PRICE DANIEL 

October 29, 1947 

Honorable Ceorgc H. Sheppard 

Comptroller of Public Accounts 

Austin, Texas Opinion No. V-k20 

Re: 

Dear Sir: 

Authority of the 

Comptroller to issue, under Articles 729;eg;f;308, 

V.C.S. $ 

cates of cancellation of sales to 

the State of property sold in tax 

foreclosure proceedings. 

Your O)IAIOA requost dated October 8, 1947, ir 

a8 follouo:, 

eI am enclosing letter and file from 

Mr, Thurman L, Mulhollan, Lampasas, Taxas, 

in which ho requests this department to MA- : 

ccl a firllt Solo to certain property iA,tho 

town of hnpasas made in 1911 and issue P * 

cartlficatd of relinquishment as the law 

provides, 

"Since this department is undecided a8 

to the validity of the judgment entered 

against this property in 1911 and the officer's return reporting sale of tht property aentioned, I shall thank you to advise 

me the proper reply to make to Mr, Mulhollan's letter," 

In order to make clear the full import of JOUr 

request, it is necessary to quote the letter of Mr. 

Thurman L. Mulhollan,,Attornay, to you under date Of 

October A, 1947, which is as follows: 

"Pursuant to the provisions of Articles 7291 and 7308, VernonOs Toxas Civil 
.- , 

Honorable ~George H. Sheppard, Page 2 

Statutes, request is here made for the cancellation of a certain tax sale of Lots Nos. 

7, 8, and 9, in block go. 15e of the Matthews 

& Wilkes Addition to the town of Lampasas, 

Lampasas county, Texas, held by virtue of a 

certain judgment, rendered in the District 

Court of Lampasas county, Texas, on the 11th 

day of April, 1911, in Cause No. 2808, styled, 

The State of Texas vs The Unknown Owner or 

Owners. (Said judgment is shown in the Statement of Facts, hereto attached, on page 02.) 

Upon which judgment an order of sale was issued, upon which the sheriff of Lampasas made 

his return thereon on June 6, 1911, reciting 

that the lands and premises were struck off 

to the State of Texas. (said Return is shown 

on page 03 of the Statement of fact) 

"It is believed that the sale is irregular in the following particulars, to-wit: 

"(1) The last record owners, in fact no 

record owners, were not cited in said suit 

the defendants were merely designated as pfhe 

Unknown Owner or Owners,' 

"(2) The pdp ent does not contain the 

recital that t e efendants were even cited 

as required by law. 

"(3) The Officer"6 Return merely states 

that the lands and premises were struck off 

to the State of Texas; no deed to the state 

appears of record and none b%>,the reports, 

required by law to be made to 'the commissionerws court, or to the tax assessor and 

collector of said county appears to have 

been made. This fact is strongly borne out 

by the fact that the tax collector continued 

to carry this property on his rolls as $Unknown' or 'Unrendered'. 

"As favoring the cancellation of said 

sale, on September 22, 19448 the State of 

Texas, for itself and Lampasas County tof 

ether with the City of ,Lampasas and eampasas 

ndependent School District as impleaded defendant taxing units, brought another suit 

for taxes on said identical property, citing 
Honorable George H0 ~Sheppard, Page 3 

to ia8t record owners thereof 

I, ,P.. Ws Smith and wife, M&o 

at 

IMO the piarchsom of raid Lot@ 

'Md 9, fA block 15 of tho Uatthows 

idditlon to tho town of Lampaaas, 

iounty, Toxaa o ThO jUd@ltOAt iA thi8 

tthor with ita.aubse.queAt ordor of 

U-8 iA the St4ithlOAt Of Facts 811 

lad ,lO. 

-The righta ef A0 thlrJ,)rrty ha born’ 

injostod iAto,tho aitXlat$@A boWo@n tho tiAo 

of the, firat sale and the laat aPlop 

"The urohaaor.s at the laat'sale 'that 

la' P. wo !Li th pnd tifo Mattie Smith both 

acdod iA good faith in t&O purOha00 of'aald 

1Pnde at aaid eale. 

-I~the overt, said first sale is ,ca~- 

celled by your office; the purchasers Bf tho 

second sale would have succeeded to the poclitlon of the last'rocord owner of said lpnd, 

to-wit: J, B, Freeman. 

eTherefore, It is requested t&t, iA the 

interests of justice, that the, firat sale 

should be caAcellcd and a CertPflcate of relinquisbmont be issued out of your office, a8 

the lawprovides, to the succeodiAg partfee 

to the last record owners. 

What over costs, intenet and taxes 

might be due by virtue of the canaellation 

of aaid aale will bo paid upon receipt of 

notice of the PmouAt theroofow 

Your request is reduced to the simple prop@&- 

tion of your authority to issue a certificate of cancellation as requested by MpO Mulhollan of the sale in a 

tax foreclosure suit in the District Court of Lampasas 

County in Cause No, 2808, styled The State of Texas v. 

The Uaihovm Owner or Owners, in 1911, wherein the Stat0 

became the purchaser, Mr. Mulhollan citea Ilrticlee '7291 

and 7308, V.CoS., as your authority, for compliance with, 

his request. 

These articles of the statute roepectlvely 

provide : 
Honorable George h. Sheppard, Page 4 

Art. --. 7291 _ _ 

"Tnb Owner OS real estate which 

been boueht in bv the State for taxes. oy 

his heirs or assigns, m v redeem the same 

t anv time orior to thi sale thereof, by 

The vavment to the collector of the county 

I hi h such real estate is situated 

tz FheCComptroller, if in an unorgani:ez 

county, of the amount designated by the 

Comptroller as due thereon with costs of 

advertisement; and if it shall at any time 

appear to the satisfaction of the Comptroller that any land has been sold to the State 

for taxes which have been paid, or that the 

sale has not been made in accordance with 

the law authorizing the sale of land for 

taxes, he shall upon the payment of the 

amount that may be due thereon, cancel such 

sale; and deliver to the owner of the land, 

or his agent, a certifieete under seal of 

his department, setting forth the fact that 

such land has been redeemed, OP that such 

sale has been cancelled; which certificate 

shall release the interest of the State and 

the same may be recorded in the proper county as other conveyances of real estate are 

recorded," 

"The tax collector shall, prior to 

the sale of any real estate that has been 

previously bid off to the State at tax 

sales, the owners of which have failed to 

redeem the same, advertise the real estate 

to be sold in some newspaper published in 

the county for six successive weeks, if 

there be such newspaper published therein, 

otherwise he shall post advertisements of 

said sale at the courthouse door and at one 

public place in each justice's precinct of 

his county for at least six weeks, giving 

in said advertisement, whether published 

or posted, such description of the lands to 

be sold as shall be given on the Comptrollergs list, and stating the time, place and 

terms of sale, which shall be between legal 

hours on the first Tuesday of some specified 

month at the courthouse door at public Outcry, to the highest bidder for cash; provided 
Honorable George H, Sheppard, Page 5 

that no real estate shall in any case be sold 

for 18s~ than the amount designated by the 

Comptroller as due thereon, together with all 

coats of advertisements and sale 

gwner of anv such real estate. his e 

of the 

nated by the 

county, 

Comptroller as due thereon, with 

costs of advertisement. If it shall at any 

time appear to the satisfaction of the Comptroller that any land has been sold to the 

State for tax86 which have been paid, or that 

the sale has not been made in accordance with 

the law authorizing the sale of land for taxes, 

he ohall, upon the payment of the amount, that 

may be due thereon, cancel such sale; and in 

all cases he shall deliver to the owner of the 

land, or his agent, a certificate under the 

seal of his department, setting forth the fact 

that such land has been redeemed, or that such 

sale has been canceled, which certificate shall 

release the interest of the State, and the 

same may be recorded in the proper county as 

other conveyances of real estate are recerded.,” 

(Emphasis supplied) 

These statutes have reference only to summary 

sales by the Tax Collector authorized at the time of their 

passage and have no reference to judicial sales, as is 

the case here, Hence, if we should hold that the sale 

under Cause No, 2808, in 1911, is void for lack of proper 

service or for the other matters suggested by Mr. Mulhellan--a question we need not and do not decide--it would 

not aid Mr, Smith, the purchaser at the tax sale in 1944 

of the same property in whose behalf MrO Mulhollan desires a certificate of cancellation, This for the sirple reason that the statutes relied upon b him are not 

applicable to judicial sales. Moreover 1: the statutes 

were applicable to judicial sales, stflf Mr, Smith could 

get no relief from them, for they a 

terns to the owner of real estate w 

in b the State for taxes, or his heirs or assigns. tiO 

Smit iiis neither an owner, an heir or assignee as speeffied fn Article 7291 nor a former owne~~ or heir or PSsignee as specified in Article 7308, These statutes 

clearly refer to the owner or former owner of the real 
. . 

Honorable George Ho Sheppard, Page 6 

eotate at the time sale is made to the State. Ml-0 Smltli, 

the purchaser at the tax sale of the same property in 

the 1944 suit, cannot by any reasonable construction be 

auoh an owner or former owner0 

The foregoing is sufficient to show that you 

have no authority to ccmply with Mr. Mulhollan's request 

in behalf of his client, and you are ac,cordlngly 80 advised. 

The Comptroller has no authority by 

virtue of Artlcles 7291 and 7308 V.C,S. 

to issue a certificate of cancelfation 0P 

sale of property bought in b 

tax foreclosure sale, as sua z 

the State at 

articles appl 

1 

to summary sales but not to judicial 

sa es, The purchaser at a subsequent sale 

of the same property in a tax foreclosure 

suit is neither an owner, a former owner, 

an heir or assignee as provided in said 

statutes. 

Very truly yours 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

LPL/JCP/erc 

By -a - 

PT L P, Lo lar 

Assistant 

APPROVED: