Time Warner v. Whiteman (2/3/04 IndSCt) [Contracts]
Sullivan, Justice
Two customers of a cable television company who paid the “late fees” imposed on their bills sued to get back a portion of the money they had paid, arguing that the fee imposed exceeded the cable company’s cost of collection. The Court of Appeals held that they were not entitled to recover because they had made the payments voluntarily. We hold that the “voluntary payments doctrine” is not applicable here.Lake County Auditor v. Lonnie Burks (2/4/04 IndSCt) [Taxation; Property & Real Estate; Estates & Trusts]
The Lake County Auditor sold the home where Lonnie Burks lived to satisfy delinquent taxes on the property. The property brought a price greater than the delinquency and Burks sued for the surplus. Burks was not the record owner. Rather, she was intestate heir and a beneficiary of the unprobated will of the deceased record owner. We hold that a person is not required to be the “record owner” of the property to claim the surplus from a tax sale if he or she can establish ownership of the property sold.Posted by Marcia Oddi at February 4, 2004 03:19 PM