The Kindness Of Strangers
An elderly Louisiana couple was in danger of losing the house they had owned since 1968 - free and clear - because of an unpaid tax levy of $1.63. They were never notified of it, but the house had been sold at auction by the county. The land company that bought it refused to relinquish their rights even after the tax sale was nullified. A real nasty little mess.
Today, Dolores and Kermit Atwood can breath easier. An anonymous benefactor stepped in and paid the land company an undisclosed amount of money to give the house back to the rightful owners.
"I don't even know who to thank," Dolores Atwood, 69, said after the settlement returned the property title to her and her 71-year-old husband. "But I'm relieved and happy that this is finally over."
The local businessman who paid Jamie Land Co. to settle the lawsuit wants to remain anonymous for now, said his attorney, Gary Duplechain. He stepped forward after reading about the Atwoods' plight.
Jamie Land President James Lindsay II said the agreement reached Tuesday calls for the amount paid to remain undisclosed. "But it wasn't a lot of money," he said.
In 1996, the $1.63 bill was sent to a defunct address and returned as undelivered. The Atwoods weren't looking for it, because they had owned the four-bedroom house mortgage-free since 1968 and had been exempt from the state tax.
As a result, the home was sold at a St. Tammany Parish sheriff's auction in 1997. The State Tax Commission eventually nullified the sale, but when the Atwoods tried to sell the house in 2002, they discovered that Jamie Land Co. still had the property rights.
Lindsay argued his rights were violated when the tax commission didn't inform him of its decision. Last month an appeals court sided with the Atwoods, and Jamie Land had been planning to appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Kudos to the benefactor. Raspberries to Mr. Lindsay who confuses amoral sharp practice with "rights".
By ThomasD, Thursday, 19 July , 2007 @ 4:29 pm
The only amoral sharp practices here seem to have been committed by the Parish. First they apply an improper levy, eventually selling the property at auction, then come to find out they’ve made a grevious mistake the State ‘nullifies’ the sale.
How do you nullify a legal transaction? Does the government automatically get a mulligan when they screw up? The Parish created this mess, and the Parish should be liable. Nullifying the sale is a taking without the messy aspects of a taking. The new owner deserves compensation, at the very least full re-imbursement plus interest, maybe more. It is beholden upon the Parish and the State to make both parties (the Atwoods and the land co.) whole.
Instead a ‘good samaritan’ comes in and cleans up the mess, keeping anyone in government from having to be held accountable. Given that it’s Louisiana wanna bet that the good samaritan’s expenses are going to end up being covered by the State?
I’m not saying Mr Lindsay is a super nice human being, but he was basically being told ‘we know you are trying to run a business and all, and that you went to some degree of time and expense to acquire the property, but you’ll just have to forget about it and then everyone (else) will be happy.’ I doubt he was holding out for the express purpose of harming the Atwoods, more likely he was trying to protect the interest of his company.
By political forum, Friday, 20 July , 2007 @ 3:41 am
Good for the homeowners. What a waste to have to file all these appeals and what not over $1.63.
- roger