Case Title: County of Lancaster v. Maser

Citation: 224 Neb. 566, 400 N.W.2d 238

Docket Number: 

State: nebraska

Court: Nebraska Supreme Court

Date: 1987-01-23T00:00:00Z

Document:
400 N.W.2d 238 (1987) 224 Neb. 566 COUNTY OF LANCASTER, Nebraska, Appellee, v. Daniel L. MASER, et al., Appellees, Department of Banking and Finance of the State of Nebraska, Receiver for Commonwealth Savings Company, Appellant. COUNTY OF LANCASTER, Nebraska, Appellee, v. Michael A. MENCK, et al., Appellees, Department of Banking and Finance of the State of Nebraska, Receiver for Commonwealth Savings Company, Appellant. COUNTY OF LANCASTER, Nebraska, Appellee, v. COMMONWEALTH SAVINGS COMPANY, et al., Appellees, Tabitha Development Corporation, a Nebraska Corporation, et al., Appellants. Nos. 85-890, 85-916, 85-917. Supreme Court of Nebraska. January 23, 1987. *240 D.C. Pierson of Pierson, Ackerman, Fitchett, Akin & Hunzeker, for appellant Department of Banking and Finance. Douglas D. Cyr, Deputy Lancaster County Atty., for appellee County of Lancaster. KRIVOSHA, C.J., and BOSLAUGH, WHITE, HASTINGS, CAPORALE, SHANAHAN, and GRANT, JJ. SHANAHAN, Justice. The Department of Banking and Finance of the State of Nebraska, Receiver for Commonwealth Savings Company; Tabitha Development Corporation, a Nebraska corporation; Tabitha Village, Inc., a Nebraska corporation; Tabitha Home, a Nebraska corporation; and Autumn Wood Venture, a Nebraska corporation, as owners of real estate in Lancaster County, Nebraska, have appealed the decree foreclosing real estate tax liens of Lancaster County in consolidated actions involving tax sale certificates purchased by the county and foreclosure of tax liens represented by those certificates. A review of applicable statutes will assist understanding the positions taken by the parties. Neb.Rev.Stat. § 77-1824 (Reissue 1986) states in part: "The owner or occupant of any land sold for taxes or any person having a lien thereupon or interest therein, may redeem the same at any time before the delivery of tax deed by the county treasurer...." Neb.Rev.Stat. § 77-1837 (Reissue 1986) states in part: Neb.Rev.Stat. § 77-1902 (Reissue 1986) in pertinent part provides: (Emphasis supplied.) Neb.Rev.Stat. § 77-1917 (Reissue 1986) in part recites: "Any person, entitled to redeem any lot or parcel of land, may do so at any time after the decree of foreclosure and before the final confirmation of the sale...." Last, but certainly not least, is Neb. Const. art. VIII, § 3, pertaining to the right of redemption: Since certain real estate taxes and assessments for prior years were unpaid, on August 22, 1980, Lancaster County issued and purchased tax sale certificates for such unpaid levies, see Neb.Rev.Stat. § 77-1809 *241 (Reissue 1986) (delinquent tax sales; purchase by county), which certificates matured on August 23, 1983, entitling Lancaster County to a treasurer's tax deed on real estate which had not been redeemed. See § 77-1837. In the present case, the owners' real estate was not redeemed. On November 22 and November 23, 1983, that is, 91 and 92 days after its tax sale certificates had matured, Lancaster County commenced actions to foreclose those certificates pursuant to § 77-1902(1). The owners responded that the county's actions were barred by the 90-day limit prescribed by § 77-1902(1). On October 8, 1985, the district court found that Lancaster County had timely commenced its actions, and subsequently entered a decree foreclosing the tax liens of the tax sale certificates. In ruling that Lancaster County had timely filed its petitions, the district court apparently relied upon Bish v. Fletcher, 219 Neb. 863, 366 N.W.2d 778 (1985), which was issued approximately 6 months before the district court's decree of foreclosure. In this appeal, the sole issue is whether the county filed its foreclosure actions within the time specified in § 77-1902(1). We are not concerned here with the county's tax lien, which continues until that lien has been divested by payment of taxes or sale of real estate in foreclosure of such lien as authorized in Neb.Rev.Stat. § 77-1901 (Reissue 1986). See County of Valley v. Milford, 70 Neb. 313, 97 N.W. 310 (1903). The real estate owners contend that the "time for redemption" expressed in § 77-1902(1) expires when a tax sale certificate matures 3 years after the tax sale. Thus, the owners argue that the tax sale certificates in the present cases matured on August 23, 1983, and that the county's petitions for foreclosure, which were filed more than 90 days after expiration of the time for redemption, were not filed within the time limits specified in § 77-1902(1). All parties in the present proceedings pointedly criticize Bish v. Fletcher, supra, where, similar to the present case, the appellees held a tax sale certificate which matured on August 23, 1983. Rather than demanding a tax deed, the appellees in Bish filed a petition to foreclose the lien of their tax sale certificate in the district court on February 3, 1984, pursuant to § 77-1902. In holding that the petition, which was filed 164 days after the tax sale certificate had matured, was timely filed, we stated: 219 Neb. at 865, 366 N.W.2d at 780. In Bish we held that the "time for redemption" from a tax sale was 3 years and 90 days and that a petition to foreclose the lien of a tax sale certificate may be brought within 90 days after expiration of the "3 years and 90 days" period. Thus, in Bish this court equated "time for redemption" (§ 77-1902) with the "right of redemption" (§§ 77-1824 and 77-1917). The focal point of this case is a characterization or illustration of the phrase "time for redemption" found in § 77-1902(1). Guided by the language "for a period of not less than two years" found in Neb. Const. art. VIII, § 3, this court long recognized 2 years as the period of time for redemption in reference to tax sales. For example, in McGavock v. Pollack, 13 Neb. 535, 536, 14 N.W. 659 (1882), this court examined statutes which provided: "`The owner or occupant of any lands sold for taxes ... may redeem the same at any time within two years after the day of sale,'" and "`If no person shall redeem such lands within 2 years, at any time after the expiration thereof [a treasurer's deed may be *242 delivered to the purchaser].'" (Emphasis omitted.) In construing the foregoing statutes, this court, in McGavock, declared void a tax deed issued 1 day before expiration of the 2-year time for redemption and stated at 536, 14 N.W. at 659: "[T]he owner of land sold for taxes, or other interested person, shall have two full years `after the day of such sale' within which to redeem it." (Emphasis omitted.) Parker v. Matheson, 21 Neb. 546, 32 N.W. 598 (1887), involved a petition filed on February 21, 1885, to foreclose a lien based on a tax sale certificate purchased on February 5, 1878. Parker involved a statute providing a 2-year period for redemption and a 5-year limitation for foreclosure of a tax sale lien. Deciding that the foreclosure action was barred because the proceedings were not commenced within the statutory time, this court expressed in Parker: 21 Neb. at 547, 32 N.W. at 598. In County of Valley v. Milford, 70 Neb. 313, 316, 97 N.W. 310, 311 (1903), which also involved a 5-year statute of limitations for foreclosure of a lien acquired through a tax sale certificate, we stated: An analysis of the time allowed for redemption from a tax sale and lien is found in Connely v. Hesselberth, 132 Neb. 886, 889, 273 N.W. 821, 823 (1937): See, also, Peterson v. Swanson, 133 Neb. 164, 274 N.W. 482 (1937); County of Madison v. Walz, 144 Neb. 677, 14 N.W.2d 319 (1944); County of Lincoln v. Provident Loan & Investment Co., 147 Neb. 169, 22 N.W.2d 609 (1946). In Connely, this court recognized the very important distinction between the "time for redemption," which was the constitutional right of redemption for 2 years from the date of the tax sale, and the statutory right of redemption which existed thereafter until confirmation of a judicial sale of the property. In Bish v. Fletcher, 219 Neb. 863, 366 N.W.2d 778 (1985), we overlooked such distinction between "time for redemption" and "right of redemption." Also, the 2-year "time for redemption" was statutorily expressed in § 77-1837 (Reissue 1971): "At any time within three years after the expiration of two years from the date of sale of any real estate for taxes or special assessments," *243 making it clear that, after expiration of the 2 years for redemption, a purchaser of a tax sale certificate had 3 years to obtain a treasurer's tax deed. By virtue of §§ 77-1824 and 77-1917 (Reissue 1971), the right of redemption continued, however, until either a treasurer's tax deed was issued or there was judicial confirmation of a sheriff's sale in foreclosure of the lien for delinquent taxes. In 1975, the Nebraska Legislature passed L.B. 78, which amended § 77-1837, expanding the time for redemption to 3 years and decreasing the time for commencement of a tax lien foreclosure or acquisition of a treasurer's tax deed, namely, a decrease from 3 years to 90 days after expiration of the time for redemption. Returning to Bish v. Fletcher, supra, we concluded that since a right of redemption existed anytime until the issuance of a tax deed (§ 77-1824 (Reissue 1986)), the time for redemption (§ 77-1902(1) (Reissue 1986)) coexisted for the same duration. However, the ultimate extension of the Bish rule"time for redemption" and "right of redemption" exist for the same durationironically produces a peculiar result. Under § 77-1902, a tax foreclosure cannot be commenced until the time for redemption has expired. Yet, under § 77-1917 (Reissue 1986), a right of redemption exists in a tax foreclosure until the sale in the foreclosure proceeding is confirmed, concluding the foreclosure and extinguishing the right of redemption. According to Bish, the time for redemption and the right of redemption endure for the same period, that is, until confirmation of a tax foreclosure sale. But a tax foreclosure proceeding cannot be commenced before expiration of the time for redemption (§ 77-1902), that is, according to Bish, until a tax foreclosure sale has been confirmed. Therefore, as a result of Bish, a tax foreclosure proceeding cannot be commenced until such foreclosure proceeding has been concluded by confirmation. We do not believe such a catch-22 was intended as a part of the statutory scheme pertaining to tax foreclosure sales. "One of the fundamental principles of statutory construction is to attempt to ascertain the legislative intent and to give effect to that intent." Spence v. Terry, 215 Neb. 810, 814, 340 N.W.2d 884, 886 (1983). "When statutory language is ambiguous and must be construed, recourse should be had to the legislative history for the purpose of discovering the intent of the lawmakers." Witherspoon v. Sides Constr. Co., 219 Neb. 117, 121, 362 N.W.2d 35, 40 (1985). See, also, Worley v. City of Omaha, 217 Neb. 77, 348 N.W.2d 123 (1984). In determining the intent of the Legislature, the Supreme Court considers the history of the legislation and the reasonableness of an interpretation, weighed against an unreasonable or absurd construction evidently not intended by the Legislature. Otto v. Hahn, 209 Neb. 114, 306 N.W.2d 587 (1981). See, also, Johnson v. School Dist. of Wakefield, 181 Neb. 372, 148 N.W.2d 592 (1967). "Legislative history includes the record of a floor explanation or debate, which is an extrinsic, secondary source in statutory interpretation." Spence v. Terry, supra, 215 Neb. at 815, 340 N.W.2d at 887. A review of the legislative history of L.B. 78, which amended § 77-1902 in 1975, discloses that the bill's introducer stated during floor debate: Floor Debate, L.B. 78, 84th Leg., 1st Sess. 1592 (Mar. 19, 1975). The Legislature intended that a tax foreclosure under § 77-1902 can only be brought within the 90 days immediately after expiration of 3 years from the tax sale on which a tax sale certificate or tax deed is based. We now hold that the "time for redemption," as such phrase is used in § 77-1902, is the 3 years immediately following a delinquent tax sale and that an action to foreclose a tax lien pursuant to *244 § 77-1902 can only be brought within the 90 days immediately after expiration of such time for redemption. Consequently, Bish v. Fletcher, 219 Neb. 863, 366 N.W.2d 778 (1985), stating that the "time for redemption" is 3 years and 90 days from the date of a tax sale, is overruled. We must, therefore, reverse the judgment of the district court and remand this matter with direction to dismiss the actions of Lancaster County because the county's petitions were not filed within the time prescribed by § 77-1902. REVERSED AND REMANDED WITH DIRECTION.