Jones v. Flowers
164 L. Ed. 2d 415 · Supreme Court of the United States · 2006
Facts
In 1967, Gary Jones purchased a house at 717 North Bryan Street in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he lived with his wife until their separation in 1993. Jones then moved to an apartment, and his wife remained in the house. After Jones paid off his mortgage in 1997, property taxes went unpaid, and the property was certified as delinquent. In April 2000, the Commissioner of State Lands mailed a certified letter to Jones at the North Bryan Street address, notifying him of the tax delinquency and right to redeem, but the letter was returned "unclaimed." Two years later, after publishing a notice of public sale in a newspaper, the Commissioner negotiated a private sale of the property to Linda Flowers. Another certified letter sent to Jones at the same address was also returned "unclaimed." Flowers purchased the house, and Jones learned of the sale when his daughter, an occupant, was served with an unlawful detainer notice.
Procedural history
Jones filed a lawsuit in Arkansas state court against the Commissioner and Flowers, alleging a due process violation for failure to provide adequate notice. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the Commissioner and Flowers, concluding the Arkansas tax sale statute complied with due process. Jones appealed, and the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's judgment, holding that attempting notice by certified mail satisfied due process. The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve a conflict among lower courts on this issue.
Issue
The legal question is whether, when notice of a tax sale is mailed to a property owner and returned undelivered, the government must take additional reasonable steps to provide notice before taking the owner’s property.
Holding
The Court held that when mailed notice of a tax sale is returned unclaimed, the State must take additional reasonable steps to attempt to provide notice to the property owner before selling the property, if it is practicable to do so. The Court found that such additional reasonable steps were available to the State in this case and therefore reversed the judgment of the Arkansas Supreme Court.
Rule
Due process requires notice reasonably calculated, under all circumstances, to apprise interested parties of the pendency of an action. When the government becomes aware that its attempt at notice has failed, such as when a certified letter is returned unclaimed, this knowledge is a "circumstance and condition" that requires additional reasonable steps to effect notice. A person desirous of actually informing an owner of an impending tax sale would do more than nothing when notice is returned unclaimed. Reasonable additional steps could include resending notice by regular mail, posting notice on the property, or addressing mail to "occupant," but not necessarily an open-ended search for a new address.
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