Fouse v. Saratoga Partners, L.P.

Summary

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania considered whether the absence of a post-sale redemption remedy under the Real Estate Tax Sale Law violates equal protection provisions of the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions. The Court held that the legislative distinction between counties governed by the Real Estate Tax Sale Law and those governed by the Municipal Claims and Tax Liens Act is constitutional under rational basis review. The Court affirmed the denial of the taxpayers’ petition to redeem property sold at an upset tax sale in Huntingdon County.

Holdings

1. The asserted right to redeem property after an upset tax sale by paying delinquent taxes and costs is not a fundamental constitutional right; it is a statutory remedy created and controlled by the Legislature.
2. The Real Estate Tax Sale Law's prohibition on post-sale redemption does not violate the equal protection provisions of the United States or Pennsylvania Constitutions because the distinction between properties governed by the RETSL and those governed by the MCTLA is rationally related to legitimate interests in expediting tax collection, ensuring certainty and finality of tax sales, and maintaining or improving the value of tax-sale titles.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Real Estate Tax Sale Law's exclusion of a post-sale redemption remedy, while the Municipal Claims and Tax Liens Act provides such a remedy for properties in certain counties, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
2. Whether the same statutory distinction violates the Pennsylvania Constitution's protections for equal treatment and property rights.
3. Whether the asserted right to redeem property after an upset tax sale is a fundamental constitutional right requiring strict scrutiny.

Disposition

affirmed