Pub. 10 2019 Issue 2

www.wvbankers.org 24 West Virginia Banker A Refresher on the Sale of Tax Liens in West Virginia: Part Three By Debra Lee Allen, Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC T his is the last of three articles that have described the process by which real property tax liens are sold in the state of West Virginia. The first article (Winter 2018) discussed the requisite notices and timing of the sale, and issuance of the Cer- tificate of Sale to the purchaser. The second article (Spring 2019) described the purchas- er's requirements for obtaining the tax deed. This article discusses the grounds on which a tax sale or deed may be set aside. In West Virginia, assuming all requirements are met, a tax deed will be issued to the tax lien purchaser approximately 18 months from the date of the sheriff's sale. Within this time period, all parties with an interest in the real property must receive a Notice to Redeem. If the property is not redeemed within these time frames, the tax deed will issue, no later than April 1 in the second year following the year in which the tax lien was sold. In our example, delinquent 2017 taxes were sold in the fall of 2018, the Notice to Redeem would be mailed between September 30 and November 1, 2019, and the sheriff's tax deed would issue April 1, 2020. There is no redemption period after issuance of the tax deed. However, there are certain grounds on which a tax deed may be set aside. These are specified in three statutory provisions: W.Va. Code §§ 11A-4-2, 11A-4-3, and 11A-4-5. All are subject to a three-year statute of limitations, although when the limitations period begins to run varies. Taxes were paid. W.Va. Code § 11A-4-2 A tax deed or the sale may be set aside if the taxes, in fact, were paid prior to the sale. The owner of the real property, his heirs and assigns, or the per- son who paid the taxes may, prior to the expiration of three years from the date of sale, initiate a civil action to stop the process post sale for issuance of the tax deed or otherwise set aside the tax deed. Notwithstanding this statu- tory provision, in 2018, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia considered whether a tax deed could be set aside more than three years after the tax sale on the grounds that the taxes were already paid. L&D Invest- ments, Inc. v. Mike Ross, Inc., 818 S.E.2d 872 (2018). The trial court had granted summa- ry judgment to the tax sale purchaser. On appeal, the tax purchaser argued the claimant was barred by limitations. The