FOR PUBLICATION
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT
: ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE:
JAMES J. NAGY DAVID H. KREIDER
Munster, Indiana
JEWELL HARRIS, JR.
Hodges & Davis, P.C.
Merrillville, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
BANK ONE TRUST NO. 386, )
)
Appellant-Plaintiff, )
)
vs. ) No. 45A05-0306-CV-284
)
ZEM, INC., an Indiana Corporation; )
CITY OF GARY PARK AND )
RECREATION BOARD, ET AL., )
)
Appellees-Defendants. )
APPEAL FROM THE LAKE SUPERIOR COURT
The Honorable Gerald N. Svetanoff, Special Judge
Cause No. 45D03-0005-CP-01332
June 9, 2004
OPINION - FOR PUBLICATION
VAIDIK, Judge
Case Summary
Bank One Trust No. 386 (Trust 386) appeals the trial courts Order granting
summary judgment in favor of the City of Gary Park and Recreation Board
(the City) and against Trust 386. First, we find that Lake Superior
Court has subject matter jurisdiction to hear quiet title actions and that Trust
386 waived any objection to jurisdiction over the particular case by filing its
action in that court. Next, we find that the City had a
substantial interest of public record in the property sufficient to establish its standing
in the case. Further, we find that the property at issue, which
is currently the site of the Hudson Campbell Fitness Center, was exempt from
taxes, and therefore, no delinquent taxes were due at the time of the
tax sale. Thus, we affirm the trial courts Order determining that the
tax sale to Trust 386s predecessor in interest was void ab initio.
Facts and Procedural History
This appeal arises from a dispute regarding the ownership of a parcel of
property located in downtown Gary, Indiana, which is currently the site of the
Hudson Campbell Fitness Center (the Property).
In October 1982, the City filed a condemnation action to acquire the Property
in the Lake County Superior Court. At the time the City filed
its action, Zem, Inc. owned the Property. After the court ruled that
the City was entitled to condemn and appropriate the Property, the City paid
into the Office of the Clerk of the Lake County Superior Court $2500,
which was an amount equal to the value of the Property as determined
by the court-appointed appraisers. Thereafter, the condemnation proceeding was venued to Jasper
County. In June 1989, Zem and the City settled the condemnation proceeding
by way of a Stipulated Final Judgment (Stipulated Judgment), thereby transferring ownership of
the Property from Zem to the City. As part of the Stipulated
Judgment, the Lake County Treasurer stipulated that the Treasurer had no interest in
the property and no taxes were to be paid by the City on
the Property.
See footnote
The City did not record its ownership interest in the
Property. In the meantimespecifically in 1986the City erected the Hudson Campbell Fitness
Center on the Property and adjacent parcels. The Center is open to
the public for recreation purposes and also houses some of the Citys administrative
offices.
After Zem transferred ownership of the Property to the City, it ceased paying
taxes on the Property. Because the City did not record its interest
in the Property, the Lake County Auditor presumed that the Property was still
owned by Zem and continued to assess property taxes on the Property.
The Property subsequently was placed on the delinquent list.
See footnote
In 1997,
judgment was entered against Zem for delinquent real estate taxes. Following the
entry of judgment against Zem, the Lake County Treasurer offered the Property at
a public sale. Bank Calumet Trust P-4274 purchased the Property and was
issued a Tax Sale Certificate. Bank Calumet subsequently filed the Tax Sale
Certificate with the Lake County Circuit Court, which then ordered the Lake County
Auditor to issue a Tax Deed to Bank Calumet. Bank Calumet recorded
its Tax Deed in February 2000. Bank Calumet subsequently transferred its interest
in the Property by Trust Deed to Bank One Trust 386. Trust
386 recorded its Trust Deed and then filed a Complaint to Quiet Title
to the Property in the Lake County Superior Court in May 2000.
Thereafter, in October 2000, the Jasper Circuit Court Clerk issued the deed for
the Property to the City, which the same court had originally ordered to
be issued as part of the Stipulated Judgment in 1989. The City
recorded its deed in Lake County in December 2001. Based on the
foregoing, both Trust 386 and the City filed motions for summary judgment with
the Lake County Superior Court. In their motions for summary judgment, each
party requested the trial court to find that it was entitled to the
Property. Following a hearing on the motions, the trial court granted summary
judgment in favor of the City and against Trust 386. This appeal
ensued.
Discussion and Decision
Trust 386 raises several arguments, which we reorder and restate. First, Trust
386 argues that Lake Superior Court did not have jurisdiction to rule on
the summary judgment motions before it. Next, Trust 386 claims that the
City lacked standing to challenge Trust 386s title to the Property. Last,
Trust 386 argues that the trial court erred by granting summary judgment in
favor of the City and against Trust 386. We address each argument
in turn.
I. Jurisdiction
Trust 386 claims that the trial court erroneously denied its objections to the
jurisdiction of the trial court over the summary judgment proceedings. Trust 386
appears to argue that the trial court lacked both subject matter jurisdiction and
jurisdiction over the particular case. In particular, Trust 386 asserts that because
the Lake Circuit Court issued the tax deed, the Lake Superior Court did
not have jurisdiction to rule on the motions for summary judgment. In
making this argument, Trust 386 directs our attention to Indiana Code § 6-1.1-25-14,
which at the time pertinent to this lawsuit provided that a person holding
a tax deed may initiate a quiet title action in the circuit court
of the county where the real property is situated.
Subject matter jurisdiction refers to the power of courts to hear and decide
a class of cases.
Kondamuri v. Kondamuri, 799 N.E.2d 1153, 1156 (Ind.
Ct. App. 2003), trans. denied; see also Williams v. Williams, 555 N.E.2d 142,
144 (Ind. 1990). The issue of subject matter jurisdiction is resolved by
determining whether the claim involved falls within the general scope of authority conferred
on the court by the Indiana Constitution or by statute. Kondamuri, 799
N.E.2d at 1156; see also Williams, 555 N.E.2d at 144-45. When courts
lack subject matter jurisdiction, their actions are void ab initio and may be
attacked at any time. Kondamuri, 799 N.E.2d at 1156. The Circuit
and Superior Courts of Lake County enjoy concurrent jurisdiction. See Ind. Code
§ 33-5-29.5-4 (The superior court, within and for the county of Lake[,] has
the same jurisdiction as the Lake circuit court in all civil and probate
cases and matters whether original or appellate[.]). Thus, either of the two
courts has subject matter jurisdiction to hear actions to quiet title. This
conclusion is further supported by the 2001 legislative amendments to Indiana Code §
6-1.1-25-14, which revised the text of that statute from A person who holds
a deed executed under section 4 of this chapter may initiate an action
in the circuit court of the county where the real property is situated
to quiet title to the property to A person who holds a deed
executed under this chapter[, Sale of Real Property When Taxes or Special Assessments
Become Delinquent,] may initiate an action in the court that entered the judgment
and order for sale to quiet title to the property. If only
circuit courts, and not other courts, had subject matter jurisdiction to hear quiet
title actions, there would have been no reason to amend the statute.
Therefore, we reject Trust 386s argument that the Lake Superior Court did not
have subject matter jurisdiction.
See footnote
We do find, however, that jurisdiction over the particular case is implicated by
the facts of this case. Jurisdiction over the particular case refers to
a trial courts right, authority, and power to hear and decide a specific
case within the class of cases over which a court has subject matter
jurisdiction.
Kondamuri, 799 N.E.2d at 1156; see also Williams, 555 N.E.2d at
144. In this case, Indiana Code § 6-1.1-25-14 grants jurisdiction over the
particular case to the Lake Circuit Court. A judgment rendered by a
court that lacks jurisdiction over the particular case is voidable and requires a
timely objection at the first opportunity or the lack of jurisdiction over the
particular case is waived. Kondamuri, 799 N.E.2d at 1156-57; see also Williams,
555 N.E.2d at 144. Here, Trust 386 is the party that filed
the underlying action before the Lake Superior Court. Thus, it cannot now
be heard to complain that the Lake Superior Court lacked jurisdiction over the
particular case. Accordingly, we find that Trust 386 has waived any objection
to jurisdiction over the particular case.
II. Standing
Trust 386 also claims that the City lacked standing. In particular, Trust
386 contends that the City did not have a substantial property interest of
public record in the Property. In support of this contention, Trust 386
directs our attention to Indiana Code § 6-1.1-24-1.9, which provides: substantial property interest
of public record means title to or interest in a tract possessed by
a person and recorded in the office of a county recorder or available
for public inspection in the office of a circuit court clerk. We
conclude that the City had a substantial property interest of record based on
the condemnation action the City filed in the Lake County court system in
1982 and the $2500 the City paid into the Lake County Clerks Office.
Both of these actions were matters of public record, which would be
available for the publics inspection. Therefore, we conclude that the City had
a substantial property interest of public record in the Property, which in turn
gives the City standing to challenge the validity of the tax sale.
III. Summary Judgment
Last, Trust 386 maintains that the trial court erred by granting the Citys
motion for summary judgment and denying Trust 386s motion for summary judgment.
In reviewing a trial courts rulings on motions for summary judgment, this Court
faces the same issues that were before the trial court and follows the
same process. Shaffer v. State, 795 N.E.2d 1072, 1075 (Ind. Ct. App.
2003). We do not weigh evidence but, instead, liberally construe the facts
in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Id. Summary
judgment is appropriate only when the designated evidence demonstrates that there is no
genuine issue regarding any material fact and that the moving party is entitled
to judgment as a matter of law. Ind. Trial Rule 56(C); Shaffer,
795 N.E.2d at 1075. The party appealing a summary judgment ruling has
the burden of persuading this Court that the grant or denial of summary
judgment was erroneous. Shaffer, 795 N.E.2d at 1075. We will affirm
the grant of summary judgment on any legal basis supported by the designated
evidence. Id.
Our decision concerning whether the trial courts resolution of the motions for summary
judgment can stand turns on whether delinquent taxes were due on the Property
at the time of the tax sale. If there were no delinquent
taxes due on the Property, then the tax sale is void ab initio.
City of Gary v. Belovich, 504 N.E.2d 286, 291 n.2 (Ind. Ct.
App. 1987), rehg denied; McCaslin v. State, 99 Ind. 428 (1885), rehg denied;
see also Ind. Code § 6-1.1-25-16 (providing that one of the ways a
person may defeat title conveyed by tax deed is to prove that the
tract or real property described in the deed was not subject to the
taxes for which it was sold[.]). Property is exempt from property taxation
if it is owned by a city or town and is used to
provide a municipal service. Ind. Code § 6-1.1-10-5(a). Thus, we must
decide whether the City owned the Property and whether the Property was used
for a municipal service.
The City acquired the Property in a condemnation action. After acquiring the
Property, the City erected the Hudson Campbell Fitness Center thereon, which houses some
of the administrative offices of the City and is open to the public
for recreational purposes. This use qualifies as a municipal service. See
I.C. § 6-1.1-10-5(b) (defining property used to provide a municipal service to includeamong
other thingsa municipally owned park, golf course, playground, swimming pool, auditorium, gymnasium, or
other municipally owned property, utility, or institution).
The more difficult question to answer is whether the City owned the Propertysuch
that the Property was exempt from taxationwhen the City did not record its
interest in the Property until after Trust 386 sought to quiet title.
We encountered a factually similar issue in Belovich. In that case, the
Beloviches acquired an interest in some land after the owners of record failed
to pay taxes on it. The owners of record, however, had sold
the land to the City of Gary several years before the tax sale.
The City of Gary subsequently erected a fire station on the land,
which had been in service approximately ten years prior to the tax sale,
but did not record its interest in the land until after the Beloviches
sought to quiet title to it. Based on the arguments presented, the
Belovich court affirmed the trial courts ruling in favor of the Beloviches and
against the City of Gary. Belovich, 504 N.E.2d at 291. The
Belovich court noted, however, that had the City of Gary argued that the
tax sale was void under Indiana Code § 6-1.1-10-5(a), a different result would
obtain. Id. at 290 n.2. The Belovich court relied on McCaslin
v. State, 99 Ind. 428 (1885), for the proposition that because state-owned property
is tax exempt, a tax deed conveying state property was void, ab initio,
despite the fact that record title was in another party. Belovich, 504
N.E.2d at 290 n.2. From this premise, the Belovich court resolved that
holding the Beloviches tax deed void would, therefore, seem to be the legally
correct result[.] Id.
Likewise, the Property that the City acquired through its condemnation proceeding and uses
as a municipal fitness facility is tax exempt, thereby rendering the tax deed
conveying the Property to Trust 386 void ab initio.
See footnote
It is of
no consequence that the record title was in another party at the time
of the tax sale.
Moreover, we note that Indiana law imputes to
a purchaser of land all information that would have been conveyed by an
actual view of the premises. Kessen v. Graft, 694 N.E.2d 317, 320
(Ind. Ct. App. 1998), trans. denied.
By viewing the Property, Trust 386
would have been on notice that the Property was city property used for
a municipal purpose or, at a minimum, would have been tipped off that
it needed to investigate the Property further to clarify its status. From
this information, Trust 386 could have ascertained that the Property was exempt from
taxation and, therefore, not subject to sale for delinquent taxes.
Because the Property is tax exempt, there can be no delinquent taxes.
Absent delinquent taxes, the tax sale was void ab initio. Because we
find that the tax sale was void ab initio, we conclude that the
trial court properly granted summary judgment in favor of the City and against
Trust 386.
Affirmed.
SHARPNACK, J., and MATHIAS, J., concur.
Footnote:
Trust 386 argues that the City failed to pay delinquent taxes
that had accrued on the Property prior to the condemnation proceeding. At
the time the City acquired the Property, an estimated $1000 was owed in
delinquent taxes for the tax years prior to 1982. There is no
evidence in the record that these taxes have not been paid. To
the contrary, the record discloses that as of November 19, 1982, no taxes
were to be paid on the Property by the City. Accordingly, we
summarily reject Trust 386s attack on the trial courts Order on this basis.
Footnote:
See Indiana Code § 6-1.1-24-1 for an explanation of the delinquent
list.
Footnote:
We recognize that our decision here today seems to be in
conflict with Star Financial Bank v. Shelton, 691 N.E.2d 1338 (Ind. Ct. App.
1998), trans. denied. To the extent that Shelton holds that there is
no subject matter jurisdiction in a situation such as the one with which
we are faced, we believe that Shelton was wrongly decided. Rather, such
a situation implicates jurisdiction over the particular case, which our supreme court has
unequivocally stated is waivable. See Williams, 555 N.E.2d at 145.
Footnote:
Because something that is void ab initio can be challenged at
any time, see Kondamuri, 799 N.E.2d at 1156, we summarily reject Trust 386s
argument that the City waived its right to challenge Trust 386s title to
the Property by failing to appeal the Lake Circuit Courts Order directing the
Lake County Auditor to issue a tax deed to Trust 386s predecessor in
interest. For the same reason, Trust 386s argument that the trial court
erred by denying its motions in limine and to suppress or reject evidence,
which were premised on the Citys failure to launch a timely attack on
the tax sale, fails as well.