Title: KRISTEN L. THOMPSON-GREEN V. THE ESTATE OF ROBERT JERRY DROBISH; DANIEL J. DROBISH; GEOFFREY ORA DROBISH; ROBERT JAY DROBISH; and FIDELITY FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC., n/k/a WELLS FARGO FINANCIAL ACCEPTANCE UTAH

State: wyoming

Issuer: Wyoming Supreme Court

Document:

KRISTEN L. THOMPSON-GREEN V. THE ESTATE OF ROBERT JERRY DROBISH; DANIEL J. DROBISH; GEOFFREY ORA DROBISH; ROBERT JAY DROBISH; and FIDELITY FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC., n/k/a WELLS FARGO FINANCIAL ACCEPTANCE UTAH2006 WY 126143 P.3d 897Case Number: 05-227Decided: 10/10/2006
OCTOBER TERM, A.D. 2006

 
 
KRISTEN 
L. THOMPSON-GREEN,

 
 
Appellant

(Plaintiff),

 
 
v.

 
 
THE 
ESTATE OF ROBERT JERRY DROBISH; DANIEL J. DROBISH; GEOFFREY ORA DROBISH; ROBERT 
JAY DROBISH; and FIDELITY FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC., n/k/a WELLS FARGO FINANCIAL 
ACCEPTANCE UTAH,

 
 
Appellees

(Defendants).

 
 
Appeal from theDistrictCourtofLaramieCounty

 
 

Representing 
Appellant:

Don W. 
Riske of Riske & Salisbury, P.C., Cheyenne, Wyoming.

 
 

Representing 
Appellees:

Scott W. 
Meier and Ian D. Shaw of Hickey & Evans, LLP, Cheyenne, Wyoming.  
Argument by Mr. Meier.

 
 
Before 
VOIGT, C.J., and GOLDEN, HILL*, KITE, and BURKE, 
JJ.

 
 
*Chief 
Justice at time of oral argument.

 
 

VOIGT, Chief Justice.

 
 
[¶1]      This appeal 
concerns the ownership of residential property (hereinafter "the property") in 
Cheyenne.  In 2004, the Laramie County Treasurer 
executed a tax deed granting the property to Kristen L. Thompson-Green 
(Green).  In the ensuing declaratory 
judgment action, the district court granted summary judgment to the property's 
owners because it determined that Green failed to comply with certain statutory 
notice requirements prior to obtaining the tax deed.  Green now appeals the district court's 
decision.  We 
affirm.

 
 
ISSUES

 
 
[¶2]       1.   Whether Green complied with the 
notice requirements set forth in Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-13-108(e) (LexisNexis 
2005) prior to obtaining the tax deed?

 
 
2.   If not, whether the tax deed 
remained valid as to one cotenant's interest in the property because Green did 
serve that cotenant personally with the requisite notice?

 
 
FACTS

 
 
[¶3]      The facts in the 
instant case are essentially undisputed.  
As of July 2000, Robert Jerry Drobish had a one-half interest in the 
property and occupied the property's residence; his sons (Daniel Drobish, 
Geoffrey Drobish and Robert Jay Drobish) also had a one-half interest in the 
property.  All four of the Drobishes 
held such interests as tenants in common.  
No one apparently paid taxes on the property in 1999, so the Laramie 
County Treasurer included the property in an August 2000 tax sale.  Green bid on the property at the tax 
sale, paid $591.17 in delinquent property taxes and costs, and received a 
certificate of purchase from the county treasurer.  Green then applied for, and received, a 
Tax Deed conveying the property to her in November 2004.  The dispute in the instant case focuses 
on the service of certain notices prior to the county treasurer executing the 
tax deed in favor of Green, and we will discuss the facts relevant to that issue 
later in this opinion.  Robert Jerry 
Drobish died December 1, 2004.  His 
sons thereafter discovered Green's efforts to obtain the tax deed while "sorting 
[through their] father's belongings and paperwork."

 
 
[¶4]      In January 2005, 
Green filed a declaratory judgment action pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 
1-37-101, et seq. (LexisNexis 2005), 
claiming that she owned the property as the grantee of the 2004 tax deed.  The Drobishes asserted that the tax deed 
was invalid because Green did not comply with the notice requirements found in 
Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-13-108(e)(v).  
Both parties subsequently filed summary judgment motions.  The district court granted summary 
judgment to the Drobishes because Green did not comply with the aforementioned 
notice provisions, and such a failure as to one owner was sufficient to 
invalidate the tax deed as to all of the owners of record.  Green now appeals the district court's 
decision.

 
 
STANDARD 
OF REVIEW

 
 
[¶5]      Our standard for 
the review of summary judgments applies in declaratory judgment actions.  Laughter v. Bd. of CountyComm'rs, 2005 WY 54, ¶ 9, 110 P.3d 875, 879 (Wyo. 2005).  That standard 
is essentially as follows:

 
 
            
Summary judgment is proper "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to 
interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, 
show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving 
party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law."  W.R.C.P. 56(c).  A genuine issue of material fact exists 
when a disputed fact, if proven, would establish or refute an essential element 
of a cause of action or a defense that a party has asserted.  Metz Beverage Co. v. Wyoming Beverages, 
Inc., 2002 WY 21, ¶ 9, 39 P.3d 1051, ¶ 9 (Wyo.2002).

 
 
            
We evaluate the propriety of a summary judgment by employing the same 
standards and by examining the same material as the district court.  Id.  We examine de novo the record, in the light most 
favorable to the party opposing the motion, affording to that party the benefit 
of all favorable inferences that may be drawn from the record.  Roussalis v. Wyoming Medical Center, 
Inc., 4 P.3d 209, 229 (Wyo.2000).  
If upon review of the record, doubt exists about the presence of issues 
of material fact, that doubt must be resolved against the party seeking summary 
judgment.  Id.  We accord no deference to the district 
court's decisions on issues of law.  
Metz, ¶ 
9.

 
 

Linton 
v. E. C. Cates Agency, Inc., 2005 
WY 63, ¶¶ 6-7, 113 P.3d 26, 28 (Wyo. 2005).  

 
 
[¶6]      Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 
39-13-108(e)(vii)(B) states that the "burden of proof shall be upon any party 
seeking to invalidate title conveyed by a tax . . . deed in any action in any 
court in Wyoming." 

 

DISCUSSION

 
 
[¶7]      The primary issue 
in this appeal is the extent to which Green complied with the notice 
requirements contained in Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-13-108(e) prior to applying for 
the tax deed.  That statute 
provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

 
 
(v)        The 
following shall apply to tax deeds to purchasers:

 
 
(A)      The county 
treasurer shall accept applications and issue tax deeds for unredeemed real 
property subject to a certificate of purchase not less than four (4) nor more 
than six (6) years from the date of the original sale for taxes to the person in 
whose name the certificate of purchase was delivered or his assigns upon proper 
application, return of the certificate of purchase, payment of fees and 
proof of compliance with the notice requirements of this section to consist of 
the fact of personal service and the contents of the notice served in cases 
where personal service is made, or, in the case of service by 
publication, a sworn statement attached to a copy of the notice indicating the 
time of service by the publisher, manager or editor of the newspaper in which 
publication of notice was made;

 
 
(B)      Holders of 
certificates of purchase of real property sold for delinquent taxes, including a 
holder's or county's assigns, upon application for a tax deed therefor shall 
furnish proof to the county treasurer:

 
 

(I)      That 
at least three (3) months prior to the application a written or printed notice 
was served on each person in actual possession or occupancy of the real property 
and the person in whose name the property was taxed or assessed if upon 
diligent inquiry the persons can be found in the county; or

 
 
(II)      If no person is 
in actual possession or occupancy of the property and if the person in whose 
name the property was taxed or assessed cannot be found in the county, that 
notice was published in a newspaper printed in the county, or if no newspaper is 
printed in the county, then in a newspaper printed in Wyoming nearest to the 
county seat of the county in which the property is located.  The notice shall be published once a 
week for three (3) weeks, the first publication not more than five (5) months 
and the last publication not less than three (3) months prior to the 
application; and

 
 
(III)     That notice was sent by 
certified or registered mail to the record owner and mortgagees, if any, of the 
real property if their addresses are known or disclosed by the public records. 

 
 
(Emphasis 
supplied.) 

 
 
[¶8]      In what is now 
subsection (e)(v) of the statute, "the legislature placed upon the shoulders of 
the tax deed grantee a duty of diligent inquiry to find and serve" the specified 
individuals.1  Trefren v. Lewis, 852 P.2d 323, 328 
(Wyo. 1993). 
 "Diligent" means "[c]areful; 
attentive; persistent in doing something."  
Black's Law Dictionary 489 
(8th ed. 2004).  We have described 
the concept of "due diligence" in another context as 
follows:

 
 
"The 
diligence to be pursued and shown . . . is that which is reasonable under the 
circumstances and not all possible diligence which may be conceived.  Nor is it that diligence which stops 
just short of the place where if it were continued might reasonably be expected 
to uncover an address . . . of the person on whom service is sought. . . .  Due diligence must be tailored to fit 
the circumstances of each case.  It 
is that diligence which is appropriate to accomplish the end sought and which is 
reasonably calculated to do so."

 
 

Colley 
v. Dyer, 821 P.2d 565, 568 (Wyo. 1991) (quoting Carlson v. Bos, 740 P.2d 1269, 1277 n.13 
(Utah 1987)) 
(some internal quotations omitted).  The inquiry extends to "those places 
where information is likely to be obtained and to those persons who, in the 
ordinary course of events, would be likely to receive news of or from the absent 
person[s]."  62B Am.Jur.2d Process § 229 
(2005).

 
 
[¶9]      Green claims that 
she took "all reasonable steps available to her to comply with the requirements 
of the statute."  According to 
Green, the Laramie County Clerk's, and Treasurer's, records only included one 
mailing address for all of the Drobishesthe property's address.  Green's husband also searched the 
"telephone records of the LaramieCounty area" and stated that the only 
telephone number listed for any of the Drobishes was a number for Robert J. 
Drobish at the property's address.

 
 
[¶10]   Green proceeded to send to that 
address (via certified mail) an August 2004 notice that, among other things, the 
redemption period would expire on November 30, 2004, and that she would apply 
for a tax deed "on or after" that date.2  The notice was addressed to "Robert 
Jerry Drobish, Daniel J. Drobish, Geoffrey Drobish, Robert Jay Drobish, and/or 
Possessor(s) and/or Occupant(s)."  
It appears that Robert J. Drobish signed the return receipt on August 11, 
2004.  Green also attempted to have 
a LaramieCounty sheriff's deputy 
serve the Drobishes personally with an identical notice.  The notice was addressed to "Robert 
Jerry Drobish, Daniel Drobish, Geoffrey Drobish & Robert Jay Drobish or 
Occupants."  The return of service 
states that a deputy sheriff served the notice on "Robert Drobish" personally at 
"his . . . usual place of abode" (the property's address) on August 12, 2004, 
and that Robert Drobish was "also accepting for Jerry, Daniel, Geoffrey and 
Robert Drobish."

 
 
[¶11]   However, we conclude that the 
following undisputed facts establish that both Robert Jerry Drobish and Daniel 
Drobish could, upon diligent inquiry, be found in LaramieCounty:

 
 
1) The 
property was apparently taxed or assessed in the name of "Drobish, Robert J., 
et[ ] al."  It is reasonable to 
infer that these "other persons"3 were the three other owners of 
record, and Green does not contend otherwise.

 
 
2) All 
four Drobishes had traditionally male first names, shared the same last name, 
and held the property as tenants in common.  

 
 
3) The 
public records initially revealed one address for the Drobishes.  However, Robert Jerry Drobish was the 
sole occupant of the property's residence and the only person in actual 
possession of the property.  Daniel 
Drobish stated as much in an affidavit, although it was also increasingly 
apparent from the following facts:  
a) "Robert J. Drobish" signed for the notice Green sent via certified 
mail; b) the only phone listing for a Drobish at the property's address was 
"Robert J. Drobish"; and c) Robert Jerry Drobish was the only individual the 
sheriff's deputy served personally at the property's 
residence.

 
 
4) 
Daniel Drobish stated in an affidavit that he lived and worked in LaramieCounty between August and December 
2004.  He had instructed Robert 
Jerry Drobish to provide his (Daniel's) address (which was not the property's 
address) and other contact information to "those who 
inquired."

 
 
A 
diligent inquiryone reasonably calculated to locate the other Drobisheswould 
have included an attempt to contact Robert Jerry Drobish (this could have been 
accomplished easily by calling the telephone number Green's husband had 
discovered) and determine what information he had regarding the location of the 
other three Drobishes (whether at the property's address or elsewhere).  One could reasonably expect that such 
contact, if successful, would have uncovered this information for Daniel Drobish 
in LaramieCounty.  See generally, for example, Jones v. 
Flowers, 126 S. Ct. 1708, 1717-21, 164 L. Ed. 2d 415 (2006) (due process 
analysis); In re Adoption of CAM, 861 P.2d 1102, 1105-06 (Wyo. 1993); Trefren, 852 P.2d at 327-28; and Colley, 821 P.2d  at 568.  

 
 
[¶12]   That being the case, the statutory 
language contained in Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-13-108(e)(v)(A) and (B)(I) clearly 
contemplates that Green serve the requisite notice on Robert Jerry Drobish and 
Daniel Drobish personally prior to obtaining a valid tax deed; her failure to do 
so renders the tax deed invalid or void.  
Trefren, 852 P.2d  at 328; Shoshoni Lumber Co. v. Fidelity & 
Deposit Co., 24 P.2d 690, 694-97 (Wyo. 
1933); and Clinton v. Elder, 277 P. 968, 970-71 
(Wyo. 
1929).  It is undisputed that Green 
served Robert Jerry Drobish personally with the notice.  Daniel Drobish, however, did not 
actually learn about Green obtaining the tax deed until after his father's 
death.  Green claims that she served 
Daniel Drobish personally with the notice when Robert Jerry Drobish "accepted" 
service for Daniel Drobish in August 2004.  
This argument is premised solely on Green's contention that such service 
complied with W.R.C.P. 4(d)(1), and thereby also satisfied the aforementioned 
statutory notice requirements.

 
 
[¶13]   We note that, unlike other 
statutes,4 the statute at issue in the instant 
case does not specifically refer to Rule 4 in establishing the framework for 
serving the requisite notice.  Yet, 
even if we were to assume that Rule 4 somehow applied in this context, Green did 
not comply with the rule in attempting to serve Daniel Drobish.  Rule 4(d)(1) provides, in pertinent 
part, that service of a "summons and complaint . . . shall be made as 
follows:"

 
 
(1) Upon 
an individual other than a person under 14 years of age or an incompetent 
person, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to the 
individual personally, or by leaving copies thereof at the individual's dwelling 
house or usual place of abode with some person over the age of 14 years then 
residing therein, or at the defendant's usual place of business with an employee 
of the defendant then in charge of such place of business, or by delivering a 
copy of the summons and of the complaint to an agent authorized by appointment 
or by law to receive service of process[.]  

 
 
[¶14]   The sheriff's deputy obviously did 
not deliver the notice to Daniel Drobish personally or leave it at his usual 
place of business.  Nor did the 
deputy leave the notice at Daniel Drobish's dwelling house or usual place of 
abodeDaniel Drobish stated in an affidavit that he lived at a separate address 
in Laramie County during the relevant time period and there does not appear to 
be a factual dispute in that regard.5  Finally, there is no evidence that 
Robert Jerry Drobish was authorized by appointment, or by law, to receive the 
notice on Daniel Drobish's behalf.  
The fact that Robert Jerry Drobish "accepted" service for Daniel Drobish, 
itself, is not sufficient evidence of such authority.6  There is no record evidence of what, if 
anything, Robert Jerry Drobish said to the sheriff's deputy in that regard, and 
the "mere fact . . . that two or more persons own undivided interests in the 
same property does not create any agency . . . relationship between them."  20 Am.Jur.2d Cotenancy and Joint Ownership §§ 3, 94 
(2005).

 
 
[¶15]   Green nevertheless contends that 
even if she failed properly to serve Daniel Drobish with the requisite notice, 
her tax deed remained valid as to Robert Jerry Drobish's interest in the 
property because she did serve him personally with the notice.  Green's appellate argument focuses on 
distinguishing the cases cited in Nora A. Uehlein, J.D., Annotation, Right of Interested Party Receiving Due 
Notice of Tax Sale or of Right to Redeem to Assert Failure or Insufficiency of 
Notice to Other Interested Party, 45 A.L.R.4th 447 § 6 (1986 and Supp. 
2005), which cases the district court referenced in ruling against Green on this 
issue.

  

[¶16]   We will resolve this issue in favor 
of the property owners.  The notice 
involved in the instant case "concerns such an important and irreversible 
prospect as the loss of a house."  
Jones, 126 S. Ct.  at 1716.  Recognizing the significance of such 
notice, we have in prior cases reviewed the circumstances for strict or complete 
compliance with the statutes governing notice of tax sales7 and notice of the tax purchaser's 
intent to apply for a tax deed.8  See, for example, Barrett v. Barrett, 23 P.2d 857, 859 (Wyo. 1933); and Davis v. Minnesota Baptist Convention, 
16 P.2d 48, 50 (Wyo. 1932).  The application of this principle is 
not, however, without its limitations. 
 Barlow v. Lonabaugh, 156 P.2d 289, 293-94 (Wyo. 1945) (recognizing that "statutory provisions prerequisite to 
a tax title must be literally, or at least substantially, complied with" because 
"the law favors the owners," but "strict compliance with a statute in tax 
matters[ ] should not be carried to the point of absurdity"this Court held that 
the failure formally to serve notice of the time for redemption on property 
owners who stated that they did not want to redeem the property and then 
quitclaimed their interests in the property to the county did not invalidate the 
tax deed, where the party asserting the invalidity of the tax deed was not an 
owner of the property and was not prejudiced by the owners' lack of notice). 

 

[¶17]   Davis is 
particularly instructive, considering the circumstances of the instant 
case.  In Davis, 16 P.2d  at 
52, the plaintiffs in a quiet title action relied on a tax deed to prove their 
title to the property.  We first 
considered whether notice of the tax sale was provided in accordance with the 
applicable statute.  Id.  We concluded that notice of the tax sale 
had been published according to the statute (although the notice did not include 
the "years for whose delinquent taxes the sale was being held"), but the notice 
had not been posted on the courthouse door as required by the statute.  Id.  We also considered whether the assignee 
of the certificate of purchase had properly notified the occupants of the 
property of the assignee's intent to apply for a tax deed.  Id.  The applicable statute required that 
"such notice be served on every person in actual possession or occupancy of 
such land or lot and also the person in whose name the same was taxed or 
specially assessed if, upon diligent inquiry, he can be found in the county, at 
least three months before the expiration of the time of redemption of such 
sale.'"  Id.  The requisite notice was served on one 
of the property's occupants, but not on his wife, who also occupied the property 
and was entitled to receive such notice.  
Id. at 
52-53.  We therefore upheld the 
district court's "conclusion that the plaintiffs did not prove a valid tax title 
and failed to make out a case sufficient to entitle them to have judgment."  Id. 
at 53.9

 
 
[¶18]   The significance of this kind of 
notice is further illustrated by what occurred in the instant case.  One of the primary purposes of such 
notice is "to bring to the person entitled to redeem knowledge that the land has 
been sold for taxes and within what time the same may be redeemed from [the] 
sale."  State ex rel. Bishop v. Bramblette, 5 P.2d 279, 282 (Wyo. 1931) (internal quotations and citation 
omitted).  Daniel Drobish had the 
right to redeem the entire property from Green "before a valid tax deed 
application ha[d] been filed and accepted by the county treasurer."  Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-13-109(e)(i) 
(LexisNexis 2005);10 see also 72 Am.Jur.2d State and Local Taxation § 912 (2001) 
("[w]hen property held in cotenancy has been sold for taxes, any one of the 
cotenants may redeem the property and extinguish the title of the tax sale 
purchaser") (footnote omitted).  
Green's failure to serve Daniel Drobish with the notice to which he was 
entitled pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-13-108(e)(iv)(B)(I) therefore 
inhibited his ability to redeem the property.11

 
 
[¶19]   As for the cases cited in the 
aforementioned annotation, we merely note that it is not uncommon for other 
courts to demand strict compliance with the notice provisions of their 
respective tax sale statutes or to void a tax deed entirely despite the fact 
that one of the parties was properly served with the requisite notice.  See, for example, Burks v. Hedinger, 167 N.W.2d 650, 654-55 (Iowa 1969) (requiring strict compliance with the applicable 
statutes; tax deed invalid where owner was properly served with notice of the 
expiration of the right to redeem, but person in possession was not);  Montgomery v. Gipson, 69 So. 2d 305, 305-06 (Fla. 1954) (requiring strict compliance with the applicable statutes; 
tax deed invalid where husband and wife owned the property as tenants by the 
entirety, husband was properly served notice but wife was not); and Absetz v. McClellan, 290 N.W. 298, 300, 
302 (Minn. 1940) (requiring strict compliance with the applicable statutes; tax 
deed invalid where service of notice of the expiration of the right to redeem 
was "insufficient because some of the tenants occupying the premises were not 
served"). 

 
 
[¶20]   Our holding in the instant case 
does not leave Green without a remedy.  
The legislature specifically provided for this circumstance in Wyo. Stat. 
Ann. § 39-13-108(e)(viii), and it is also worth noting that the legislature has 
incorporated several other features into the statute for the tax purchaser's 
benefit.  See generally Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 
39-13-108(e)(vii)(A) (no irregularity in notice of sale pursuant to subsection 
(e)(ii) shall affect legality of the sale or title and provisions of act are 
deemed sufficient notice to owners); § 39-13-108(e)(vii)(B) (grantee of tax deed 
is entitled to possession of the property, burden of proof on party seeking to 
invalidate title conveyed by tax deed); and § 39-13-108(e)(vii)(D) (no action 
for the recovery of property sold for nonpayment of taxes allowed unless 
commenced within six years after the date of sale).

 
 
[¶21]   We therefore affirm the district 
court's order granting summary judgment to the Drobishes.

 
 
FOOTNOTES

 
 

1Neither 
party contends that this subsection of the statute violates constitutional due 
process standards.

 
 

2Wyo. 
Stat. Ann. § 39-13-108(e)(v)(C) (LexisNexis 2005) states that such notices 
"shall contain" the following information:  
1) when the applicant purchased the real property; 2) in whose name the 
real property was taxed; 3) a description of the real property; 4) the year the 
property was taxed or assessed; 5) when the time of redemption will expire; 6) 
when application for a tax deed will be made; and 7) the amount of any special 
assessments for local or public improvements.  The Drobishes do not contend that the 
notices at issue in the instant case failed to contain this information.   

 
 

3The 
phrase "et al." means "[a]nd other persons."  Black's 
Law Dictionary 591 (8th 
ed. 2004).

 
 

4See, for 
example, Wyo. 
Stat. Ann. § 1-21-1210(a)(i)(B) (LexisNexis 2005) (property owner's notice to 
renter "shall be deemed served" on the date "notice is served on the renter in 
accordance with Rule 4 of the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure provided a copy 
of the written notice is delivered to the individual renter 
personally").

 
 

5The fact 
that the public records listed the property's address as an address for all of 
the Drobishes is certainly not, under the circumstances previously discussed 
herein, conclusive evidence that the property served as the "dwelling house or 
usual place of abode" for all of the Drobishes.  Green also claims that Daniel Drobish 
has resided on the property since Robert Jerry Drobish's death.  However, Green stated in her affidavit 
that on December 10, 2004, "a letter was personally delivered to Daniel Drobish 
by . . . a private process server, informing Mr. Drobish and all other occupants 
that [she] had recently taken title to the Property . . . ."  This statement does not establish that 
Daniel Drobish was served at the property's address, let alone provide any 
further information indicating that Daniel resided on the property prior to the 
date the tax deed was executed.  See Crotteau v. Irvine, 656 P.2d 1166, 1169 (Wyo. 1983).   

  

6We 
generally do not presume the validity of a sheriff's return and the burden of 
proof  typically rests on the party 
asserting the validity of the service.  
Crotteau, 656 P.2d  at 1168-69. 

 
 

7Wyo. 
Stat. Ann. § 39-13-108(e)(vii)(A) now provides that

 
 
[n]o 
irregularity or informality in the advertisement of sale provided by paragraph 
(ii) of this subsection shall affect the legality of the sale or the title to 
any real property conveyed by a subsequent treasurer's tax deed.  In all cases the provisions of this act 
shall be deemed sufficient notice to the owners of the sale of the 
property[.]

 
 
However, 
this does not appear to be the case for the notice required by § 
39-13-108(e)(v).

 
 

8While 
these cases also placed the burden of proof on the person claiming title to 
property obtained from a tax sale, and the current version of the statute places 
the burden of proof on the party seeking to invalidate the tax title, we see no 
reason to depart from this approach.  
Green certainly has not directed us to any authority that would persuade 
us to hold otherwise.

 
 

9In Hackett v. Linch, 116 P.2d 868, 869-70 
(Wyo. 1941), we recognized that the existing legal authority was "divided" on 
the issue of whether a tax deed remained valid as to the interests of parties 
other than the party who did not receive the requisite notice.  However, we did not ultimately decide 
the merits of that issue because the assignee of the certificate of purchase 
could not obtain a valid tax title as to the remaining interest in the property 
anyway.  Id. at 870.   

 
 

10It is 
worth noting that Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-13-109(e)(ii) does apparently allow for a 
partial redemption of a certificate of purchase, but the plain language of the 
statute seems to limit that option only to cases where a "mortgagee of real 
property, or a purchaser of real property at a mortgage foreclosure sale" 
redeems the certificate of purchase.  
See also 72 Am.Jur.2d State and Local Taxation §§ 905, 912 
(2001) ("[e]xcept as the redemption statutes otherwise provide, land sold as a 
unit at a tax sale must ordinarily be redeemed as a unit and any asserted right 
to make a partial or proportional redemption must be founded in the language of 
the statutes"; and "[w]hile under some statutes a cotenant or other part-owner 
may redeem his or her particular interest, in the absence of such statute, when 
the land has been sold as a unit, the purchaser may require a part-owner such as 
a cotenant to redeem the entire tract") (footnotes omitted).  

 
 

11The 
result in this case is also consistent with the general policy favoring 
redemption.  For example, in 
discussing a similarly-worded predecessor to the current statute, we referred 
to

 
 

what is 
said by well considered authority concerning the construction of laws of the 
character now before us and concerning the exactness with which notices to 
redeem from tax sales must be framed.  
In 37 Cyc. 1395, 
we find it said:  "It is required in 
several states that the purchaser at a tax-sale shall give notice to the owner 
of the property, within a designated reasonable time, of the expiration of the 
period allowed for redemption and of his intention thereon to claim a deed.  A law of this kind is to be construed 
liberally and beneficially in the interest of the owner."  To the same effect is Cooley on Taxation 
(4th ed.) § 1567.

 
 

State ex rel. Bishop v. 
Bramblette, 5 P.2d 279, 281 (Wyo. 
1931).  See also Hackett, 116 P.2d  at 870 
(statute fixing the time for redemption "should be liberally construed in favor 
of the owner"); and Barrett, 23 P.2d  
at 861 (redemption statutes to be "construed liberally in favor of the 
redemptioner").