WV Couple Claims Home Was Taken Without Due Process

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An elderly West Virginia couple allege in a proposed class action lawsuit that their home was unlawfully taken by defendants Paige-Hunter Properties, Inc., PD Enterprises, Inc., and two individuals—Hobert Eugene Aliff, Jr. and Vera J. McCormick—without due process of law.

The narrative laid out in the complaint begins when the plaintiffs’ long-time address in Charleston was changed by “911/emergency services” in or around 2011. After this event, the plaintiffs stopped receiving statements for real estate taxes, the case notes, and the individuals’ 2011 and 2012 real estate taxes became delinquent. In November 2012, defendant McCormick, acting as Clerk of the County Commission, declared the plaintiffs’ property was sold, with defendant PD Enterprises purchasing the tax lien for $1,800, the lawsuit says. In April 2014, the case continues, defendant PD Enterprises assigned the certificate of sale of the plaintiffs’ property to defendant Paige-Hunter Properties, who then applied for a tax deed for the land.

The lawsuit claims notices of the sale that were supposed to be sent to the plaintiffs via certified mail were each returned to the U.S. Postal Service undelivered and marked “Return to Sender Unclaimed Unable to Forward,” as was each notice sent thereafter.

“By February 3, 2014, [the defendants] therefore knew and should have known that neither of the plaintiffs had received notice of its application for a tax deed to their home or of their redemption rights,” the lawsuit argues.

Citing a 2006 Supreme Court ruling, the lawsuit claims notice of an impending property sale is constitutionally insufficient “when the notice is returned unclaimed.” To this point, the plaintiffs claim they were unaware of any events surrounding the sale of the tax deed for their property.

“Had they received notice of the application and their redemption of rights,” the case affirms, “[the plaintiffs] had the financial ability to pay the lawful redemption amount and would have done so immediately.”