Real Property Actions & Proceedings

ARTICLE 2

GENERAL PROVISIONS GOVERNING REAL PROPERTY ACTIONS

Section 201. State tax commission, state or industrial commissioner as
defendant in certain real property actions.
202. Pleading interest of the state.
202-a. Pleading interest of a city.
203. Judgment in action adversely affecting the title,
interest or claim of the state based upon tax deed.
211. Prevention of waste or damage during pendency.
221. Compelling delivery of possession of real property.
231. Sale; notice of; when and how conducted.
232. Purchases by certain officers prohibited; penalty.
241. Persons bound by judgment in certain actions.

S 201. State tax commission, state or industrial commissioner as
defendant in certain real property actions. In any action affecting real
property upon which the state tax commission has a lien under the tax
law or under a law enacted pursuant to the authority of the tax law or
article two-E of the general city law, whether or not such lien exists
by reason of the filing or docketing of a warrant under such laws, the
state tax commission may be made a party defendant in the same manner as
a private person. In any action affecting real property upon which the
state has a lien under sections two hundred forty-six-a and two hundred
forty-six-b of the lien law, the state may be made a party defendant in
the same manner as a private person. In any action affecting real
property upon which a lien exists by reason of the docketing of a
warrant pursuant to the unemployment insurance law, the industrial
commissioner may be made a party defendant in the same manner as a
private person.

S 202. Pleading interest of the state. Where the state or any
department, bureau, board, commission, council, officer, agency or
instrumentality of the state is defendant in an action affecting real
property, the complaint shall set forth:
1. Detailed facts showing the particular nature of the interest in or
lien on the real property and the reason for making the state a party
defendant.
2. If the lien exists by virtue of a judgment, other than a warrant
the name of the court, date recorded, clerk`s office in which filed, and
names of the parties against whom and in whose favor recorded. In the
case of a warrant, the date filed or docketed, clerk`s office in which
filed or docketed, and names of the parties against whom and in whose
favor issued.
3. If the lien exists by virtue of a provision of law other than a
judgment, the provision of law under which said lien is created.
4. If the lien is one under articles ten, ten-a, ten-b, ten-c or
twenty-six of the tax law, whether or not such lien exists by reason of
the filing or docketing of a warrant under such law, the name of each
decedent against whose estate there is an unpaid transfer or estate tax,
the date of death, place of residence at the time of death, heirs at law
and next of kin, whether the decedent died testate or intestate, whether
his estate has been administered, and if so where.
5. If the lien is one under articles nine, nine-a, nine-b, nine-c or
twenty-seven of the tax law, whether or not such lien exists by reason
of the filing or docketing of a warrant under such law, the name of the
corporation, association, joint-stock company, unincorporated company,
person, or partnership against whose property there is an unpaid
corporation, license, or franchise tax or penalty.
6. If the lien is one under article twenty-six-a of the tax law,
whether or not such lien exists by reason of the filing or docketing of
a warrant under such law, the names of the donees or transferees against
whose property there is an unpaid gift tax.

S 202-a. Pleading interest of a city. Where a city or any department,
bureau, board, commission, officer, agency or instrumentality thereof is
a defendant in an action affecting real property, the complaint shall
set forth:
1. Detailed facts showing the particular nature of the interest in or
lien on the real property and the reason for making such city a
party-defendant.
2. If the lien exists by virtue of a judgment, the name of the court,
date recorded, clerk`s office in which filed, the names of the parties
against whom and in whose favor such judgment was recovered and a brief
description of the grounds for or the nature of such judgment.
3. If the lien exists by virtue of a provision of law other than a
judgment, the provision of law under which said lien is created.

S 203. Judgment in action adversely affecting the title, interest or
claim of the state based upon tax deed. In any action affecting the
title, or the possession, enjoyment or use of, real property in which
one of the parties is the state, any judgment that may adversely affect
the title, interest or claim of the state based upon a tax deed shall
provide in effect as follows:
1. That the state shall have a lien upon such real property or part
thereof described in such tax deed, prior and superior to all other
liens, (a) for the amount of the unpaid taxes not adjudged illegal in
such action for which such real property was sold or liable to be sold
in the first instance and for which such tax deed was issued, together
with fees, charges and interest; (b) for the amount of the unpaid taxes
not adjudged illegal in such action for which such real property was
subsequently sold or liable to be sold, together with fees, charges and
interest; (c) for the amount of all taxes, fees and charges admitted or
paid by the state upon such real property to the date of the entry of
such judgment, together with interest thereon from the date of such
admission or payment. In the determination of the amount of such lien,
establishment of payments of taxes on said real property by the adjudged
or admitted owner of the property during any of the same years in which
payments were also made by the state shall reduce the lien of the state
by the larger of the two tax payments for each of the years affected by
duplicate payments, and in the event that wholly identical areas are not
affected by the duplicate payments the court shall have power to
apportion and adjust the amount of the lien as equity may require.
2. That the state may foreclose such lien as a mortgage on real
property is foreclosed, provided such lien remains unpaid after the
expiration of one year from the entry of such judgment.
The remedy provided by this section for recovery of tax payments shall
be in addition to any other remedy now or hereafter available in law or
in equity.

S 211. Prevention of waste or damage during pendency. If, during the
pendency of an action to recover a judgment affecting the title to, or
the possession, use or enjoyment of, real property, a party commits
waste upon, or does any other damage to, the property in controversy,
the court may grant, without notice or security, an order restraining
him from the commission of any further waste upon or damage to the
property. Disobedience to such an order may be punished as a contempt of
the court. This section does not affect the right to a permanent or
temporary injunction in such an action.

S 221. Compelling delivery of possession of real property. Where a
judgment affecting the title to, or the possession, enjoyment or use of,
real property allots to any person a distinct parcel of real property,
or contains a direction for the sale of real property, or confirms such
an allotment or sale, it also may direct the delivery of the possession
of the property to the person entitled thereto. If a party, or his
representative or successor, who is bound by the judgment, withholds
possession from the person thus declared to be entitled thereto, the
court, by order, in its discretion, besides punishing the disobedience
as a contempt, may require the sheriff to put that person into
possession. Such an order shall be executed as if it were an execution
for the delivery of the possession of the property.

S 231. Sale; notice of; when and how conducted. 1. A sale of real
property made in pursuance of a judgment affecting the title to, or the
possession, enjoyment or use of, real property, shall be at public
auction to the highest bidder.
2. (a) Notice of such sale shall be given by the officer making it by
publishing a notice of the time and place of the sale, containing a
description of the property to be sold, in a newspaper published in the
county in which the property is located, or, if there is none, in a
newspaper published in an adjoining county, unless the property is
situated wholly or partly in a city, or in an incorporated village in
which a daily, semi-weekly or tri-weekly newspaper is published, and, in
that case, by publishing notice of the sale in such a daily, semi-weekly
or tri-weekly paper, except that where such real property is located in
a county within the city of New York such publication shall be in a
daily newspaper published within such county, or in a weekly paper
published in a city or in such incorporated village. If the property be
situated in a city, or a village in which no newspaper is published
daily, semi-weekly or tri-weekly, and there be an adjoining city or
village in the same or another county, in which a newspaper is
published, daily, semi-weekly or tri-weekly, such notice may be
published in such daily, semi-weekly or tri-weekly newspaper of the
latter city or village or in a weekly newspaper of such city. In each
case, publication may be either once in each week for four successive
weeks or at least twice in each week for three successive weeks
perceding the original date fixed for the sale. If the publication is
for three weeks, such sale shall take place on any day on or after the
twenty-first day and on or before the twenty-eighth day after the day of
the first publication; and if the publication is for four weeks such
sale shall take place on any day on or after the twenty-eighth day and
on or before the thirty-fifth day after the day of the first
publication. Any period of seven successive days shall constitute a
week under this section.
(b) Where the property is situated wholly outside a city or an
incorporated village referred to in subparagraph (a) of this
subdivision, notice of such sale shall also be given by posting a copy
of the notice of sale at least twenty-eight days preceding the original
date fixed for the sale in three public places in the town in which the
property is located, and, if the sale is to be held in another town or
in a city, in three public places therein.
3. If the officer appointed to make such sale does not appear at the
time and place where such sale has been advertised to take place, the
attorney for the plaintiff may postpone or adjourn such sale not to
exceed four weeks, during which time such attorney may make application
to the court to have another person appointed to make such sale. Notice
of postponement of the sale shall be posted at least three days prior to
the postponed date in the same places as the original notice of sale
when posting of the notice of sale is required, and shall be published
once at least three days prior to the postponed date in the newspaper in
which the notice of sale was originally published.
4. The terms of the sale shall be made known at the sale, and if the
property or any part thereof is to be sold subject to the right of
dower, charge or lien, that fact shall be declared at the time of the
sale.
5. If the property consists of two or more distinct buildings, farms
or lots, they shall be sold separately, unless otherwise ordered by the
court; but where two or more buildings are situated in the same city
lot, they shall be sold together.
6. At any time within one year after the sale, but not thereafter, the
court, upon such terms as may be just, may set the sale aside for
failure to comply with the provisions of this section as to the notice,
time or manner of such sale if a substantial right of a party was
prejudiced by the defect.

S 232. Purchases by certain officers prohibited; penalty. No officer
making a sale as prescribed in section 231, or guardian of an infant
party, or any person for his benefit, directly or indirectly, shall
purchase or be interested in the purchase of any of the property sold;
except that a guardian, where he is lawfully authorized to do so, may
purchase for the benefit or in behalf of his ward. The violation of this
section is a misdemeanor; and a purchase made contrary to this section
is void.

S 241. Persons bound by judgment in certain actions. In an action
brought to recover a judgment affecting the title to, or the possession,
use or enjoyment of, real property, all the proceedings and the judgment
shall bind, in addition to the persons who are bound by the filing of a
notice of pendency of the action pursuant to law, all persons born
between the filing of the notice of pendency and the entry of judgment
who would have been bound by such proceedings if born after such
judgment.