Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN Eonoreble W. FL Barma County kttornoy, drlsfbr Cottnty imleroon, Tern8 . 8349 EoAorablo 0;. E. BlBrrOA,pago $2 land to bo sold under judgment for taxea, s::d paid out the prooaeds of of sale of sazua after the taxes, penalty and intereat due thereon two paid, and In no oase shsll ths State or oounty be liable therefix,’ “1 ehell appreciate the opl~lo~~o~ zho depart- mont at tka aarllest posslblo date. art1010 X55&, aupra, provides oartein itbe In tax suits for tha various offioars oOnoorned end namd therein. It will bo noted that Artlola 7333, supra, expressly provides that In eaoh oaaa euoh faaa, meanin@ the fees provided ror IA krtlals 7332, supra, ahall be taxed ea oosta againat the land, eta. It Is then expresoly provided “end in no oaso shall tha Stat6 and oounty bo 1labl.s therefor.* Roforrlug to tho language in the above nSntioAed stetutos in the oaao of Grant, et al, vs. l!21ls (Corn. App.) 80 B, K. (&I) 1095, th6 oourt safd that *this languago oortalnly orldonoos a direot legislat5.ve Intent to OX- prosslp-prohibit the rendition OS any judgment againat the 8tnta and oounty lor oosts, or fess olassod as suoh.” It will be noted that the above mentioned statutes .zra not applloablo to or make no T~fOmnoO to oompons8tioA albwod attornays ad lltbsi, appointed by the oourt to represent u~kmw~ helm, unknown or non-rosldont owners oitod by publloatlon as provided by Artl- 018 %54Z, VernOA'S Amotatod~ Cl.+11 Statutes. &?tiole 2158, Vwnon’6 Annotated Olvil Statutes, pro- vides I When service has been made by publioation, end no entry has been filed, AAT appearsnoo entered. within the tlmo presarlbod by law, the oourt shall sppotit an attorney to defend the suit in behalf of the Ilafondant, and judgment shall be rendered as fA other oaros; but, in every ouoh 0880, a steto%ant of the eriflenoa, approved and sl~m4 by the judge, shell be filed with the papers of the oause as a part of the reoord thereof. The oourt shall allow stroh attorney a reasonable fee for hia aorvloa~, to be ttixed OS part of the ooatsra Section 6 of hrtiolo 7348b, Vernon’s Annotated Civil 3tatutes, provides; Honorable %. E. Barron, page 3 “A31 court oosts, inoluding oosts of aerv- ing prooess, in any suit hereofter’brcught by or in behalf of any taxing units for delinquent taxes in whfoh suits 011 other taxing units hsvo a do- llnquent tr.x olalm a$sln:-t such property of any pert thereor, have bean jmplcaded, together with all expenses of foreolosure sale and euoh roason- able attornep’a fees RS may be inourred by the ln- terplaaded or lntorvenlng taxing units, not exooeding ten per cent (10%) of the amount sued for, mob attor- ney’s feee to be subject to the approval of the oourt topethar with suoh reesonable expenses ea the texi-ag units .%ay incur in proourlne data and information a8 to the mme, Identity nnd looetlon of neooasary pm-- tlae and In procuring necessary legal deaoriptlona of the property, shall be ohsrgcable as oourt ooets.* Saotlun 9 of Article 1346b, Varnon’a Annotated 01~11 Statutes, provides in part: “Xf the proporty be eold to any tuflng unit w’.?oh is a party to the jud~ient under deoreo 0r court In aoid suit, the title to eeld pror:erty shall be bid fn and held by the taxing unit purohaalng same for the use and benefit of itself and all other taxing units whlah are partiea to the suit and whioh have been adjudged In said ault to have ti:x liens against suoh property, pro rata and in proportion to the amount of the tax liena in favor of said reepeotivo taxing unit8 aa established by the judgment in aald suit, and ooata 54 expanses shell not be I;ayablo until ealo by suoh tc:xlne unit so F.urohaalnF ame, and euph property shall not be sold by the taxing unit purchasing same for leea than the edjudp+ci value thereof or the amoun$v of the judgments aqelnzt th,a property 2.n said suit Under the above ststed facts and in view of the fore- going you are respectfully S,t5tutee. advised that It 18 the opinion of this department that the oomppensation allowed the sttorneye ad lit&m must be taxed as a part of the ooste in auoh oaaea and the same are not payable until sale of the land by the taxing unit purehesiag tha snme. Therefore, your question is respeotfully answered in the negative. Yours very truly FIRST ASSIS"ANT Ardsll WIlllam ATTORNEY GENERAL Aeefrtant t