Woman who lost home over US$6.30 bill fights in courts
Published: 2013 August 22 07:54:00 (4544 Views)
A Pennsylvania widow whose property was sold at auction for $280,000 over $6.30 in unpaid interest has won a court decision giving her the chance to argue why she should not have lost her home.
A Beaver County judge ruling against Eileen Battisti without first holding an evidentiary hearing, was a mistake, the Commonwealth Court ruled.
"This was particularly inappropriate because the outstanding liability was small and the value of the home was far greater than the amount paid by (the) purchaser," wrote Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt.
Leavitt added that the state Supreme Court has "emphasized that due process under both the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions must be satisfied whenever the government subjects a citizen's property to forfeiture for nonpayment of taxes."
According to Associated Press, Battisti's lawyer says she still lives in her Aliquippa home, which was sold nearly two years ago to S.P. Lewis of Imperial for about $116,000.
Battisti bought the home outside Pittsburgh with her husband — who managed their finances — in 1999. When he died in 2004, she paid off the property with proceeds from his life insurance policy.
Leavitt accepted that Battisti had difficulty taking over the financial matters and fell behind on various tax bills, but she believed she had paid them all off, even though some were late.
The penalty of $6.30 was added to her 2009 tax bill, which grew with interests and costs to $235 by late 2011, when the house was sold at auction.
According to AP, Battisti appealed to the county court about the sale, which ruled in May 2012 that she had received all the notices required by law.
A month later, Judge C. Gus Kwindis ordered that a deed could not be issued to Lewis by the Beaver County Tax Claim Bureau while Battisti appealed.
An attorney for Lewis offered to settle the dispute last year for $160,000 and in a court brief, David Holland said that Battisti did have notice of the tax sale and that she made arguments in the appeal that legal procedures should not permit, according to AP.
Ed Santillan, Battisti's lawyer, said his client was elated by the court's decision.
"The facts are clear that she didn't receive adequate notice and there was a lot of intervening circumstances that the court should have taken into account," he said.
- NYDaily
A Beaver County judge ruling against Eileen Battisti without first holding an evidentiary hearing, was a mistake, the Commonwealth Court ruled.
"This was particularly inappropriate because the outstanding liability was small and the value of the home was far greater than the amount paid by (the) purchaser," wrote Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt.
Leavitt added that the state Supreme Court has "emphasized that due process under both the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions must be satisfied whenever the government subjects a citizen's property to forfeiture for nonpayment of taxes."
According to Associated Press, Battisti's lawyer says she still lives in her Aliquippa home, which was sold nearly two years ago to S.P. Lewis of Imperial for about $116,000.
Battisti bought the home outside Pittsburgh with her husband — who managed their finances — in 1999. When he died in 2004, she paid off the property with proceeds from his life insurance policy.
Leavitt accepted that Battisti had difficulty taking over the financial matters and fell behind on various tax bills, but she believed she had paid them all off, even though some were late.
The penalty of $6.30 was added to her 2009 tax bill, which grew with interests and costs to $235 by late 2011, when the house was sold at auction.
According to AP, Battisti appealed to the county court about the sale, which ruled in May 2012 that she had received all the notices required by law.
A month later, Judge C. Gus Kwindis ordered that a deed could not be issued to Lewis by the Beaver County Tax Claim Bureau while Battisti appealed.
An attorney for Lewis offered to settle the dispute last year for $160,000 and in a court brief, David Holland said that Battisti did have notice of the tax sale and that she made arguments in the appeal that legal procedures should not permit, according to AP.
Ed Santillan, Battisti's lawyer, said his client was elated by the court's decision.
"The facts are clear that she didn't receive adequate notice and there was a lot of intervening circumstances that the court should have taken into account," he said.
- NYDaily
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