Johnson v. Alma Investment Co.

Appellants sued to quiet title to real property alleging a failure of the taxing authorities to give adequate notice of a special water district assessment on the property which resulted in a sale of the property to respondent for delinquent taxes. The trial court found that adequate notice of the special assessment had been given to appellants, and it entered a judgment in favor of respondent as the owner of the real property.

Facts

In the early 1960’s, appellants, who have lived at the same address in Palo Alto, California, since 1951, purchased two 20-acre parcels of property within the Semitropic Water Storage District in Kern County. The first parcel, not in question in this action, was purchased in 1961. The second parcel, designated in the water district’s tax roll as Smyrna Colony Lot 57, was purchased in 1962 for about $6,000.

The tax records of three Kern County governmental agencies are relevant to the resolution of this case: the tax assessor, the tax collector and the Semi tropic Water Storage District.

The 1963 county tax statement received by appellants from the tax collector for the property not at issue had appellants’ name and “address unknown” typed…