OAG 40-83.

Case DateOctober 10, 1940
CourtOregon
Oregon Attorney General Opinions 1940. OAG 40-83. 90OPINION NO. 40-83[20 Or. Op. Atty. Gen. 90]Statute specifying the day upon which foreclosure proceedings shall be instituted is mandatory, in that proceedings instituted prior to such date are invalid. Such proceedings cannot be instituted prior to two months from the expiration of four months during which list is to be prepared.October 10, 1940.Mr. John F. Steelhammer,Special Deputy District Attorney, Marion County. Dear Sir: Under date of September 11, 1940, you refer to chapter 485, Oregon Laws, 1939, which provides for the foreclosure of liens for delinquent taxes on real properties and for all proceedings in connection therewith, and request my opinion whether it is necessary to wait two months after actual preparation of 91the foreclosure list before instituting foreclosure proceedings. Section 2 of said act provides:
"Within four months after the day of delinquency of taxes of each year the tax collector shall prepare a list of all real properties then subject to foreclosure. * * *"
Section 3 provides:
"On the day which is six months after the day of delinquency of taxes of the latest year, the tax collector, with the assistance of the district attorney, shall institute proceedings to foreclose the liens for all the delinquent taxes against each of the several properties included in such foreclosure list. * * *"
In Childs v. Marion County, 97 Pac. (2d) 955, the supreme court of Oregon had occasion to construe these two sections of the statute in determining the question of whether or not foreclosure proceedings could be legally conducted after expiration of the time provided in said sections, and applied the rule stated in 2 Lewis' Sutherland Construction, 2nd Edition, page 1116, section 611:
"Unless a fair consideration of a statute, directing the mode of proceeding of public officers, shows that the legislature intended compliance with the provision in relation thereto to be essential to the validity of the proceeding, it is to be regarded as directory merely. Those directions which are not of the essence of the thing to be done, but which are given with a view merely to the proper, orderly and prompt conduct of the business, and by the failure to obey which the rights of those interested will not be prejudiced, are not commonly to be regarded as
...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT