The State of Alabama shall have a lien for all unpaid partial payments as well as for taxes for any subsequent year, and in case of the failure to pay any one of said installments together with the taxes for any subsequent year, either or both, the Land Commissioner for and in the name of the State of Alabama shall at his option declare all said installments due and payable at once. In case of default in payment of any installment or of any subsequent taxes, the Land Commissioner in the name of the state shall have a right to file a complaint to foreclose the lien of the state, and in such suit all parties at interest shall be made parties defendant. Such suit shall be filed in the county where the land or the major portion thereof is situated. The court shall determine what amount, if any, of such taxes or installments are illegal, and in its final judgment shall determine the total amount due on such installment payments and any unpaid subsequent taxes and shall render judgment therefor which shall include costs and shall order the property sold to satisfy the judgment in the same manner as in the foreclosure of mortgages on real estate. If at such sale no one bids a sufficient sum to pay the full amount of the judgment, the officer conducting the sale shall announce that the real estate is sold to the State of Alabama for the amount of the judgment, interest, and costs, and the sale shall be reported to the court and be confirmed and a deed made to the State of Alabama, and the state shall be entitled to a writ of possession. The purchaser at such sale, including the state, shall be entitled to a deed and the same processes and remedies to obtain possession of the premises as in other suits where land is sold under order of a court, and the title to the land conveyed by such deed shall be indefeasible as to all parties defendant in the action.
Last modified: May 3, 2021