Affirmed. We find no error by the trial court in setting aside a tax sale because the notice requirements of section 197.522(2), Florida Statutes (1991), had not been followed....
CopyPublished | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2002 Fla. App. LEXIS 10342, 2002 WL 1625535
...Dep’t of Revenue,
770 So.2d 1244 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000). Thus, so long as a landowner receives notice of the impending sale of his property under a scheduled tax deed sale, secondary notices are not mandatory for due process concerns. As the court explained in Dawson : “section
197.522(1) meets constitutional due process requirements by mandating notice reasonably calculated to apprise landowners of the pending deprivation of their property. Section
197.522(2) provides an additional opportunity for owners of tax-delinquent property to redeem their interest when circumstances allow the sheriff to make service of notice upon the landowner. However, the leg *205 islature has clearly stated that any failure on the part of the sheriff to serve notice upon the titleholder would ‘not affect the validity of the tax deed.’ §
197.522(2), Fla. Stat. (1987). Moreover, ‘[t]he failure of anyone to receive notice’ as provided in section
197.522(1) does not affect the validity of the tax deed as long as the clerk complies with the notice requirements of subsection (1). “Based upon the plain language of section
197.522, we find that subsection (1) specifies the mandatory duties of the clerk upon an application for a tax deed, namely that the clerk must notify by mail the persons listed in the tax collector’s statement. However, subsection (2), which provides for additional notice by the sheriff, is directory only. “This construction of section
197.522 is consistent with the modern trend of courts to regard many statutory provisions relating to the validity of tax sales as merely directory rather than jurisdictional.” Dawson,
608 So.2d at 808 ....
...the landowner as required by subsection one, the sheriffs failure to serve another notice when the first auction failed to result in an actual sale does not invalidate the tax deed.
608 So.2d at 809 . Section
197.542(3) is obviously not identical to section
197.522, in that the former pertains to a secondary notice of the same sale while the latter pertains to original notice to the title holder of the fact that the property will be sold for unpaid taxes....
CopyPublished | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2008 Fla. App. LEXIS 10913, 2008 WL 2774441
...Because each condominium unit is a separate parcel of real property with its own separate parcel identification number, the clerk treated each of the units separately. Each unit had its own separate file and each was sold separately. The following notification procedure was used by the clerk. 1. Pursuant to section 197.522(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2005), the clerk sent notice of application for tax deed by certified mail to the Sandpointe address....
...mer address. Nevertheless, the court discussed the law regarding the notice requirements when a notice of address change is not provided by the property owner. The court explained: Chapter 197 governs tax collections, sales, and liens in this state. Section 197.522(1)(a) states that the clerk of the circuit court shall notify, by certified mail with return receipt requested or by registered mail if the notice is to be sent outside the continental United States, the persons listed in the tax collector's statement pursuant to s....
...ax roll for the year in which the property was last assessed, then the notice may only be mailed to the address of the legal titleholder as it appears on the latest assessment roll. (Emphasis supplied.) When read together, sections
197.502(4)(a) and
197.522(1)(a) "require the clerk to mail a notice of tax deed sale to the legal titleholder at the titleholder's address as it appears on the latest assessment roll." Delta Prop. Mgmt., Inc. v. Profile Investments, Inc.,
875 So.2d 443, 447 (Fla.2004). However, section
197.522(1)(d), Florida Statutes (2000), states that the "failure of anyone to receive notice as provided herein shall not affect the validity of the tax deed issued pursuant to the notice." Relying on language from this provision, we have explained that "`[t]he failure of anyone to receive notice' as provided in section
197.522(1) does not affect the validity of the tax deed as long as the clerk complies with the notice requirements of subsection (1)." Dawson v. Saada,
608 So.2d 806, 808 (Fla.1992) (alteration in original) (quoting §
197.522(1)(d), Fla....
...de that no due process violation occurred. Unlike Evans, Kidder, and Bozeman, in which the titleholders did not provide a correct or updated mailing address, the certified conflict issue in this case raises a due process concern over the adequacy of section 197.522(1) when the titleholder has informed taxing authorities of a change of address prior to the mailing of the statutory notice and the taxing authorities have actual notice of the change of address....
...perty appraiser, or clerk of court. The notices were sent to the Sandpointe address, which is listed as Icon's mailing address on the deed, mortgage, and tax assessment rolls maintained by the tax collector. The clerk complied with the provisions of section
197.522(1)(a) by sending notice by certified mail to that address. For both units 403 and 404, the clerk received the signed receipt indicating that the notice was received. Therefore, as the court held in Vosilla, "`[t]he failure of anyone to receive notice' as provided in section
197.522(1) does not affect the validity of the tax deed as long as the clerk complies with the notice requirements of subsection (1)."
944 So.2d at 294 (quoting Dawson v....
...surely the clerk cannot be expected to investigate the signatures on a return receipt to determine if they belong to an employee or representative of a corporate property owner. We do not believe this is what the Legislature intended when it enacted section 197.522(1), and to impose that requirement on the clerk would defy logic and common sense....
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1991 Fla. App. LEXIS 583, 1991 WL 7686
...The appellant was the titleholder. The record reflects that the clerk failed to comply with the statutory requirement for attempting personal service of the notice of sale on resident owners by the sheriff. As a result, the tax deed is invalid and we reverse. Section 197.522, Florida Statutes, sets forth the procedure for noticing titleholders upon an application for a tax deed....
...statute but the notice is not received. Because there is a superficial conflict between the statutes, we certify the following question to the supreme court as one of great public importance: WHETHER FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE NOTICE REQUIREMENTS OF SECTION
197.522, FLORIDA STATUTES, INVALIDATES THE ISSUANCE OF A TAX DEED NOTWITHSTANDING THE LANGUAGE IN SECTIONS 197.404 AND
65.081(3), FLORIDA STATUTES? We consider the other grounds for reversal to be without merit....
CopyPublished | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal
...ertificate.”
§
197.502(1), Fla. Stat. Significantly, until the money for the tax deed is paid,
the owner of the property has the right to redeem the property by paying off
the tax certificate and related costs. §
197.472(1), Fla. Stat.
Section
197.522, Florida Statutes, provides the general requirements
for notice before the commencement of a tax deed sale....
...its responsibility to pay taxes and its failure to pay the taxes. The statute
requires, in pertinent part, that the clerk of the circuit court notify the legal
titleholder “by certified mail with return receipt requested” that an application
for a tax deed has been made. § 197.522(1)(a), Fla....
...Stat. The clerk of court’s
7
certification of mailing identifying the parties the notices were sent to and the
date of mailing “shall be prima facie evidence of the fact that the notice was
mailed.” § 197.522(1)(c), Fla. Stat. The statute also provides that a printed
copy of the notice published in the newspaper “shall be deemed sufficient
notice.” § 197.522(1)(e), Fla. Stat. The statute further provides that “[t]he
failure of anyone to receive notice as provided [in section 197.522] shall not
affect the validity of the tax deed issued pursuant to the notice.” §
197.522(1)(d), Fla. Stat.
Section 197.522 further requires that the sheriff notify the record legal
titleholder of the property. § 197.522(2)(a), Fla....
...conspicuous place at the legal titleholder's last known address.” Id. The
statute also states that “[t]he inability of the sheriff to serve notice on the legal
titleholder shall not affect the validity of the tax deed issued pursuant to the
notice.” Id.
Notably, section 197.522 provides that:
[T]he clerk of the circuit court may rely on the
addresses provided by the tax collector based on the
certified tax roll and property information reports....
...The
clerk of the circuit court has no duty to seek further
8
information as to the validity of such addresses,
because property owners are presumed to know that
taxes are due and payable annually under s.
197.122.
§
197.522(3), Fla....
...But the statute also provides that
“[n]othing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent the tax collector, or
any other public official, in his or her discretion from giving additional notice
in any form concerning tax certificates and tax sales beyond the minimum
requirements of this chapter.” § 197.522(4), Fla. Stat.
Despite the Legislature’s indication in section 197.522(3) that “[t]he
clerk of the circuit court has no duty to seek further information[,]” Estrella De
Oro argued, and the trial court agreed, that due process under the
constitution imposed a duty on the Clerk and Sheriff to seek further
information to locate Estrella De Oro....
CopyPublished | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2007 Fla. App. LEXIS 2591, 2007 WL 542742
...We agree, as well, that Greentree was not entitled to notice of the tax deed process. Greentree asserts that it was denied due process because it was not given notice of the tax deed sale, even though it had a valid and reasonably identifiable security interest in the mobile home. Greentree centers its argument on section 197.522, Florida Statutes (2004)....
...Grossman contends, and we agree, that Greentree did not take the required statutory steps to put the tax assessor or clerk on notice of its interest, and that these county officials were not required to use exhaustive measures to find any and all interested parties prior to a tax sale. Section 197.522(1)(a) provides that: The clerk of the circuit court shall notify, by certified mail with return receipt requested or by registered mail if the notice is to be sent outside the continental United States, the persons listed in the tax collector's statement pursuant to s....
...The next subsection of the statute requires the sheriff of the county in which the property at interest is located to serve a notice of the tax sale to the legal titleholder at least 20 days prior to the sale. Section
197.502(4), Florida Statutes (2004), the statute referenced in section
197.522(1)(a), lists the parties entitled to notice of a tax sale....
...In that case the high court held that the "legislature has the authority to determine the extent and character of notice" required to be provided prior to the sale of land for nonpayment of taxes. Id. at 808. The relevant issue is whether the clerk complies with the notice requirements of section 197.522, not whether the notice is actually received. The court held further that "the failure of anyone to receive notice as provided in section 197.522(1) does not affect the validity of the tax deed" so long as the notice requirements of the statute were followed....
CopyPublished | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 18334, 2010 WL 4903569
...ed sale rendered in favor of the intervenor, Philip Morrill. Surna argues that the court erred when it determined that (1) the intervenor, Morrill, was entitled to notice of the tax deed sale under section
197.502(4)(h), Florida Statutes (2007); (2) section
197.522, Florida Statutes (2007), was unconstitutional as applied to the facts of this case; and (3) the Orange County Property Appraiser violated section
197.192, Florida Statutes (2004), when it assigned separate parcel numbers to the property at a time when taxes were outstanding on the property....
...ce under section
197.502(4). The clerk sent notice to the fee owner, but it was returned unclaimed. The sheriff was likewise unable to serve the fee owner with the statutory notice concerning the impending issuance of tax certificates as required by section
197.522, or post the property itself because the sheriff was unable to locate an address for the property....
...roperty. Persons entitled to notice include any legal titleholder of record of property that is contiguous to the property described in the tax certificate, when the property described is either submerged land or the common element of a subdivision. §
197.522(4)(h), Fla. Stat. (2007). 2 Pursuant to section
197.522(l)(a), 3 the clerk of the circuit court is required to give notice by certified mail to those persons listed in the statement provided by the tax collector pursuant to section
197.502(4)....
...ommon element in section
193.0235(2) was effective at the time of the sale, thereby, guiding a determination of whether the property was a -common element. We conclude Morrill fits squarely into the category of persons entitled to notice pursuant to section
197.522(4)(h) as he is the titleholder of record of property that is contiguous to the property described in the tax certificate, which property is a common element of the subdivision. 5 In further support of Morrill’s claim of entitlement to notice, section
197.522(2)(b), Florida Statutes (2007), provides: In addition to the notice provided in subsection (1), the clerk shall notify by certified mail with return receipt requested ......
...rsuant to s.l97.502(4)(h) shall be a basis to challenge the validity of the tax deed issued pursuant to any notice under this section. *52 (emphasis added). A plain reading of the statute indicates that Morrill was entitled to two notices, one under section
197.522(l)(a) and the other under section
197.522(2)(b). Having determined that Morrill was entitled to notice under both section
197.522(l)(a) and (2)(b), we now consider the ramifications of the failure of those notices to be provided. In Dawson v. Saada,
608 So.2d 806 (Fla.1992), the supreme court considered a similar, though not identical notice problem. In that case, the delinquent property owner was entitled to notice from the clerk of the circuit court under section
197.522(1) and from the sheriff under section
197.522(2)(a). The clerk complied with the notice requirements of section
197.522(1). However, the sheriff failed to give the notice provided by section
197.522(2) because the clerk did not prepare the necessary documents. In the subsequent action to void the tax deed, the delinquent property owner, Saada, contended that he was denied due process because of the failure to strictly comply with the statutory notice requirements of section
197.522(2). Id. at 808 . In rejecting that argument, the court held: [W]e do not agree with Saada’s contention that due process requires strict compliance with the notice provisions in both subsections of section
197.522....
...Florida’s statutory scheme governing the sale of real property for the collection of delinquent taxes and the validity of tax deeds issued pursuant to such sales is comprehensive. The notice provisions contained in chapter 197 are an integral part of that scheme. Section 197.522(1) meets constitutional due process requirements by mandating notice reasonably calculated to apprise landowners of the pending deprivation of their property. Section 197.522(2) provides an additional opportunity for owners of tax-delinquent property to redeem their interest when circumstances allow the sheriff to make service of notice upon the landowner. However, the legislature has clearly stated that any failure on the part of the sheriff to serve notice upon the titleholder would “not affect the validity of the tax deed.” § 197.522(2), Fla. Stat. (1987).... Based upon the plain language of section 197.522, we find that subsection (1) specifies the mandatory duties of the clerk upon an application for a tax deed, namely that the clerk must notify by mail the persons listed in the tax collector’s statement. However, subsection (2), which provides for additional notice by the sheriff, is directory only. Id. (some internal citations omitted). Similar to the facts in Dawson , here, Morrill was entitled to mandatory notice under section 197.522(1) and directory notice under section 197.522(2) (b). While the failure to provide the required notice under section 197.522(2) may be excused, that can only occur if the clerk strictly complies with the mandatory notice requirement under section 197.522(1)....
...rder, other than at a corner or a single point, and not separated by submerged lands. Submerged lands lying below the ordinary high-water mark which are sovereignty lands are not part of the upland contiguous property for purposes of notification. . Section 197.522(l)(a), Florida Statutes (2007), provides, in pertinent part: The clerk of the circuit court shall notify, by certified mail with return receipt requested or by registered mail if the notice is to be sent outside the continental United States, the persons listed in the tax collector’s statement pursuant to s....
CopyPublished | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 12878, 2009 WL 2602326
...till the titleholder because the clerk had failed to provide proper notice of the sale. Profile and Delta each moved for summary judgment with the dispositive legal issue being whether the clerk had complied with the statutory notice requirements of section 197.522(1), Florida Statutes (1999), when he relied exclusively upon the tax collector’s statement in preparing the notice of the tax sale....
...Profile Inv., Inc.,
875 So.2d 443, 444-45 (Fla.2004), reversing
830 So.2d 867 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002). In determining the clerk’s duties and obligations as to sending notices of tax sales, the Florida Supreme Court construed the relevant statutes as follows: Section
197.522(l)(a) unequivocally indicates that the clerk of the circuit court must notify by mail those persons listed in the tax collector’s statement of any pending tax deed sale....
...collector and the clerk in advance with an updated and correct mailing address, receipt of which was acknowledged by the clerk of the court. See Vosilla,
944 So.2d at 291 . The Florida Supreme Court specifically avoided any consideration of whether section
197.522 is facially unconstitutional and instead found a due process deprivation where the “taxing authority receives actual notice from the titleholder of a change of address but sends the notice of the tax deed sale to the former address.” Id....
...obligation to utilize the latest available tax assessment roll. The Florida Supreme Court agreed. See Delta,
875 So.2d at 448 . With respect, it appears here that the learned trial judge, intending in good faith to apply the rule of Vosilla , found section
197.522 unconstitutional on its face, as denying procedural due process, a question clearly reserved by the court in Vosilla , and never raised here by Delta....
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1999 Fla. App. LEXIS 11008, 1999 WL 625425
...The court deemed Bullock to have received actual notice of the tax sale nunc pro tunc to a date prior to the sale, denied Bullock’s motion for summary judgment, and adjudged the tax deed held by Houston to be valid. We begin this analysis by discussing the notice requirements of section
197.522(l)(a), Florida Statutes, which states that the “clerk of the circuit court shall notify, by certified mail with return receipt requested ..., the persons listed in the tax collector’s statement pursuant to s.
197.502(4) that an application for a tax deed has been made.” §
197.522(l)(a), Fla. Stat. (1997). Importantly, that section further states that “[i]f no address is listed in the tax collector’s statement, then no notice shall be required.” §
197.522(l)(a), Fla....
...that “notice reasonably calculated to apprise landowners of the pending deprivation of their property.” Dawson v. Saada,
608 So.2d 806, 808 (Fla.1992). In Kerr v. Broward County,
718 So.2d 197 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998), this court considered sections
197.522 and
197.502 in reviewing the propriety of a lower court order awarding surplus funds from a tax sale to an inferior lienholder and rejecting the claims of a superior lienholder merely because the latter’s name and address had not been listed in the tax collector’s statement....
...The controlling statutes directed that any surplusage resulting from a tax sale of property first be distributed to any governmental unit holding a lien against the property and, then, be held by the clerk of the court for the benefit of the persons listed in section 197.522....
...been listed in the tax collector’s statement. In reversing the lower court’s ruling, this court held: Based on Daivson and DeMario [v. Franklin Mortg. & Inv. Co.,
648 So.2d 210 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994) ], it is clear that the purpose of sections
197.522 and
197.502 is to provide adequate notice to those holding an interest in the property and not to exclude those whose addresses are not listed from being entitled to distribution....
