TCA § 67-5-2504 — Attacks on sale of land — Rights of purchaser

Any person who buys real estate sold for delinquent taxes that were a lien thereon, and who shall for any cause fail to get a good title or to recover possession of the realty, shall be subrogated to all liens that secured the taxes, and all interest, costs, penalties and fees; and such person shall have the right to enforce the same in chancery for the reimbursement of the purchase money paid by such person and interest thereon. The chancery court shall have jurisdiction, in such case, though the amount sued for be less than fifty dollars ($50.00). A tax deed of conveyance or an order confirming the sale shall be an assurance of perfect title to the purchaser of such land, and no such conveyance shall be invalidated in any court, except by proof that the land was not liable to sale for taxes, or that the taxes for which the land was sold have been paid before the sale or that there was substantial noncompliance with mandatory statutory provisions relating to the proceedings in which the parcel was sold; and if any part of the taxes for which the land was sold is illegal or not chargeable against it, but a part is chargeable, that shall not affect the sale, nor invalidate the conveyance thereunder, unless it appears that before the sale the amount legally chargeable against the land was paid or tendered to the county trustee, and no other objection either in form or substance to the sale or the title thereunder shall avail in any controversy involving them. An action seeking to invalidate any tax title to a parcel shall allege specific facts establishing the grounds set out herein and proof of compliance with subsection (c) prior to the filing of the complaint. No suit shall be commenced in any court of the state to invalidate or declare void any tax title to land until the party suing shall have paid or tendered to the clerk of the court where the suit is brought the amount of the bid and all taxes subsequently accrued, with interest and charges as provided in this part. A suit to invalidate any tax title to land shall be commenced within one (1) year from the date the cause of action accrued, which is the date of the entry of the order confirming the tax sale. The statute of limitations to invalidate the sale of any tax title shall be one (1) year as set forth in subdivision (d)(1), except that it may be extended to one (1) year after the plaintiff discovered or with the exercise of reasonable due diligence should have discovered the existence of such cause of action. In no event shall any action to invalidate any tax sale title be brought more than three (3) years after the entry of the order confirming the tax sale. This subsection (d) shall not be construed to prevent or delay issuance of an order quieting title to a tax sale parcel in favor of the purchaser. After entry of an order confirming the sale of a parcel, the purchaser may file suit to quiet title, notwithstanding the deadline for tax sale challenges provided in this subsection (d), or the redemption period provided in part 27 of this chapter. Any order quieting title to a tax sale parcel entered before the expiration of the redemption period shall specify that the purchaser's title to the parcel remains subject to any such remaining redemption period. Nothing in this subsection (d) shall limit the time in which a motion for excess proceeds may be filed pursuant to § 67-5-2702. In all cases where the state is not the holder of the legal title to the property bought by it at a tax sale for delinquent state and county taxes, any person desiring to attack the validity of such tax sale may do so by making only the holder of the legal or equitable title thereto and those persons claiming through such holder who are parties to such suit, and it shall not be necessary to make the state a party thereto. Any person successfully challenging the validity of a tax sale of the person's interest in a parcel shall also be responsible to the person purchasing the property at the tax sale and the purchaser's successors in interest, for any increase in the value of the parcel, including any improvements thereto, from the date of the entry of the order confirming the sale until the entry of a court order declaring the tax sale invalid as to the challenger. In the alternative, the challenger shall be responsible to the person purchasing the property at the tax sale and the purchaser's successors in interest, for all amounts expended by the purchaser or the purchaser's successors as set out in § 67-5-2701(b) and (e), if such amount is in excess of the increased value of the parcel. The purchaser and successors shall have a lien upon the parcel to secure the payment of the amount determined by the court to be due. An order confirming the sale of a parcel is voidable and may be voided by the court after a determination of the merits of the grounds for the action as set out in this chapter and any defenses raised. For the purposes of this chapter, a motion filed pursuant to Rule 60.02 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure, or any other or successor rule of similar effect, challenging the validity of a tax sale and any independent action for a similar purpose, shall be considered an action to invalidate the sale of a tax title. An interested person may file an action to challenge a tax title or the instrument conveying such title if the delinquent tax attorney fails to make a diligent effort to give actual notice of the proceeding to the interested person in accordance with § 67-5-2502(c)(3). Any challenge to a tax title based on lack of notice to an interested party, including any action seeking to declare a title or the instrument conveying such title void ab initio, shall be considered an action to invalidate the sale of a tax title and such action is subject to the provisions of parts 18-28 of this chapter applying to actions to invalidate the sale of a tax title, including the required tender of payment before commencement of a suit in accordance with subsection (c). This subsection (i) is intended to be procedural and remedial in application and is made applicable retroactively to the extent allowed by law.