JOSEPHINE LINKER HART, Associate Justice.
Rylwell, LLC (Rylwell) and the Commissioner of State Lands (Commissioner) appeal from the grant of summary judgment in favor of Men Holdings 2, LLC (Men Holdings) and others setting aside a tax sale due to insufficient notice. On appeal Rylwell argues that the circuit court erred in granting appellees' cross-motions for summary judgment based on the lack of constitutional notice of the tax sale. Separate appellant Commissioner argues that the circuit court erred in granting summary judgment based on its finding that Men Holdings was an interested party entitled to notice under Arkansas Code Annotated section 26-37-301. We affirm.
This case involves commercial property on Jamison Road in Southwest Little Rock (the Jamison Road Property). Although it was composed of three separate tracts referred to as "Parcel 700, Parcel 800, and Parcel 900," all 2.14 acres were developed together and are currently the site of the garages and offices of the Yellow Cab Company. Previously, the land was undeveloped.
In September 1989, Prince House and Bryon House acquired Parcel 800 and Parcel 900 by warranty deed from Worthen Bank and Trust. That transaction gave the Houses an L-shaped tract, 330 feet and 252 feet on the longest dimensions of the property. In May 1994, Cecil and Isabel Hill deeded Parcel 700 to House Properties, Inc. Parcel 700, which is roughly 150 by 150 feet, filled in the cut-out of the L-shaped tract, creating essentially a full rectangular plot. On May 8, 2006, Men Holdings contracted with House Properties, Inc., to purchase the Jamison Road Property for $150,000. It is not disputed that, notwithstanding the intentions of the parties, the metes-and-bounds description in the real-estate contract as well as in the deed, omitted Parcel 700. The warranty deed purporting to convey the Jamison Road Property contained the same metes-and-bounds description.
In 2007, Men Holdings began construction on a half-million-dollar building that they claim is eighty percent on Parcel 700 and twenty percent on Parcel 900. Nonetheless, the building was assessed as being entirely on property owned by Men Holdings. The Pulaski County Tax Collection Division sent tax assessments to Men Holdings at its address of record, which was in Birmingham, Alabama,
Meanwhile, the Pulaski County Tax Collection Division sent a tax bill for Parcel 700 to House Properties. On December 9, 2008, Barbara House, secretary of House Properties, Inc., sent a letter to Debra Buckner, of the Pulaski County Tax Collection Division. The letter stated the following:
The letter concluded by providing House's phone number and email address, encouraging contact if there were any questions. The letter informed the taxing authority of the true owner of Parcel 700, how Parcel 700 likely was being used — combined with Parcels 800 and 900, and that tax bills were not being sent to the true owner.
On February 11, 2009, House sent a similar letter to the then Commissioner of State Lands, Mark Wilcox. Commissioner subsequently sent notices of real estate tax deficiency and pending tax sale via certified mail to Men Holdings at a Little Rock address.
On December 27, 2011, Rylwell filed a complaint in the Pulaski County Circuit Court for confirmation of the tax sale, quiet title, ejectment, and trespass. Men Holdings answered and brought in the Commissioner as a third-party defendant. In its pleading, Men Holdings asserted that it was denied due process because it received inadequate notice and asked that the tax sale be set aside. Both sides moved for summary judgment.
In its motion, Rylwell asserted that error in the property description deprived Men Holdings not only of its interest in Parcel 700, but also of its right to notice of the tax sale. Men Holdings asserted in its motion that it had purchased Parcel 700, along with Parcels 800 and 900, but that Parcel 700 was mistakenly left out of the properly description in the warranty deed. Further, it asserted that both the Pulaski County Tax Collection Division and the Commissioner had been notified in writing by Barbara House of its ownership of Parcel 700. Men Holdings further asserted that it had constructed a large building primarily on Parcel 700. It contended that once informed that Men Holdings had purchased Parcel 700, the State was required to do more than send notices to an incorrect address, because Men Holdings was at the same time receiving at its correct address (and paying) tax bills for Parcels 800 and 900.
After a hearing, the circuit court granted Men Holdings' summary-judgment motion. The circuit court found that Men Holdings had received inadequate notice and that the lack of notice violated Men Holdings' due-process rights. Rylwell timely filed a notice of appeal.
On appeal Rylwell argues that the circuit court erred in granting appellees' cross-motions for summary judgment based on the lack of constitutional notice of the tax sale. It asserts that there is no dispute that taxes on Parcel 700 were not
Arguing in the alternative, Rylwell asserts that even if Men Holdings had a constitutionally protected interest in Parcel 700, the notice provided by the Commissioner was sufficient. It acknowledges that, to comport with the due-process clause, notice must be "reasonably calculated, under the circumstances" to apprise the owner of the property of the pending tax sale; however, because House Properties was the owner of record, as verified by a title search, no further steps were necessary. Rylwell contends that publication notice satisfied the requirement to notify the "unknown" owners and "interested parties."
When parties file cross-motions for summary judgment, as in this case, we determine on review whether the appellee was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Ark. State Bd. of Election Comm'rs v. Pulaski Cnty. Election Comm'n, 2014 Ark. 236, 437 S.W.3d 80. In cases involving redemption of tax-delinquent lands, strict compliance with the requirement of notice of the tax sales themselves is required before an owner can be deprived of his or her property. Citifinancial Mortg. Co., Inc. v. Matthews, 372 Ark. 167, 271 S.W.3d 501 (2008). Notice is constitutionally sufficient if, at the time it was sent, it was reasonably calculated to reach the intended recipient. Jones v. Flowers, 547 U.S. 220, 126 S.Ct. 1708, 164 L.Ed.2d 415 (2006).
First, it is necessary to properly characterize the nature of the proceeding before us. We are not reviewing the transaction between the Commissioner and Rylwell. Rather, we are reviewing the propriety of the State's taking Parcel 700 for unpaid taxes. As the Supreme Court stated in Flowers, "Before a State may take property and sell it for unpaid taxes, the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment requires the government to provide the owner `notice and an opportunity for hearing appropriate to the nature of the case.'" 547 U.S. 220, 223, 126 S.Ct. 1708, 164 L.Ed.2d 415 (quoting Mullane v. Cent. Hanover Bank & Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306, 70 S.Ct. 652, 94 L.Ed. 865 (1950)). It is not necessary to have a duly recorded written instrument to be the owner of land. See Ward v. Williams, 354 Ark. 168, 118 S.W.3d 513 (2003). Accordingly, while it is undisputed that there is no recorded instrument memorializing the conveyance of Parcel 700 to Men Holdings, this fact is not dispositive of this case.
Rylwell's assertion of a statute-of-frauds problem likewise does not dispose of this case. Here, the contract between House Properties and Men Holdings had been fully performed. See Ward v. Williams, supra. Also unavailing is Rylwell's suggestion that it was a bona fide purchaser.
The taxing authority and the Commissioner were both informed in writing that Parcel 700 had been conveyed to Men Holdings shortly after the Pulaski County Tax Collection Division sent a property-tax bill to the previous owner/current owner of record. The Commissioner was also informed in writing that Parcel 700 had been conveyed to Men Holdings when the Commissioner initiated action to take the property for unpaid taxes. This information was sufficient to establish that Men Holdings had a "legally protected property interest" and that the holder of that interest was "reasonably identifiable." Mennonite Bd. of Missions v. Adams, 462 U.S. 791, 798, 103 S.Ct. 2706, 77 L.Ed.2d 180 (1983); see also Sanders v. Ryles, supra.
While it is true that the Commissioner subsequently sent notice to Men Holdings by certified mail, when the mail was returned undelivered, additional reasonable efforts to provide notice was required by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to United States Constitution. Flowers, supra. The Flowers Court held due process requires additional reasonable steps to give notice when the State becomes aware that its prior attempt to give notice has failed. Id. We affirm the circuit court's finding that the notice provided by the State did not comport with the requirements of due process because the State did not undertake other reasonable steps to ascertain Men Holdings's address and provide proper notice of its intent to take Parcel 700.
Regarding Rylwell's alternative argument, Men Holdings's interest in Parcel 700 was not "unknown" to the State. As noted previously, House Properties provided both Pulaski County and the Commissioner
The Commissioner argues that the circuit court erred in granting summary judgment based on its finding that Men Holdings was an interested party entitled to notice under Arkansas Code Annotated section 26-37-301 (Supp. 2007).
Relying on our statutory notice scheme does not insulate the State from the requirements of the Due Process Clause. Flowers, supra. As stated above, it is
Affirmed.
Hannah, C.J., and Corbin and Danielson, JJ., concur.
JIM HANNAH, Chief Justice, concurring.
I concur in the conclusion reached by the majority; however, I write separately to state that the letters sent by Barbara House, House Properties' secretary, served as notice to Pulaski County and the Commissioner that MEN Holdings had an interest in Parcel 700. It then was incumbent upon the Commissioner to take "additional reasonable steps" to attempt to provide notice to MEN Holdings of the sale, pursuant to the United States Supreme Court's holding in Jones v. Flowers, 547 U.S. 220, 225, 126 S.Ct. 1708, 164 L.Ed.2d 415 (2006).
In Flowers, Jones, the property owner, challenged a tax sale and claimed that the Commissioner failed to provide notice to him. The Commissioner had not taken any steps to provide notice beyond two pre-sale certified letters and a publication in the local newspaper, and the Commissioner knew that the certified letters to Jones had been returned. The circuit court found that the Commissioner's notice complied with constitutional due-process requirements and ruled in favor of the Commissioner and Flowers, the purchaser at the tax sale. We agreed and affirmed the circuit court's judgment. The United States Supreme Court reversed, holding that "when mailed notice of a tax sale is returned unclaimed, the State must take additional reasonable steps to attempt to provide notice to the property owner before selling his property, if it is practicable to do so." Jones, 547 U.S. at 225, 126 S.Ct. 1708.
Similarly, in the present case, upon learning from Ms. House that MEN Holdings had an interest in Parcel 700, the Commissioner sent two letters to MEN Holdings — one pre-sale and one post-sale — but both letters were returned as undeliverable. When the first letter was returned, the Commissioner was under an obligation to take "additional reasonable steps" to attempt to provide notice to MEN Holdings because it had already been identified as having an interest in the properly even though its interest was unrecorded. Therefore, on that basis, I would hold that the Commissioner failed to comply strictly with the notice requirements set forth in Arkansas Code Annotated section 26-37-301 (Repl. 2012).
Corbin and Danielson, JJ., join.