California High Court Voids Tax Foreclosure Sale; Assessor's Error, Faulty Correspondence Failed To Place Owners On Notice Of Delinquency

In California, Metropolitan News Enterprise reports:

• Purported notice of a tax sale did not put the property owners on actual or constructive notice of the delinquency where the notice was sent to the correct address but misnamed the owners, who reasonably believed the notice was sent to them in error, the state Supreme Court ruled [last week]. The justices unanimously overturned a Court of Appeal ruling in favor of L&B Real Estate—described by opposing counsel as “the king of the foreclosure market in California”—which purchased a Los Angeles parcel belonging to Frank and Josie Mayer for $24,000 at the 2001 sale.

For more, see State Supreme Court Overturns Tax Sale Based on Flawed Notice (Justices Say Letter That Misnamed Owners Did Not Trigger Limitations Period).

For the decision of the California Supreme Court, see Mayer v. L&B Real Estate, 43 Cal. 4th 1231; 185 P.3d 43; 78 Cal. Rptr. 3d 62; 2008 Cal. LEXIS 6852 (2008) (available online courtesy of Findlaw.com; free registration may be required).

For another story involving questionable or improper notification to homeowners in the context of a mortgage foreclosure, see Homeowners Facing Mortgage Foreclosures Denied Constitutional Right to Proper Notification.

Go here and go here for other posts on foreclosures involving faulty notifications to property owners. foreclosure faulty notice