Opinion ID: 2276719
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The Statutory Scheme for the City of Saint Louis

Text: The city of Saint Louis passed an ordinance in 1971 adopting the statutory procedure of the municipal land reutilization law. At that time Saint Louis had dropped from a population of 750,026 in 1960 to 622,236 in 1970  a population loss of at least 1,000 persons per month. This rapid population decrease represents a lot of vacant properties, and expeditious lien foreclosure rules may have had some justification in the city's need to acquire title and clear distressed empty buildings in that era. [3] The statutory procedure provides for issuing a tax lien, foreclosing on the lien and selling the property. Section 92.700, RSMo 2000. [4] The city collector, who is responsible for collecting back taxes, may file suit to foreclose on any tax liens in the circuit court. Sections 92.715, 92.720, 92.740. Within 30 days after the suit is filed the collector must mail notice of filing to the address(es) of the owner(s) as recorded in the assessor's office, as well as publish notice of foreclosure once a week for four weeks. Sections 92.755, 92.760. Affidavits of the publication and mailing of notice are to be filed in the circuit court prior to trial. Section 92.765. The collector does not have to file an affidavit specifying whether notice has been returned, nor is the collector required to enact a process to document the return of any notices mailed. See id. The circuit court then determines the amount and validity of all liens, the priorities of the respective tax bills and the amount due  including principal, interest, penalties, attorney's fees and costs. Section 92.775. The city does not bear the cost of providing notice  instead, the cost of notice is added to the tax lien to determine the total amount due to the city. The court enters a judgment of foreclosure of the liens and fixes the time and place of the foreclosure sale. Id. At the time of judgment, title vests in the reutilization authority in trust for the tax bill owners and taxing authorities. Section 92.835.1. At least 20 days prior to the sale, the sheriff must send notice by mail to the owner's address. Section 92.810.3. This notice must provide the date, time and place of the sale as well as notify the owner of the right to redeem the property. Id. There is no requirement that the sheriff record whether the mailed notice is returned. Regardless of whether the notice is returned, the city holds a foreclosure sale as specified in section 92.820. Either the court or an interested party can move to have a confirmation hearing of the foreclosure sale. Section 92.840. Any interested party or the court shall send notice by mail of the hearing to all owners. Id. If the sale is confirmed, the court orders the proceeds of the sale applied to all costs of the foreclosure process and all delinquent tax bills, with any surplus going to the owner. Section 92.840.3. After the confirmation sale, title vests in the purchaser. Section 92.835.2. There is no provision for redemption after title passes. Sections 92.715; 92.750. By detailing the procedures followed under the municipal land reutilization law I do not mean to suggest that this is simply a Saint Louis problem, an apparently unique scheme supposedly justified by the circumstances of a city (formerly) in distress. The government, no matter how much its city is in distress, is not permitted to seize an owner's property without notice and reutilize it by selling it to another person to profit from it. The taking of property without notice is unconstitutional, un-American and, I hope, un-Saint Louis. After title passed to Lewis Mitchell Company following the confirmation sale, Lewis Mitchell provided notice to Bhatti at his residence  which obviously was not difficult to find because his address is in various city records  that he had lost title to his property. Bhatti actually received this notice. After losing his property without receiving any of the notices prescribed under this procedure, Bhatti filed a motion to set aside the foreclosure sale contending that the proceedings had violated his due process rights.