Croom v. Pennington & Evans

Citations

• 59 Fla. 473

Syllabus

<p>1. Where a tax collector issued to the State a certificate of the sale of land for the non-payment of the taxes thereon when the taxes had been paid, such certificate as an evidence of the sale of the land is illegal, and when it is shown to be void upon proof or admission of the payment of the taxes, the custodian of the certificate and of the record of the sale may be required to make proper entries, showing the illegality of the certificate as a sale of the land.</p> <p>2. A suit to obviate the effect of an illegal act of an officer as such is not a suit against the State, for the State authorizes only legal acts by its officers.</p> <p>3. The State acquires no right under an illegal and void tax certificate issued to it by its officers, and the illegal act of the officer may be reached by the courts in proper proceedings.</p>