High court weighs tax‑sale notice, lease timing and laches in Thompson v. Landry

The Supreme Court of Texas heard argument in case 230875, Thompson v. Landry, a dispute arising from a tax foreclosure, a later purchaser's deed and competing claims about whether the property owner received constitutionally adequate notice and whether equitable defenses bar a collateral attack.

The central question presented to the court was whether the record demonstrates enough notice to satisfy due‑process requirements or, alternatively, whether equitable principles (including Restatement (First) of Judgments §66 and laches) prevent a landowner from setting aside a tax‑sale deed long after execution and resale.

Petitioners (the purchasers) told the court they bought the property at a tax sale, paid the purchase price and relied on the tax code’s statutory protections for purchasers. Petitioners’ counsel said the owner had actual notice of intervening events — citing a signed lease as evidence that occupants…