Tax Sale Dispute Resolution

I need to draft an answer to a complaint to confirm tax sale and quiet title

I had the property sold and under contract with a closing date of August 22nd *. The state auctioned the property of for $* in alleged delinquent property taxes. I don't believe the amount to be correct. I am the rightful heir to the property. the property is in my family trust of which i am the trustee and the sole benificiary.

I received a notice from the Arkansas commissioner of state lands 2 years ago and i have received a summons and complaint from ADSEPIRA, LLC case number 03CV-*-*

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF BAXTER COUNTY, ARKANSAS CIVIL DIVISION ADSEPIRA, LLC Plaintiff v. Case Number: 03CV-*-* **** C. ****, et al. Defendants NOTICE OF CONFIRMATION OF TAX SALE AND QUIET TITLE ACTION Notice is hereby given that a Complaint has been filed in the office of the Circuit Clerk of Baxter County, Arkansas, to confirm the tax sale and quiet title in and to the following described property in Baxter County, Arkansas: Lot No. * of Glenda Ann Justis Subdivision, an addition to the Town of Mountain Home, Arkansas, as shown by the recorded plat thereof. A part of the SE1/* NE1/*, Section *, Township * North, Range * West, Mountain Home, Baxter County, Arkansas, described as follows: Starting at the Southeast corner of said SE1/* NE1/*, thence N. *° *' E. *.* feet along the East line of said SE1/* NE1/* to the North right-of-way of Arkansas Highway No. *; thence S. *° *' W. *.* feet along the North right-of-way to the Southwest corner of the Cardinal Drive street easement as described in Misc. Record Book M at Page *; thence N. *° *' E. *.* feet along said West line to the South line of the Don Alley tract as described in Deed book * at Page *; thence S. *° *' W. *.* feet along the South line to the point of beginning; continue thence S. *° *' W. *.* feet along said South line; thence S. *° *' E. *.* feet to the North rightof-way of Arkansas Highway No. *; thence N. *° *' E. *.* feet along said North line; thence N. *° *' W. *.* feet to the point of beginning, containing *.* acre, more or less. Parcel Number *-*-*. The property described herein was conveyed to ADSEPIRA, LLC, via a deed issued pursuant to a tax sale conducted by the Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands, after the property remained unredeemed and the period for redemption expired. All persons or entities asserting a right to some interest in or to the property conveyed and forfeited – including without limitation ELECTRONICALLY FILED Baxter County Circuit Court Canda Reese, Circuit/County Clerk *-Sep-* *:*:* 03CV-*-* C14D01 : * Pages Defendants **** C. **** (individually and as Trustee of the Brannan Family Trust dated December *, *) and Bonnie J. Brannan (individually and as Settlor of the Brannan Family Trust dated December *, *) – are hereby notified to appear herein, asserting his/her/its title or interest in said property and to show cause why the tax sale of the property should not be confirmed, and title(s) quieted in the name of Plaintiff, in fee simple. WITNESS my hand and seal of this Court this _____ day of ______, *. BAXTER COUNTY CIRCUIT CLERK By: _________________________________ Respectfully submitted, /s Christopher E. Powers Christopher E. Powers, AR #* * NE Missouri Road, Ste. * Lee’s Summit, MO * Telephone: (*) *-* Facsimile: (*) *-* chris@showmeattorneys.com ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFF

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draft an answer to the complaint provided

Draft a motion to dismiss the suit

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Quiet Title Any person claiming to own land that is wild or improved or land that is in the actual possession of himself or herself, or those claiming under him or her, may have his or her title to the land confirmed and quieted. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*. A claimant shall file in the circuit clerk’s office of the county in which the land is situated a petition describing the land and stating facts that show a prima facie right and title to the land in himself and that there is no adverse occupant. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*(a). * If the petitioner has knowledge of any other person who has, or claims to have, interest in the lands, the petitioner shall so state, and the person or persons shall be summoned as defendants in the case. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*(b). The petitioner may embrace in his petition as many tracts of land as he sees proper so long as they all lie in the county. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*(c). Upon the filing of the petition, the clerk of the court shall publish a notice of the filing of the petition on the same day of each week, for four weeks in a newspaper published in the county, if there is one, and if not, then in a newspaper having a circulation in the county. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*(a). The petition shall describe the land and call upon all persons who claim any interest in the land or lien thereon to appear in court and show cause why the title of the petitioner should not be confirmed. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*(a). After proof of publication that the notice has been filed, the court shall require the petitioner to prove all the allegations of the petition. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*(a). A cotenant or tenant-in-common not in possession, and whose whereabouts are unknown, is conclusively deemed to have waived and abandoned to the cotenant or tenant-in-common the surface rights to property if no written demand for rents, profits, or possession has been made in twenty years. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*. If a petitioner alleges that his title papers or the record thereof has been lost or destroyed, the court shall have the power to require new title papers to be executed if the party required to execute them has been duly summoned in the cause. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*. If the court is satisfied as to the truth of the facts set out in the petition, it shall render a decree establishing and quieting the petitioner's title against all persons, except the decree in the cause shall not bar or affect the rights of any person who: Claims through, under, or by virtue of any contract with the petitioner; Was an adverse occupant of the land at the time the petition was filed; * Within seven years preceding had paid the taxes on the land; or Is a remainderman, unless the person was made a defendant in the petition and personally summoned to answer it. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*(b). The decree must describe the boundary line with sufficient specificity that it may be identified solely by reference to the decree. Petrus v. Nature Conservancy, * Ark. *, * S.W.2d * (*). Any person may appear within 3 years and set aside the decree if he offers a meritorious defense. Every person having the disability of infancy, lunacy, or idiocy, and those claiming under them, may set aside the decree at any time within 3 years after the removal of their disability. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*. Relevant Case Law In suits to quiet title, the plaintiff is not entitled to recover unless he is currently in possession, his title claim to title is equitable in nature, or, having legal title, the land is wild and unoccupied. St. Louis Refrigerator & Wooden Gutter Co. v. Thornton, * Ark. *, * S.W. * (*). A plaintiff may not maintain a suit to quiet title to property against a defendant who is in possession of the property. Eades v. Joslin, * Ark. *, * S.W.2d * (*). Where land is wild and unimproved it is considered in constructive possession of person holding legal title. Hensley v. Phillips, * Ark. *, * S.W.2d * (*). A prima facie case to quiet title requires a showing that the plaintiff has legal title to the property and is in possession. Potlatch Corp. v. Triplett, * Ark. App. *, * S.W.3d * (*). Quieting Title – Public Sales Purchasers, who have acquired title by purchase at a sale held by the sheriff, may protect themselves from eviction by proceeding in the manner provided to quiet title, described in Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*. * A petition for confirmation shall be filed with the clerk of the circuit court. The petitioner, if he or she is acquainted with the lands, shall file with his or her petition his or her affidavit, or the affidavit of some person who is acquainted with the lands, showing that: There is no person in actual possession of the lands claiming title adverse to the petitioner, Proof that taxes owed on the lands were either paid, Settled, or Released shall be filed with the petition and, In the case of levee or drainage improvement districts, Proof of payment, Settlement, or Release of all delinquent taxes. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*. See Schuman v. Certain Lands, * Ark. *, * S.W.2d * (*) (section does not apply to an action for confirmation of title to undivided interests in mineral rights); Pearman v. Pearman, * Ark. *, * S.W. * (*) (plaintiff cannot maintain a suit to confirm a tax title to land held adversely by defendant). Purchaser, or heirs and legal representatives of purchasers, at all sales that have been or may be made, may, when lands are not made redeemable by laws of this state applicable to sales, or, if redeemable, at any time after the expiration of the time allowed for the redemption, publish a notice. The notice shall: Be published four weeks in succession in a newspaper published in the county where the lands lie, if there is a newspaper published in the county or, if not, in the nearest newspaper having a bona fide circulation in the county; * Call on all persons who can set up any right to the lands so purchased in consequence of any informality or any irregularity connected with the sale to show cause why the sale so made should not be confirmed; and State the authority under which the sale took place and give the description of the land purchased and the nature of the title by which it is held. Ark. Code Ann. §*-*-*(a). The last notice in the newspaper shall be at least twenty days before the application for confirmation is submitted to the court. Ark. Code Ann. §*- *-*(b). Proof of the publication of the notice shall be made in the same manner as proof of publication of notices in other circuit court causes. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*(c). The clerk of the court shall notify any delinquent tax owner or owners at their last known address by registered mail at least twenty days before the application for confirmation is submitted to the court. Ark. Code Ann. § *- *-*(d). If the deed or deeds are in proper legal form and properly executed, If the tax receipts show payment of the taxes, And if the evidence shows that no one is in possession adverse to the petitioner, And if no one has appeared to challenge the petitioner, The petition shall be taken as confessed and the court shall render final decrees confirming the sale. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*. In case any person or persons claiming title to the land opposed confirmation of sale, then the court shall try the validity of the sale and if valid, confirm it; but if the sale has been made contrary to law, the court shall annul it. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*. On the trial of the cause, the petitioner shall exhibit to the court the tax receipts showing the payment of the taxes for at least three successive years and, in the case of lands acquired from levee and drainage improvement districts, all delinquent * taxes that have been due; the deed or deeds under which he claims title, or the record thereof, or a certified copy from the record; and oral or written proof by one or more witnesses acquainted with the lands showing that no one is in possession claiming adverse to the petitioner. The name of the witness so sworn shall be preserved in the decree. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*(a). A sheriff's or land commissioner's deed, given in the usual form, without witnesses, shall be taken and considered by the court as sufficient evidence of the authority under which the sale was made, the description of the land, and the purchase price. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*(b). There should be no confirmation of the sale of any lands that are in actual possession of any person claiming title adverse to the petitioner, nor shall there be any confirmation of the sale of lands unless the petitioner, or his grantor or those under whom he claims title, has paid the taxes on the lands for at least two years after the expiration of the right of redemption, the payment of taxes to be three consecutive years immediately prior to the application to confirm. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*(a). The judgment of the court confirming the sale shall operate as a complete bar against any and all persons who may thereafter claim the land in consequence of informality or illegality in the proceedings. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*(a). The decree shall not be valid for any purpose as against the owner of the land, his heirs or assigns, who was, at the time of the decree rendered, in actual possession of it, unless he is made a party to the action by personal service of notice. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*(b). When no opposition is made to the confirmation of the sale, the costs attending the proceedings shall be paid by the party praying for confirmation. Where opposition is made, the costs shall be borne by the party against whom judgment is rendered. Ark. Code Ann. § *-*-*.

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draft a more indepth answer, cross claim and motion to dismiss based on the information provided and the the arkansas civil and criminal bench book

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yes a complete drafting of the documents with citations and relevant case law