Iowa Land Co. v. Douglas County

Citations

• 8 S.D. 491
• 67 N.W. 52
• 1896 S.D. LEXIS 68

Syllabus

<p>1. Comp. Laws, Sec. 1609, provides that no demand of taxes shall be necessary, and the collection of taxes, on non-payment by January 1st, shall be made by distress and sale. Sec. 1612 provides that taxes on realty are a perpetual lien thereon, and that taxes on personalty shall he a lien on any realty owned by the person from whom they are due. Sec. 1620 requires the treasurer to give notice of the sale for taxes, which shall contain a list of the lands to be sold, and the “amount of taxes.” Sec. 1621 confers on the treasurer power to sell land which shall be liable for taxes of “any description.” Held, that a sale of land for taxes on personalty was authorized. Fullee, J., dissenting.</p> <p>2. Comp. Laws, Sec. 1616, requiring the treasurer to file a return of his inability to make the personal taxes out of the personal property, and providing that on such return he shall be released from liability for further failure to collect such taxes, and Sec. 1617, rendering him liable for the tax on failure to make the return, as in force prior to 1891, do not require such return as a condition to the right of the treasurer to sell land for payment of personal taxes.</p> <p>8. Where a mortgage of land was taken prior to 1891, after personal taxes against the mortgagor became liens on the land — power at that time being conferred on the treasurer, without limitation as to time, to sell land for personal taxes — the failure of the treasurer to collect the taxes by distress of personalty, or by sale of the realty on which the lien existed, did not release the taxes, or preclude the treasurer from selling the real estate for the same in a subsequent year.</p> <p>4. The county commissioners have no authority to release land from a lien for personal taxes.</p> <p>5. An attempted release by the county commissioners of a lien on real estate for personal taxes, made subsequent to the execution of a mortgage of the property, cannot operate to estop the county, as against the mort