Fieg v. Somerset County Tax Claim Bureau

In Fieg v. Somerset County Tax Claim Bureau, 658 A.2d 476 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1995), William Cicciarelli was the proposed purchaser of property at a private tax sale. His bid of $ 9,853.96 was equal to the amount of taxes due on the property. Fieg Brothers Coal Company, as a person interested in purchasing the property, filed a petition to disapprove the sale and submitted a bid of $ 15,000.00. Id. at 476-77. The trial court disapproved the proposed sale to Cicciarelli, holding that "where an interested purchaser has submitted a significantly higher bona fide and irrevocable bid, the sale will not be approved absent circumstances which would lead the court to approve the original sale." Id. at 477. On appeal, Cicciarelli argued that a bid equaling the amount of the tax delinquency is "sufficient" under section 613(a) of the RETSL and, thus, precludes the trial court from disapproving the proposed sale, even where there has been a subsequent higher bid. Id. at 477-78. See 72 P.S. 5860.613(a) ("A person interested in purchasing the property may, if not satisfied that the sale price approved by the bureau is sufficient, . . . petition the court of common pleas of the county to disapprove the sale.") The Court noted that the RETSL allows the trial court "great latitude" in determining whether a proposed sale is just and proper under the circumstances. Id. at 478. The trial court must consider "all the circumstances to determine whether to approve or disapprove the sale as it deems just and proper." Id. at 479.