Schultz

Defendants State of California, County of Contra Costa and tax collector, County of Contra Costa, appeal from the judgment of the Contra Costa County Superior Court which rescinded a contract between defendants and plaintiff Richard J. Schultz for the purchase of realty at a tax sale. The court ordered that each party restore to the other the consideration received under the contract. Defendants contend: (1) there was no statutory right to rescission of the tax deed; (2) contract rules of rescission are inapplicable to a deed; and (3) even if contract rules of rescission are *245 applicable, plaintiff may not rescind on the basis of either failure of consideration or unilateral mistake. We affirm.

Plaintiff, who had never before been to a tax sale, was the highest bidder for a lot in El Cerrito. The bidding for the parcel was spirited; plaintiff joined in the bidding at $7,000, won with a bid of $9,100 and received a deed for the property.

Plaintiff, a carpenter, planned to build a residence for himself on the lot. Prior to the sale, he obtained a map of the parcel from the tax collector’s office and examined the neighborhood and the lot. He measured the parcel, noting…

I dissent because the sole remedies for a purchaser of real property at a tax sale are those provided in the Revenue and Taxation Code. The Legislature has never changed the historic rule that the doctrine of caveat emptor, let the buyer beware, applies to purchasers of real property at tax sales which take place at public auction.

Historically, the purchase of title to property at a tax sale was viewed as a speculative act; tax titles were often invalidated for minor procedural errors. Thus, purchasers at tax sales were subject to the rule of caveat emptor. (See Bell v. County of Los Angeles (1928) 90 Cal.App. 602, 605 [ 266 P. 291 ].) One rationale behind this rule was that all potential purchasers could inspect the tax records and learn the status of the land. (72 Am.Jur.2d, State and Local Taxation, § 1037, p. 307.) To provide some stability to tax titles, California passed legislation which corrected minor defects in tax titles and provided conclusive presumptions on the regularity *251 of tax sales. (See 2 Bowman, Ogden’s Revised California Real Property Law (Cont.Ed.Bar 1975) §§ 21.26-21.30, pp. 1098-1103.) One such provision is Revenue and Taxation Code section 3711,…

Defendants State of California, County of Contra Costa and tax collector, County of Contra Costa, appeal from the judgment of the Contra Costa County Superior Court which rescinded a contract between defendants and plaintiff Richard J. Schultz for the purchase of realty at a tax sale. The court ordered that each party restore to the other the consideration received under the contract. Defendants contend: (1) there was no statutory right to rescission of the tax deed; (2) contract rules of rescission are inapplicable to a deed; and (3) even if contract rules of rescission are applicable, plaintiff may not rescind on the basis of either failure of consideration or unilateral mistake. We affirm.

Plaintiff, who had never before been to a tax sale, was the highest bidder for a lot in El Cerrito. The bidding for the parcel was spirited; plaintiff joined in the bidding at $7,000, won with a bid of $9,100 and received a deed for the property.

Plaintiff, a carpenter, planned to build a residence for himself on the lot. Prior to the sale, he obtained a map of the parcel from the tax collector's office and examined the neighborhood and the lot. He measured the parcel,…