MOUNT VERNON - William Laird of Brighton tried to secure a court order protecting himself from tax delinquency and forfeiture of property but Fifth District appellate justices found he failed to show an actual controversy.
They affirmed former Second Circuit associate judge Kimbara Harrell who dismissed Laird’s complaint for declaratory judgment in 2023.
Laird claimed Wayne County should send him and his aunt Beverly Mason separate bills for two pieces of property they jointly own instead of sending the bill to Mason.
Justice Thomas Welch wrote, “The plaintiff did not allege that his property was sold at a delinquent tax sale because he did not receive notice of the tax bills.
“In other words he has not alleged any actual loss of property interest.”
Welch found Laird could have resolved the issue with Mason or partitioned the property so the county could assess, tax and bill his interest individually.
Laird’s counsel John Robison of Fairfield filed the complaint in 2022 against Wayne County assessment supervisor Jodi Poole and treasurer Yvette Anderson.
He claimed their practice allowed the taking of property at a tax sale without notice.
He claimed it constituted deprivation of property in violation of state and national constitutions.
He claimed if Mason failed to pay the bill the entire property could be sold to satisfy the tax.
He attached a letter from Poole stating he owned half the interest in 58 acres, not 29 acres.
Poole stated Laird had a right to the entire property, not half of it.
She stated he and Mason could transfer portions and the county would split parcels.
State’s Attorney Kevin Kakac moved to dismiss the complaint, claiming Laird sought an advisory opinion with respect to presumed future difficulties.
Harrell dismissed it without prejudice and Robison amended Laird’s complaint.
According to Justice Welch the amendment essentially made the same due process argument.
Harrell held a hearing in 2023 and dismissed it.
Laird moved for reconsideration and Harrell denied it.
Laird appealed but didn’t provide transcripts of Harrell’s hearings.
“Any doubts that arise from the incompleteness of the record will be resolved against the appellant," Welch wrote.
“An actual controversy is a concrete dispute admitting of an immediate and definitive determination of the parties’ rights, the resolution of which will aid in the termination of the controversy or some part of the controversy.
“A declaratory judgment action is not intended to enable parties to secure advisory opinions or legal advice from the trial court with respect to anticipated future difficulties.”
Online sources tie Laird’s family to western and eastern sides of Southern Illinois.
His father William Laird worked more than 30 years at Olin according to an obituary from 2016.
The obituary placed Mason in Newton.
The state’s attorney regulation commission shows the Supreme Court admitted Robison in 1969, before the commission existed.