CHARLESTON — An elderly couple has filed a class-action lawsuit against Paige-Hunter Properties Inc., Hobert Eugene Aliff Jr., PD Enterprises Inc. and Vera J. McCormick for alleged deprivation of property without due process.
Jerry F. Martin and Elizabeth J. Martin, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a complaint on June 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia Charleston Division, alleging that the defendants deprived them of their rights, liberties and immunities guaranteed by the U.S.Constitution.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that they found out in August 2016 that their home, which they had built in 1973, had been due to delinquent real estate tax payments.
Emergency services allegedly had changed the property's address in 2011, which reportedly had caused the plaintiffs to not receive notice of $561.53 in delinquent taxes.
McCormick, clerk of the County Commission of Kanawha County, allegedly signed a declaration that the home had been sold in November 2012 the other defendants due to the delinquent tax payments. The property was initially sold to PD Enterprises, which allegedly then sold it to Paige-Hunters Properties in 2014.
When the plaintiffs learned of the sale, they attempted to pay the taxes. The payment, however, was rejected.
The plaintiffs allege that they suffered substantial injury for the loss of their home, and they hold the defendants responsible for allegedly stripping the plaintiffs of their ownership of their property without due process by refusing to accept their payment for real estate taxes and wrongly selling and purchasing the home.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek an order declaring that deed filed with the Clerk of the County Commission of Kanawha County is void, award for actual and punitive damages, costs, attorney fees and all other relief to which they may be entitled. They are represented by Bren J. Pomponio of Mountain State Justice Inc. in Charleston.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia Charleston Division case number 2:17-cv-03207
