County sheriff filed two interpleader petitions for excess funds generated in tax sales of real property.
In the first case, the Superior Court entered order that city’s demolition lien took priority over claim to the funds asserted by entity that ended up with fee simple title after the sale. In the second case, the Superior Court ordered release of the excess funds to city in partial payment for its demolition lien. Pre-tax sale owners of the properties appealed, and the appeals were consolidated.
The Court of Appeals held that the demolition liens, which applied only to real property, did not give city a right to the excess funds, which were personal property.
City’s demolition liens against pieces of real property that ended up being sold at separate tax sales did not give city a right to excess funds produced by the sales; the excess funds were “personal property,” and city’s liens applied only to real property.