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Resident asks commissioners to consider extra compensation after mistaken tax-sale; board says court voided sale
Summary
A resident who bid on a tax-sale parcel said the county mistakenly offered the wrong legal description and that a court order later voided the sale and refunded fees; the resident requested additional compensation for time and expenses, but commissioners said they cannot overrule the court order and described the usual remedies.
A resident who purchased a parcel at a recent county tax sale told the Sherman County Board of Commissioners that the county published an incorrect legal description and sold the wrong property. He said the court later voided the sale, refunded the $15 purchase and $55 recording fee, and he asked the board to consider further compensation for his time and expenses in researching the parcel.
The resident described doing a title search and paying for documents after discovering the description in the sale notice did not match the real estate he believed he had bought. "A mistake was made, and a property that Mister Dimock purchased was not a property that we have the authority or ability to sell," the resident said, summarizing the court's finding that the parcel should have described mineral interests only rather than the full real estate.
Commissioners explained that a judge's order voided the sale and refunded the fees; they said the county cannot overrule a court order. One commissioner noted county precedent: the purchaser's remedy for improvements or expenses is generally a claim against the prior owner if that owner successfully contests the tax-sale proceeding. Another commissioner said the board would check the auctioneer's announcements and procedures but warned that setting a compensation precedent could create difficult expectations for future claimants.
No formal motion to award additional compensation was taken at the meeting; commissioners thanked the resident for bringing the matter to their attention and said they would review the auction records and the court order as needed.
