Colorado § 39-12-111 - Land wrongfully sold - repayment.

§ 39-12-111. Land wrongfully sold - repayment.

(1) When, by mistake or error of the treasurer, county clerk and recorder, or assessor or from double assessment, a tax lien has been sold on land upon which no tax was due at the time, the county shall reimburse the purchaser in the amount paid by him in connection with the purchase of the tax lien on such land, together with interest from the date of purchase at the rate which is determined as provided in this section. Reimbursement shall be made from the various funds to which the tax was originally distributed; except that interest shall be paid from the county general fund. The treasurer, county clerk and recorder, or assessor, as the case may be, and his sureties on his official bond shall be liable to the county for such amounts reimbursed as a result of sales made only through willful misconduct.

(2) (a) The annual rate of interest shall be two percentage points above the discount rate, which discount rate shall be the rate of interest a commercial bank pays to the federal reserve bank of Kansas City using a government bond or other eligible paper as security, and shall be rounded to the nearest full percent.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection (2), the rate of interest shall be no lower than eight percent per annum compounded annually.

(3) The commissioner of banking shall establish the annual rate of interest based upon the computation specified in subsection (2) of this section. Such annual rate of interest shall be so established as of September 1, 1981, to become effective October 1, 1981. Thereafter, on September 1 of each year, the annual rate of interest shall be established in the same manner, to become effective on October 1 of the same year.

Source: L. 64: R&RE, p. 747, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 137-12-11. L. 67: p. 951, § 24. L. 69: p. 1128, § 1. L. 81: Entire section amended, p. 1862, § 2, effective September 1. L. 85: (1) amended, p. 1250, § 39, effective July 1. L. 88: (2) amended, p. 1294, § 28, effective May 23.

ANNOTATION

Annotator's note. The following annotations include cases decided under this section as it existed prior to its 1964 repeal and reenactment.

"Assessor" defined. The word "assessor" in subsection (1) means the assessing power. Bd. of Comm'rs v. Floaten, 66 Colo. 540, 181 P. 122 (1919).

Nothing in this article limits its intendment to general taxes; the word "tax" may include a special improvement tax as well as a general tax. House v. Bd. of Comm'rs, 89 Colo. 196, 300 P. 998 (1931).

Purchaser at tax sale buys at his peril in absence of special statute. Bd. of County Comm'rs v. Lavington, 91 Colo. 252, 14 P.2d 493 (1932).

Counties liable where property not subject to taxation. Counties are not liable for void sales except where the property was not subject to taxation, or, by reason of a double assessment, no tax was due. Elder v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 33 Colo. 475, 81 P. 244 (1905).

Where property erroneously sold for special municipal improvement tax. Where the property of a railway company is erroneously sold for a special municipal improvement tax, the county is held liable for a return of the purchase price, notwithstanding the fact that the money received has been turned over to the municipal corporation. House v. Bd. of Comm'rs, 89 Colo. 196, 300 P. 998 (1931).

Assignee of purchaser may sue county. The assignment of a tax sale certificate carries with it and vests in the assignee all the rights of the original purchaser. Where the original purchaser had a right of action against the county to recover the purchase money, the same right vests in the assignee without a specific assignment of the right of action. Bd. of Comm'rs v. Whelen, 28 Colo. 435, 65 P. 38 (1901).

Applied in Larimer County v. Nat'l State Bank, 11 Colo. 564, 19 P. 537 (1888); Richardson v. City of Denver, 17 Colo. 398, 30 P. 333 (1892); Bd. of Comm'rs v. Yingling, 14 Colo. App. 449, 60 P. 582 (1900).