A Charleston property company being sued by a Cross Lanes couple has been allowed back in a trial after a clerical error caused court summons to be served to a defunct business.
Court summons were sent to PD Enterprises, the defunct business, based in Chesapeake, leading to a default judgment by U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin.
P.D. Enterprises, which is involved in the lawsuit, is based in Charleston.
The president of P.D. Enterprises, Robert P. Howell, was not aware of the lawsuit until he read a July 7 Gazette-Mail article that discussed the default, according to court documents.
The default judgment was reversed July 17.
P.D. Enterprises is being sued by Jerry and Elizabeth Martin for purchasing and selling a tax lien on their property after the Martins did not pay their taxes in 2011 and 2012.
On Wednesday, the Martins and their attorney, Bren Pomponio, responded to Kanawha County Clerk Vera J. McCormick's motion to dismiss the suit because of a legal technicality, stating she was not properly served court summons.
The response states McCormick was personally delivered a copy of the complaint and summons July 10.
The Martins are suing McCormick, P.D. Enterprises Inc. and Paige-Hunter Properties Inc. after they did not receive notice of their property taxes in 2011 or 2012 after their address changed due to a county-wide addressing system put into place by 911 and emergency services.
The Martins' taxes were delinquent $561.53, and a tax lien on their property was sold to P.D. Enterprises for $1,800 in 2012.
On April 28, 2014, P.D. Enterprises sold the property to Paige-Hunter Properties.
Notices were sent to the Martins' old address and were returned by the postal service.
The Martins first received notice their home had been sold in August 2016, when they attempted to pay their property taxes.
In May 2017, Hobert Aliff Jr., owner of Paige-Hunter Properties, went to the Martins' home and informed them the business had purchased their property, had it appraised for $71,000 and said the Martins would have to "pay a substantial percentage" of that value to regain their property.
The complaint states Aliff and the business "have a history of obtaining windfalls purchasing tax liens and, on information and belief, selling them back to the property owner or a third party for a substantial percentage of the actual value of the property."
It lists 26 occasions where Paige-Hunter Properties allegedly purchased tax liens and attempted to sell them to property owners at a "significant percentage of its fair market value."
Aliff and Paige-Hunter Properties did not respond to the complaint and received a default judgment from Goodwin.
The property companies are being sued for deprivation of property and slander of title. McCormick is accused of knowingly selling void tax deeds.
The Martins are suing on their own behalf and on behalf of those similarly situated to them. They are seeking damages, attorney fees and for the court to void the deed for their home.
Reach Kayla Asbury at
kayla.asbury@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow
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