SHANKS v. SULLIVAN

SHANKS v. SULLIVAN
1949 OK 194
210 P.2d 361
202 Okla. 71
Case Number: 33193
Decided: 09/28/1949
Supreme Court of Oklahoma

Syllabus

¶0 1. MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS - Statute intended to include foreclosure of special assessment liens by tax sale and resale as well as by civil action.
The provisions of 11 O.S. 1941 § 242 are applicable to foreclosure of special assessment liens by tax sale and resale as well as by civil action.
2. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW - LIMITATION OF ACTIONS - When limitation statutes apply to existing contract rights.
Statutes of limitation may be made to apply to existing contract rights against which there were no such statutes in existence at the time they were created, provided a reasonable time is allowed for their enforcement, and such statutes do not violate the constitutional provision against impairment of the obligation of contracts.
3. SAME - Period of time allowed by statute for enforcement of existing contract obligations not unreasonable.
The period of time allowed in 11 O.S. 1941 § 242 (18 months and 19 days) for the enforcement of existing contract obligations which had been due more than three years or which were to be due more than three years by November 1, 1939, was not unreasonable.

Appeal from District Court, Creek County; C.O. Beaver, Judge.

Action to quiet title by J.K. Sullivan against L.E. Shanks. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant appeals. Affirmed.

Kermit Nash, of Drumright, for plaintiff in error.

C.J. Davenport, of Sapulpa, for defendant in error.

ARNOLD, V.C.J.

¶1 This is a suit to quiet title by J.K. Sullivan against L.E. Shanks. Plaintiff's demurrer to defendant's answer was sustained and defendant elected to stand on his answer; judgment was entered quieting plaintiff's title.

¶2 At the 1945 resale for delinquent taxes in Creek county, one W.C. Martin became the purchaser of lot 11, block 6, in Fife addition to the city of Sapulpa, and in due course received a resale deed covering said property. The resale as to this particular property was for delinquent special assessments for paving and sewer. Thereafter, and on June 8, 1945, W.C. Martin deeded this property to L.E. Shanks. The resale deed and the deed to Shanks were duly recorded.

¶3 Plaintiff's petition was in the usual form of quiet title actions, asserting that defendant had no right, title or interest in and to said property. Defendant's answer alleged title in himself by virtue of his deed from Martin based upon the resale deed, admitted plaintiff's possession of the property, but asserted that plaintiff's title thereto was extinguished by the resale in May, 1945. He asked that his title to the property be quieted as against the plaintiff. To this answer of defendant, plaintiff filed a general demurrer.

¶4 For reversal of the judgment defendant relies on three propositions, but as stated in the brief of plaintiff, the only question for determination here is defendant's third proposition which reads:

"Chapter 33, Article 6, of the 1939 Act, the same being Title 11, Paragraph 242, of Oklahoma Statutes of 1941, is unconstitutional in so far as it attempts to limit or extinguish the tax lien of special assessments."

¶5 Defendant's brief was filed in this court prior to the promulgation of this court's opinion in the case of Baccus, County Treas. v. Banks et al., 199 Okla. 647, 192 P.2d 683, which is controlling upon all questions presented and argued by defendant in his brief. Since this is true, there is no occasion for further discussion of the questions here presented and the action of the trial court in sustaining plaintiff's demurrer to defendant's answer and in entering judgment quieting plaintiff's title is affirmed.

¶6 DAVISON, C.J., and WELCH, CORN, LUTTRELL, HALLEY, and O'NEAL, JJ., concur. GIBSON, J., dissents.