OK now LB, your gettin durn near personal here. LOL It is not necessarily a house. Generally in situations like this it is raw land, of which TX is still blessed with alot of... Many times it is passed down from generation to generation, and there are no ss# associated with the land. People honestly forget that they own 1/2 acre of Great-granpa's land located near Brushy Creek. Not saying this is what is the case here, and not making excuses for the attorney, but its a simple fact here. To the OP, what county is it? You might needs some info from the tax office--I can help you find the numbers. Despite the fact that you aren't in TX YOU are going to have to answer this suit to avoid a default judgment. Telling the court on the phone its not yours and you aren't coming is not sufficient. You don't want it stuck on your credit report now that they have a ss#. This might can all be handled thru the attorney, but everything needs to be handled properly and in writing. File an answer with the court.
Notes: Where taxpayer claimed not to be the owner of property upon which delinquent taxes were due and he had not presented this fact before the appraisal review board, he has waived non-ownership as a defense to a delinquent tax suit. A taxpayer must protest the non-ownership issue before the appraisal review board. Anderson v. Robstown Independent School District, 706 S.W.2d 952 (Tex. 1986). Although an unsigned letter to a taxing unit and a court in response to a citation is defective as an answer, the letter was sufficient to prevent a default judgment because it did contain the delinquent property ownerâ??s address, denied liability, and contained the trial courtâ??s cause number. Home Savings of America FSB v. Harris County Water Control and Improvement District #70, 928 S.W.2d 217 (Tex. App.â??Houston [14th District] 1996). http://www.taxnetusa.com/98code/chapter33.htm
It is not necessarily a house. Generally in situations like this it is raw land, of which TX is still blessed with alot of... *************** I know Tx is big but I didn't know it extended all the way into Fl. LOL
But wouldn't it have been a simple matter to check the name and address on the deed and see that it didn't match up with the party they decided to sue?
"IF" one does NOT dispute a TAX JUDGEMENT on property they DON'T OWN...AND NEVER LIVED ON...AND NEVER MADE PAYMENTS ON...they can still be made to pay those taxes??? DID I READ THAT RIGHT???
Re: Re: Please help wrong identity...!!!?? I own some land in Louisiana. I inherited it. My address is not on the deed anywhere. In fact, the tax office only has the address of a relative. I just happen to remember to pay the $150 a year taxes LOL. My name does not match up, as I inherited it as a child. My last name has changed twice since then. The land my evil ex step-m owns - the only reason I found it and placed a Notice of Lis Pendens on it, was because she wasn't smart enough to change it from her old married name to her new married name. Texas Property Records are searchable online in many counties I agree the lawyer jumped the gun. He should have/could have sent a collection letter to start with, but what's done is done, and the OP needs to handle it properly.
Re: Re: Please help wrong identity...!!!?? George, thats what I'm reading, however, I don't have the whole case, so I can't really say, just wanted to point this out to the OP.
Re: Re: Please help wrong identity...!!!?? ~~~~~~~~~~~~ George if that county in Tx is anything like my Oh. county anything is possible. I have seen them pull some major blunders on both my own and my parents property. The one that really stands out is back in the sixtys when I- 77 went through a small corner of my parents lot. The state purshed the small piece for the I-77right away in 1965. In 1989 when my mother died and I was handling their estate I discovered that the county Had given the state title to the whole lot instead of just the small corner. For 25 years the county had been taxing my parents on a lot the county had given to the state. My parents never knew this because they both died before i discovered it in 1990. As if that wasn't bad enough tha county had their property overvalued by at least $40,000.oo. Can you imagine how much extra taxes they paid during that 25 years on $40000 worth of property they didn't have? They are as inept as the OCs CAs and CRA. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Re: Re: Please help wrong identity...!!!?? Ok guys..here is the follow up letter to the law firm. My girlfriend toned it down from what I had, but she always wins! The courts have been answered and we are waiting for thier response. Dear Mr. Putman: Pursuant to my telephone conversation on December 9, 2003 with a member of your staff this letter serves as a formal notice that I have never visited or owned property in the state of Texas. I am extremely distressed to discover that when speaking with your office you took the liberty of obtaining all of my personal information i.e., social security and any other pertinent information. Your firm has made a serious error in judgement serving someone a lawsuit that has no knowledge about this said case. At this time I am requesting that your firm furnish me with a full description of the procedures used to determine the accuracy and validity of this lawsuit and the instrument used with my written signature giving you the authorization to research and obtain my social security and any other personal information. Due to your misjudgment and incompetence concerning this matter I have been given no choice but to contact all credit reporting agencies, credit card companies, and financial institutions to ensure that my identity as well as my excellent credit history has not and will not be tarnished. Additionally, should anything derogatory be reported to any of the credit reporting agencies I shall instruct my attorney to file a formal complaint. Please give this important matter the attention it deserves. I look forward to your letter clearing up this situation as well as the procedures and written consent that were instrumental in obtaining my personal information
Re: Re: Please help wrong identity...!!!?? "IF" one does NOT dispute a TAX JUDGEMENT on property they DON'T OWN...AND NEVER LIVED ON...AND NEVER MADE PAYMENTS ON...they can still be made to pay those taxes??? DID I READ THAT RIGHT??? GEORGE~~A.K.A. RODNEY DANGERFIELD ======================================= That's the way I read it too George. Sounds like an open invitation to legalized fraud. I think I will start getting somebody else to pay my property taxes this way. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
