Claysburg man loses property tax appeal

Weyant contends sale of land for unpaid taxes was improperly posted

The appeal of a Greenfield Township resident whose property was sold for back taxes has been rejected by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court.

The state appeals court ruled last week the Blair County Tax Claim Bureau followed the law by properly notifying the property owner and by posting notice of the County's 2018 Upset Tax Sale tax sale on the property.

The Commonwealth Court, in its decision, upheld a Sept. 25, 2019, ruling by Blair County Judge Jackie Bernard who found the notice of the sale was posted in a place "conspicuous and visible to the public."

Property owner Mearle Weyant, through his Hollidaysburg attorney Phillip O. Robertson, brought the case before the state appeals court.

According to Weyant's attorney, he and his client, in view of the decision, are considering a request for review by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Weyant, who has a home address in Claysburg, owned more than 40 acres of ground that contained a shed and a garage.

He operates a construction business from the garage.

The Tax Claim Bureau determined that Weyant did not pay his 2016 real estate tax bill of $448 for the 40-acre property.

It also noted he did not pay the tax for 2017, and as of March 1, 2018, Weyant owed $1,214, which included not only the back real estate tax but also penalties.

According to Pennsylvania Real Estate Tax Sale Law, the Tax Claim Bureau must advertise the tax sale in two newspapers of general circulation and the County's Legal Bulletin 30 days prior to the date of the sale.

It also must notify the property owner by certified mail and must post notice of the sale on the property.

Weyant did not challenge the newspaper and Legal Bulletin publication requirements, but he contended that while certified notice of the tax sale was sent to his home, the signature on the notice was not his.

He also maintained the county agency failed to properly post notice of the sale.

According to testimony during the hearing before Bernard, the notice of the sale was placed on a shed at the edge of the property.

Weyant testified the shed was on land owned by neighbor George Deffibaugh.

According to the Commonwealth Court opinion written by Judge Ellen Ceisler, an employee of Blair County's Real Estate Assessment Office, Ann Kociola, was called to testify, and she confirmed the shed was on Weyant's land.

The opinion pointed out that the defense did not present evidence refuting Kociola's testimony.

In addressing Weyant's contention that he did not sign the certified mail delivered to his home, Judge Bernard found the signature returned by the post office was "strikingly similar" to other signatures that Weyant did not refute.

In its review of the case, the three-judge panel of the Commonwealth Court -- including Ceisler and judges Anne E. Covey and J. Andrew Crompton -- stated that the Tax Claim Bureau had the burden of proving that it complied with the notification requirements of the law.

That meant the bureau had to publish notice of the tax sale, provide a certified notice of the sale to the property owner and post notice of the sale on the property.

What it didn't have to prove was that the signature on the certified letter was Weyant's, only that it was sent to the proper address.

The court opinion rejected Weyant's argument that the notice posted on his property should not have been placed on the shed but on the garage where he operates his construction business.

"The fact that the taxpayer and his witnesses did not see the posted notice does not render it inconspicuously placed," the opinion stated.

It also rejected the argument that the notice should have been placed on the garage.

"The Bureau was only required to place the notice 'somewhere on the premises for all to observe,'" it stated.

"As the record demonstrates that the Bureau satisfied both the certified mail and posting requirements ... we affirm the trial court's Aug. 2, 2019, order," the opinion concluded.

Robertson said the property was purchased by a firm from Baltimore, but he said he believed it has been on hold pending the outcome of the appeal.