Indiana Supreme Court Revisits And Reaffirms Constitutionality Of Tax Sale Mortgagee Notice Requirements

A recent Indiana Supreme Court ruling in M & M Investment Group, LLC v. Ahlemeyer Farms, Inc. and Monroe Bank, No. 03S04-1211-CC-645 (Ind. 2013) reaffirms the constitutionality of the statutory tax sale mortgagee notice requirements in Indiana. The decision should serve as a reminder to any person, anywhere that provides mortgage financing on Indiana real estate that County Auditors can provide pre-sale notices if requested.

Rather than paraphrase, the following is Indiana Supreme Court Justice Steven David's summary of the issue, facts and the court's holding in M & M Investment:

Before a parcel of real property can be sold at a tax sale, the Indiana Code requires the county auditor to mail notice of the pending sale to any mortgagee holding a mortgage on the property-provided, however, that the mortgagee has first affirmatively requested such notice by submitting a form to the auditor. Is such a procedure permissible under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment? The answer, we said over two decades ago, is "Yes."

But in this case a bank failed to submit the required form to the Bartholomew...