Opinion ID: 1268564
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Advertisement

Text: Petitioners argue that the Court of Appeals erred in finding that the advertisement of the LadyHawk was insufficient under S.C.Code Ann. § 12-51-40(d) (Supp.1994). We agree. [A]ll requirements of law leading up to tax sales which are intended for the protection of the tax payer [sic] against surprise or the sacrifice of his property are to be regarded as mandatory and are strictly enforced. Rives v. Bulsa, 325 S.C. 287, 292-93, 478 S.E.2d 878, 881 (Ct.App.1996) (citing Dibble, 274 S.C. 481, 265 S.E.2d 673). South Carolina Code section 12-51-40(d) explains the procedure for advertising which the County is required to follow before selling the delinquent taxpayer's property. It provides, in relevant part, The property must be advertised for sale at public auction. The advertisement must be in a newspaper of general circulation ... and must be entitled Delinquent Tax Sale. It shall include the delinquent taxpayer's name and the description of the property, a reference to the county auditor's map-block-parcel number being sufficient for a description of realty. S.C.Code Ann. § 12-51-40(d) (emphasis added). In this case, the County advertised the sale of the LadyHawk in the Beaufort Gazette, and included Hawkins's name and the delinquent tax number PP550HAWALL. Before listing the personal and real property, the advertisement indicated that the accounts beginning in PP referred to boats. The Court of Appeals relied on the definition of description in Black's Law Dictionary to find this description of the LadyHawk insufficient. A `description' is defined as `[a] delineation or account of a particular subject by the recital of its characteristic accidents and qualities.' Hawkins, 342 S.C. at 364, 536 S.E.2d at 704 (citing Black's Law Dictionary 445 (6th ed.1990)). The Court of Appeals reasoned that the description given by the County did not meet this definition, and further, that the description was intended to protect the taxpayer from unfair surprise and sacrifice, and as such, should have included the characteristics of the boat, such as its size. Id. In our opinion, the Court of Appeals' analysis fails to explain why the listing of the taxpayer's name and tax account number, which was listed on the notices of delinquent taxes that Hawkins admitted receiving, is insufficient to alert him to the sale of the LadyHawk. Also, the Court of Appeals fails to account for the reason such a description is sufficient for real property, but is insufficient for personal property when interested persons can discover the details of both types of property by using the tax account number to look up further information in the county tax assessor's office. See S.C.Code Ann. § 12-51-40(d). In fact, Frank Bruno, owner of BYS, was able to discover the specific characteristics of the LadyHawk prior to the sale by entering the tax account number in the County's computer system. We see no reason why the County should have to use a different method of describing personal property than the method the statute explicitly defines as sufficient for real property when it affords the taxpayer and potential buyer with an opportunity to look up further information. Therefore, we find that the description of the LadyHawk in the tax sale advertisement was sufficient under S.C.Code Ann. § 12-51-40(d).