Judge OKs decision to sell widow's home over $6.30 debt

Fox News ^ | 04-28-2014 | Associated Press

[PaulCruz2016]

BEAVER, Pa. – A widow was given ample notice before her $280,000 house was sold at a tax auction three years ago over $6.30 in unpaid interest, a Pennsylvania judge has ruled.

The decision last week turned down Eileen Battisti's request to reverse the September 2011 sale of her home outside Aliquippa in western Pennsylvania.

"I paid everything, and didn't know about the $6.30," Battisti said. "For the house to be sold just because of $6.30 is crazy."

[TsonicTsunami08]

The deprived depths of out of control bureaucrats is disgusting.

[MarineBrat]

I’d burn the damned thing down and crap on top of the ashes before I gave it to them.

[Focault's Pendulum]

"The county never wants to see anybody lose their home, but at the same time the tax sale law, the tax real estate law, doesn't give a whole lot of room for error, either," Askar said.

[LambSlave]

This has always been my nightmare. There are so many taxes here in PA, to so many different local taxing authorities, I’m never sure if I’m paying them all. It’s not about the money, it’s about the nickel and diming to death. I went for three years without paying some local poll tax, until I got a collection agency hounding me over twenty dollars!! The judge and anyone involved in this travesty are beyond despicable, evil... I would not shed a tear if they were all publicly hanged.

[andyk]

If this came to my desk I would have whipped out $7 bucks in cash and told some lawyers to GTFO of my office.

My exact first thought. Who the heck could have had the opportunity but not helped?

[andyk]

Joe Askar, Beaver County's chief solicitor

Joe, you're a snake in the grass.

[pgkdan]

Someone needs to figure out who ordered the sale, who bought it and how they’re related and then how they’re connected to this judge.

[drypowder]

Did they shoot the lady's dog too?? What a heartless POS judge, as is the county tax assessor. Corruption abounds at all levels of government, throw it off.

[The Antiyuppie]

“So in the end, home “ownership” is a fantasy.”

You are wrong. It’s not a fantasy. It’s an illusion.

[The Antiyuppie]

Still very useful in law and police work:

Cui bono?

[saganite]

The word is razed. And, yes.

[GeronL]

pure insanity

[GeronL]

bump

[editor-surveyor]

America is crazy.

[Auntie Dem]

My Brother-in-Law was a manager for the IRS. I remember him telling me that if an amount owed was less than $10.00 it would simply be written off as not worth fooling with.

That depends on your politics. I worked for the IRS. In 1974 I was ordered to seize an individual's automobile to pay $0.35 (that's right, 35 cents) of unpaid telephone excise tax because the refusal to pay was a protest against the Vietnam war. Normally the IRS doesn't get involved with telephone excise taxs, but since it was a federal tax, and there were political ramifications all bets were off.

[editor-surveyor]

Everything stinks!

[William Tell]

In a more reasonable world, the judge could have declared the woman incompetent to manage her own affairs, appointed a caretaker, and ordered the sale of her assets to generate the $6.30. If the house still had to be sold to satisfy the debt, then the woman would at least have coming the market value of the house less six bucks.

If the woman successfully argues that she isn't incompetent, then the tax sale proceeds.

[tophat9000]

Yea try that with the goverment. .yea I send it ..it didn’t get returned so you got it..

IN FACT It should be the same standard for both..they say mail the sent the bill you say you mailed the check..

They say then need no proof you received the bill ..you need no proof they received the check..

If I need to sent in registering letter with signed received mail back to me as proof I sent the check..they need the same for proof on the bill

[TurboZamboni]

That would require investigative reporting.

Nobody does that any more as it makes statists uncomfortable and costs the news owner money.

[yarddog]

I actually remember him talking about the telephone excise tax cases because they were chosen by anti Vietnam protestors.

He also told me of the days of the hair tonic taxes. They would pad statistics by focusing on them.