Pennsylvania Act 1957-18 — AUTHORIZING MUNICIPALITIES TO FILE TAX LIENS

Act text

AUTHORIZING MUNICIPALITIES TO FILE TAX LIENS
                   Act of Apr. 4, 1957, P.L. 25, No. 18               Cl. 53
                                  AN ACT

     Authorizing counties, cities, boroughs, incorporated towns,
        townships, school districts, poor districts and county
        institution districts to file tax and municipal claims not
        filed within the time specified by law; and to amend such
        claims when the property affected is not sufficiently
        described; and to file suggestions of nonpayment and
        averments of default, or to sue out writs of scire facias on
        certain tax or municipal claims; and to revive judgments
        where the lien of such claims or the judgments thereon have
        been lost; and providing for the reinstatement of the liens
        of such claims and judgments.

        The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
     hereby enacts as follows:

        Section 1.  Whenever any county, city, borough, incorporated
     town, township, school district, poor district or county
     institution district has heretofore failed to file in the office
     of the prothonotary of the county, any tax claim or municipal
     claim assessed against any property within the time limit
     required by law for such filing, whereby the lien of such tax or
     municipal claim is lost; or has heretofore filed any tax claim
     or municipal claim assessed against any property and in such
     claim has described the property against which the claim was
     assessed only by the name of the owner and the distance from a
     given point; or has heretofore filed in the office of the
     prothonotary of the proper county any tax or municipal claim and
     the county, city, borough, incorporated town, township, school
     district, poor district or county institution district has not,
     within the period of five years after the date on which any such
     claim was filed, sued out a writ of scire facias to reduce the
     same to judgment or has not done so in time, or, in the case of
     a tax or municipal claim, has not, within said period of five
     years, filed a suggestion of nonpayment and an averment of
     default; or whenever any writ of scire facias has been issued to
     reduce any such claim to judgment and by reason of defense or
     any other court proceedings or by reason of failure to file a
     praecipe on time judgment has not been entered within the period
     of five years after the date on which such writ was issued; or
     whenever any such tax or municipal claim has been reduced to
     judgment and the county, city, borough, incorporated town,
     township, school district, poor district or county institution
     district has not, within the period of five years after the date
     on which such judgment was entered or within five years after
     the date on which such judgment was last revived, filed a
     suggestion of nonpayment and an averment of default or sued out
     a writ of scire facias to revive the same; then, in any such
     case any such county, city, borough, incorporated town,
     township, school district, poor district or county institution
     district may, within six months after the effective date of this
     act, file such tax or municipal claim, or amend such claim so as
     to properly describe the property against which the claim is
     assessed, or issue its praecipe for a writ of scire facias on
     any such tax or municipal claim and proceed to judgment in the
     manner provided by law to obtain judgments upon tax or municipal
     claims, or, in case a writ of scire facias has been issued but
     the same has not been reduced to judgment within five years from
     the date of issuance, issue its praecipe for an alias writ of
     scire facias on any such tax or municipal claim and proceed to
     judgment in the manner provided by law to obtain judgments upon
     tax on municipal claims, or, in the case of a tax or municipal
     claim where no judgment has been entered, file a suggestion of
     nonpayment and an averment of default, or, in case judgment has
     been entered on a tax or municipal claim, either file a
     suggestion of nonpayment and an averment of default or issue its
     praecipe for a writ of scire facias on any such judgment and
     proceed to judgment in the manner provided by law to obtain
     judgments of revival; and such claim or judgment so entered or
     revived shall be a valid claim or judgment and be a lien upon
     the real estate upon which it was a lien at the time the claim
     was filed or the judgment was entered and said claim or judgment
     was entered, and said claim or judgment may be revived or
     further revived and collected as other claims or judgments upon
     tax or municipal claims are revived and collected: Provided,
     That the lien of any such claim or judgment shall not reattach
     against any real estate transferred to any purchaser before such
     claim is filed or during the time when the lien of any such tax
     or municipal claim or judgment was lost, nor shall the lien of
     any such claim or judgment impair or affect the priority of the
     lien of any mortgage or other lien which gained priority because
     of the failure of the county, city, borough, incorporated town,
     township, school district, poor district or county institution
     district to file such claim, or to properly describe the
     property against which the claim was assessed, or to sue out the
     writ of scire facias or file a suggestion of nonpayment and an
     averment of default within the five year period, or was entered
     of record during the time the lien of such tax or municipal
     claim or judgment was lost; nor shall any such lien so revived
     impair or affect the priority of the lien of any mortgage or
     other lien which was entered prior to the tax or municipal claim
     or which gained priority during the time such lien was not
     revived or was not effective.
        Section 2.  This act shall take effect immediately.