Excerpts of the Indiana Supreme Court’s decision follow:
Before a parcel of real
property can be sold at a tax sale, the Indiana Code requires the county
auditor to mail notice of the pending sale to any mortgagee holding a mortgage
on the property—provided, however, that the mortgagee has first affirmatively
requested such notice by submitting a form to the auditor. Is such a procedure
permissible under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment? The
answer, we said over two decades ago, is “Yes.”
But
in this case a bank failed to submit the required form to the Bartholomew
County auditor and therefore was not notified that one of its mortgaged
properties was tax-delinquent until after the property had been sold and the
buyer requested a tax deed. The bank objected, challenging the
constitutionality of this statutory scheme in light of a more recent case from
the U.S. Supreme Court. The trial court below agreed with the bank and refused
to issue the tax deed, but we remain firm that the answer to the constitutional
question is still “Yes,” and therefore reverse.
…See the full opinion here:
