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ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT
MARION COUNTY AUDITOR
Nicole R. Kelsey Office of Corporation Counsel Indianapolis, Indiana

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE
R.C. Richmond, III Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP Indianapolis, Indiana

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT
MCCORD INVESTMENTS, LLC
Brian H. Babb Bose McKinney & Evans LLP Indianapolis, Indiana

FILED
Mar 21 2012, 11:50 am

______________________________________________________________________________ CLERK

Indiana Supreme Court
_________________________________ No. 49S02-1106-CV-364 MARION COUNTY AUDITOR, AND MCCORD INVESTMENTS, LLC, v. SAWMILL CREEK, LLC A/K/A SAW CREEK INVESTMENTS, LLC, Appellee-Respondent. _________________________________ Appeal from the Marion Circuit Court, No. 49C01-0509-MI-036054 The Honorable Louis F. Rosenberg, Judge _________________________________ On Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 49A02-0912-CV-1192 _________________________________ March 21, 2012 Dickson, Justice.

In the

of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

Appellants-Petitioners,

This appeal challenges a judgment setting aside a tax deed. The deed had been issued to McCord Investments, LLC, upon the petition of the Marion County Auditor following the oneyear redemption period after a tax sale. But, in response to a motion to set aside the tax deed filed on behalf of Sawmill Creek, LLC, the trial court conducted an evidentiary hearing, ulti-

mately setting aside the tax deed on grounds that the Auditor's effort to notify Sawmill Creek of the tax sale was constitutionally deficient for failing to meet the requirements of due process. We granted transfer and now reverse the trial court.

Sawmill Creek, LLC ("Sawmill"), is a Wyoming entity managed by E.J. "Bill" Simpson. In late 2001, Simpson, on behalf of Sawmill, purchased a four acre tract of unimproved land on Rockville Road in Marion County ("the Property"). There was, however, a miscommunication during the negotiations which resulted in the closing statement, the general warranty deed, and the title insurance policy naming the purchaser as "Saw Creek Investments, L.L.C." ("Saw Creek"), instead of the proper name "Sawmill Creek, LLC."1 Tr. at 18, 20, 40; Sawmill's Exs. 6, 7, 8. None of the documents related to the Property referenced Sawmill, and Simpson did not notice the error. The Property was recorded under the name Saw Creek. At that time, Simpson operated his companies, including Sawmill, from an address on Dandy Trail in Indianapolis ("Dandy Trail address"). The addresses thus connected to the Property were its physical location on Rockville Road and the Dandy Trail address.

In late 2002 through early 2003, Simpson moved his operations from the Dandy Trail address to Northfield Drive in Brownsburg ("Northfield Drive address"). At that time, Simpson sent a letter to the Marion County Clerk providing notice of the address change. That letter referenced Sawmill and Cripple Creek Investments, LLC, but not Saw Creek. Consequently, the mailing address for the Rockville Road property was not updated, and tax bills continued to be sent to the Dandy Trail address. Sawmill did not notice that it was not receiving the tax bills for the Property, and the taxes became delinquent. In the summer of 2005, the Marion County Auditor ("the Auditor") set the Property for tax sale. The Auditor sent the pre-sale notice, as required by the statute in effect at the time,2 via
1

The mix-up apparently resulted from the fact that Simpson began the negotiations to purchase the Property under the auspices of another entity which he runs, Cripple Creek Investments, LLC, but then decided to conclude the transaction through Sawmill. Tr. at 14

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