Woodhouse Hunting Club, Inc. v. Hoyt Royalty, LLC ( 2018 )


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  • J-A26044-17
    NON-PRECEDENTIAL DECISION - SEE SUPERIOR COURT I.O.P. 65.37
    WOODHOUSE HUNTING CLUB, INC., A       IN THE SUPERIOR COURT
    PENNSYLVANIA NON-PROFIT                         OF
    CORPORATION, PLAINTIFF                     PENNSYLVANIA
    v.
    WILLIAM HOYT, MARK HOYT, EDWARD
    HOYT, THEODORE R. HOYT, AND
    GEORGE S. HOYT, T/D/B/A THE FIRM OF
    HOYT BROTHERS AND THEIR UNKNOWN
    HEIRS, SUCCESSORS, AND ASSIGNS,
    DEFENDANTS
    HOYT ROYALTY, LLC, TRUSTEES OF THE
    MARGARET E. HAIGHT TRUST; KAROL
    TAMOWSKI; THOMAS PEDDER
    BISPHAN; SYDNEY WYNNE
    WOODWARD; GERTRUDE WEBER; JOHN
    WEDEL; MATT WEDEL; JAY WEDEL;
    CAROLINE HOKE WEBER; HELEN HOYT
    WEBER; VIRGINIA FOOTE HAGGERTY;
    NATHAN CLARK SWEET; JOHN WEBER
    SWEET; AND ALL OTHER UNKNOWN
    HEIRS, SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS OF
    WILLIAM HOYT, MARK HOYT, EDWARD         No. 327 MDA 2017
    C. HOYT, THEODORE R. HOYT, AND
    GEORGE S. HOYT, INDIVIDUALLY,
    JOINTLY, AND/OR TRADING AS HOYT
    BROTHERS, COUNTERCLAIM PLAINTIFFS
    v.
    WOODHOUSE HUNTING CLUB A/K/A
    WOODHOUSE HUNTING CLUB, INC. AND
    CAMP WOODHOUSE HUNTING CLUB;
    SWN PRODUCTION COMPANY, LLC; AND
    CABOT OIL & GAS CORPORATION, F/K/A
    J-A26044-17
    CABOT OIL & GAS CORPORATION OF
    DELAWARE AND CABOT OIL & GAS
    CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA, AND
    WOODHOUSE HOLDING COMPANY,
    COUNTERCLAIM DEFENDANTS
    APPEAL OF: HOYT ROYALTY, LLC
    Appeal from the Order Entered February 7, 2017
    In the Court of Common Pleas of Tioga County
    Civil Division at No(s): 0302-CV-2008
    BEFORE: BOWES, J., OLSON, J., and RANSOM, J.
    MEMORANDUM BY RANSOM, J.:                         FILED FEBRUARY 02, 2018
    Appellant, Hoyt Royalty, LLC, appeals from the trial court’s order of
    February 1, 2017, granting summary judgment in favor of Appellee,
    Woodhouse Hunting Club (“Woodhouse”). After careful review, we affirm.
    We adopt the following statement of facts from three trial court opinions
    issued in this matter, which are in turn supported by the record. See Trial
    Court Opinion (TCO), 1/8/14, at 7-19; TCO, 2/7/17, at 1-5; TCO, 6/12/17, at
    1-2. This is an action to quiet title, involving the subsurface oil and gas rights
    to a tract of land consisting of nine hundred thirty-seven acres located in
    Morris Township, Tioga County, Pennsylvania, for which Warrant No. 1179 was
    issued in April 1792 (“the Property”).
    In 1891, William Hoyt, Mark Hoyt, Edward C. Hoyt, Theodore R. Hoyt,
    and George S. Hoyt (“the Hoyts”) acquired title to the Property. In 1893, the
    Hoyts conveyed the Property to Union Tanning Company. The deed reserved
    ownership of the gas, oil, and mineral rights, and created a subsurface estate
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    in favor of the Hoyts, their heirs, and assigns. The Hoyts did not notify the
    Tioga County commissioner of the severance or their ownership in the
    subsurface estate.
    Between 1893 and 1902, the Property was assessed as unseated land.1
    On August 30, 1902, the Property was sold at tax sale due to the nonpayment
    of taxes on both the surface and subsurface estates. The sale was recorded
    in the Treasurer’s Sale Book of Unseated Lands by the Treasurer of Tioga
    County to Morris Manufacturing Company. On November 17, 1902, after the
    tax sale but prior to the recording of the tax sale deed, Union Tanning
    Company executed a second deed to the surface rights of the Property in favor
    of Morris Manufacturing Company,2 and purportedly reserved mineral and oil
    rights in favor of the Hoyts and their heirs and assigns. The tax sale deed was
    not recorded until January 1903.
    ____________________________________________
    1 In short, “seated land” is land that has been 1) developed with residential
    structures, 2) had personal property upon it that could be levied upon for
    taxes, and 3) was producing regular profit through cultivation, lumbering, or
    mining; “unseated land” is “wild” and underdeveloped,” or any other land that
    does not fit the definition of “seated” land. See Herder Spring Hunting
    Club v. Keller, 
    143 A.3d 358
    , 363-64, 380 n.2 (Pa. 2016). Taxes are imposed
    on the land itself, in the name of the person to whom the original warrant was
    issued. 
    Id. at 364
    .
    2 Although Morris Manufacturing Company was listed in the tax records as
    being the owner of the Property between 1901 and 1902, the deed itself was
    not executed until 1902, and not recorded until 1903.
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    In 1932, the Property was again sold at tax sale. C.C. Slaght Lumber
    Company (“C.C. Slaght”), the record owner at the time, was allowed to
    redeem the Property in 1935, despite the expiration of the two-year
    redemption period. In May 1952, Woodhouse received title from C.C. Slaght.
    In 1953, Morris Township separately identified a mineral estate associated
    with Warrant 1179. In 1967, the Property was again sold at tax sale, but the
    rights eventually reverted to Woodhouse.         Following several assignments
    through which Woodhouse reserved the subsurface rights, Woodhouse is the
    current record owner of the Property.3
    In 2011, Woodhouse commenced an action to quiet title against
    Appellant, Hoyt Royalty, a Colorado-based LLC formed to acquire, own,
    possess and manage all rights, title, and interests in the subsurface mineral
    rights originally owned by the Hoyt brothers. Appellant claimed to possess an
    83.9% interest in the subsurface rights to the Property.             Litigation
    commenced, and Appellant joined additional defendants and filed a
    counterclaim.
    In June 2013, Appellant filed a motion for summary judgment against
    Woodhouse, arguing that the 1893 deed to Union Tanning Company severed
    the natural gas, oil, and mineral rights from the 629.178-acre parcel of
    disputed land.     In response, Woodhouse argued that the tax sale of 1902
    ____________________________________________
    3 The trial court has meticulously and thoroughly documented the various
    sales, assignments, and locations the deeds are recorded, as well as the
    language of the deeds, dating back to 1792. We will not reproduce it in its
    entirety here.
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    extinguished the chain of title upon which Appellant relied, essentially
    effectuating a “title wash.” In its response, Woodhouse proceeded solely on
    the “title wash” theory and abandoned several other claims to quiet title raised
    in the Complaint. The trial court granted the motion with respect to the claims
    abandoned by Woodhouse, but denied the remaining issues raised by
    Appellant.
    In November 2014, Woodhouse filed a motion for summary judgment,
    and Appellant filed a countermotion.     All parties agreed to stay the action
    pending the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision in Herder Spring
    Hunting Club v. Keller, 
    143 A.3d 358
     (Pa. 2016), which implicated similar
    concerns.     Following the Herder Spring decision, the parties filed
    supplemental briefs, and the court issued its decision. The trial court quieted
    title in favor of Woodhouse as to the entire Property and enjoined Appellant
    and its successors from asserting a contrary record title.
    Appellant timely appealed and filed a court-ordered Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b)
    statement of errors complained of on appeal.          The trial court issued a
    responsive opinion.
    On appeal, Appellant raises the following issues for our review:
    1. Whether summarily quieting title for those whose title to the oil
    and gas rests solely from earlier tax sales, rather than Appellant
    and its related parties, whose title flows directly from a duly
    recorded 1893 deed severance, is erroneous when, as the party
    with the burden of proof, the tax title claimants did not proffer the
    delivered treasurer’s deeds or other admissible evidence sufficient
    under the Statute of Frauds and prior case law to prove a legally
    superior title?
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    2. Whether the trial court erred in ruling the 1932 unseated land
    tax sale divested Appellant’s 1893 recorded subsurface title when
    the summary judgment record contained undisputed evidence
    that a duly documented redemption occurred, rendering the sale
    a nullity?
    3. Whether the trial court erred in ruling the 1902 and 1932
    unseated land tax sales divested Appellant’s 1893 recorded
    subsurface title when a strict construction of the tax statutes
    reveals the term “lands” means only the surface estate and when
    the summary judgment record reveals Morris Township identified
    no severed subsurface estate until 1953, thereby confirming only
    the severed surface estate was assessed and intended to be sold
    at the 1902 and 1932 tax sales or, alternatively, creating a
    genuine material, factual issue precluding summary judgment?
    4. Whether summarily quieting title for those whose title to the oil
    and gas rests solely from earlier tax sales, rather than Appellant
    and its related party, whose title flows from a duly recorded 1893
    deed severance, is erroneous when the summary judgment record
    includes: (a) disputed evidence of “potential infirmities” and
    “other sale related defects” concerning the 1902 and 1932 tax
    sales, (b) a duly recorded admissible 1902 deed within the tax
    claimant’s chain of title which, being executed and recorded after
    the 1902 tax sale, does not mention it or any purportedly
    delivered treasurer’s deed but instead expressly acknowledges the
    recorded 1893 deed severance, and (c) an inadmissible 1909 deed
    which does not involve the property?
    5. Whether Pennsylvania’s unseated land tax [statutes] under
    which the 1902 and 1932 tax sales were made and quiet title has
    been summarily entered violate federal and state due process as
    applied to Appellant and its related parties, as the known owners
    of recorded, nonproducing oil, gas, and other subsurface interests,
    who received no personal notice of such sales, including the 1902
    tax sale which took place on a Saturday, August 30, 1902, in
    contravention of the statutes’ requirement that all sales occur on
    the second Monday in June?
    6. Whether the trial court erred in ruling Appellant is time-barred
    from defending its record title to the oil, gas, and other subsurface
    interests in a quiet title action the tax title claimants did not
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    commence until 2008 based on 1902 and 1932 tax sales for which
    no treasurer’s deeds exists?
    Appellant’s Brief at 5-7 (suggested answers omitted).
    An action to quiet title is designed to resolve a dispute over the title to
    real estate of which the plaintiff is in possession. See Moore v. Duran, 
    687 A.2d 822
    , 827 (Pa. Super. 1996). The plaintiff bringing a quiet title action has
    the burden of proof and must recover on the strength of its own title. See
    Herder Spring, 143 A.3d at 372.         With regard to motions for summary
    judgment,
    the standards which govern summary judgment are well settled.
    When a party seeks summary judgment, a court shall enter
    judgment whenever there is no genuine issue of any material fact
    as to a necessary element of the cause of action or defense that
    could be established by additional discovery. A motion for
    summary judgment is based on an evidentiary record that entitles
    the moving party to a judgment as a matter of law. In considering
    the merits of a motion for summary judgment, a court views the
    record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, and all
    doubts as to the existence of a genuine issue of material fact must
    be resolved against the moving party. Finally, the court may grant
    summary judgment only when the right to such a judgment is
    clear and free from doubt. An appellate court may reverse the
    granting of a motion for summary judgment if there has been an
    error of law or an abuse of discretion . . . .
    Swords v. Harleysville Ins. Companies, 
    883 A.2d 562
    , 566–67 (Pa. 2005)
    (citations omitted). To the extent this Court must resolve a question of law,
    we shall review the grant of summary judgment in the context of the entire
    record. Truax v. Roulhac, 
    126 A.3d 991
    , 996 (Pa. Super. 2015).
    As noted above, recently, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided
    Herder Spring, and as this decision disposes of Appellant’s issues, we will
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    discuss the Court’s holdings briefly. Herder Spring involved unseated land
    sold at tax sale where the assessment did not specify whether it involved
    surface or subsurface rights. Herder Spring, 143 A.3d at 360. The Court
    held unequivocally that where neither the owner nor the purchaser reported
    the transfer of the subsurface rights, the county would assess and tax the
    warrant in its entirety.   Id.   At a tax sale, the entirety of the property is
    conveyed, despite prior severance, if both estates have not been paid. Id. at
    360-365.    “Courts interpreting Pennsylvania law have a long history of
    accepting the concept of a tax sale reuniting severed estates of unseated
    property and perfecting previously defective titles.” Id. at 368.
    Where the owner did not challenge the assessment and the tax sale
    within the initial two-year redemption period, a challenge to the propriety of
    the tax sale may not be heard, and if the land is not redeemed within that
    period, then both surface and subsurface rights are extinguished. Id. at 374-
    75 (citing Act of 1815, § 4, as set forth at 72 P.S. § 6091). The Court held
    that there was no estoppel by deed where the language of the deed stated it
    was subject to “all exceptions and reservations as are contained within the
    chain of title,” and where title was extinguished by a prior tax sale. Herder
    Spring, 143 A.3d at 378. Finally, the Court held that notice by publication
    for tax sales of unseated lands was “reasonable given the difficulties of
    ascertaining ownership information relating to unseated owners,” the
    protection afforded by the two-year redemption period, and that such notice
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    did not deprive a property owner of due process. Id. With those principals
    in mind, we now turn to Appellants’ issues on appeal.
    First, Appellant claims that the trial court erred in quieting title in favor
    of Woodhouse, because the Woodhouse parties did not meet their burden of
    proving a superior tax title to the Property’s subsurface rights.             See
    Appellant’s Brief at 32.     Appellant argues that because no delivered or
    recorded copies of the treasurer’s deeds for the 1902 and 1932 tax sales were
    submitted as part of the record, the trial court’s holding violates the Statute
    of Frauds and disregards Pennsylvania case law. Id. at 32-33.
    It is well-settled that the plaintiff bringing a quiet title action has the
    burden of proof and must recover on the strength of its own title. See Herder
    Spring, 143 A.3d at 372. In tax sales, a tax title claimant does not acquire
    superior title until he first obtains a treasurer’s deed. See Gault’s Appeal,
    
    33 Pa. 94
    , 99 (Pa. 1859); see also City of Scranton v. O’Malley
    Manufacturing Co., 
    19 A.2d 269
    , 271 (Pa. 1941). When unseated land is
    sold, the treasurer must acknowledge the deed in open court. See Osmer v.
    Sheasley, 
    68 A. 965
    , 389-90 (Pa. 1908); see also Goodman v. Sanger, 
    91 Pa. 71
     (Pa. 1879).
    At the time of the 1902 tax sale, our Supreme Court noted that there
    was no legislation requiring the purchaser to record the deed or make an
    official record of his purchase, other than the acknowledgment of the deed by
    the treasurer in open court. Osmer, 68 A. at 390. Further, at the time, tax
    deeds were properly admitted into evidence where the prothonotary’s minutes
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    showed that the county treasurer had acknowledged the deeds in open court
    and the record of the treasurer’s deed showed that the plaintiff’s deed was
    amongst them. See Central Pennsylvania Lumber Co. v. Bristol, 
    95 A. 383
    , 383-84 (Pa. 1915).
    Further, in its examination of the relevant law, the trial court cited Bell
    v. Provance, 
    430 A.2d 391
    , 392-93 (Pa. Commw. 1981),4 where the
    Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania held that, “[t]he existence of a
    Treasurer’s Deed establishes prima facie lawful title in the grantee by a
    rebuttable presumption of the regularity of the acts of public officials . . .”
    Even where the deed cannot be produced, where the record contains “reliable
    indicia” that a sale occurred comporting with the terms of the Act, this was
    sufficient evidence. 
    Id. at 393
    .
    The Statute of Frauds provides that “a purported transfer of an
    ownership interest in real property is not enforceable unless evidenced in
    writing and signed by the party granting the interest.” Zuk v. Zuk, 
    55 A.3d 102
    , 107 (Pa. Super. 2012) (internal citations and quotations omitted).
    However, “the Statute of Frauds relating to interests in land is a declaration
    of public policy and can be waived if it is not raised in the pleadings of a case.”
    Birdsboro Mun. Auth. v. Reading Co. & Wilmington & N. R.R., 758 A.2d
    ____________________________________________
    4Although a decision of the Commonwealth Court is not binding upon this
    Court, it can be considered as persuasive authority.” Nw. Sav. Bank v.
    Knapp, 
    149 A.3d 95
    , 98 n.3 (Pa. Super. 2016) (citation omitted).
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    222, 226 (Pa. Super. 2000). Appellant, due to its failure to raise the issue of
    the Statute of Frauds in its pleadings, has waived the issue. Id. at 226 (noting
    that the defense should be raised, at least, in any pretrial pleading); see also
    Pa.R.C.P. 1017 (pleadings allowed).5
    Regardless,     this   issue   is   meritless.   We   find   persuasive   the
    Commonwealth Court’s decision in Bell, essentially stating that so long as the
    record contains reliable indicia that the sale occurred comporting with the
    terms of the Act, that evidence is sufficient to find a deed issues. See Bell,
    430 A.2d at 392-93. Although Appellant argues that no further evidence of
    the deed was introduced, citing in support Grakelow v. Nash, 
    98 Pa. Super. 316
     (1930),6 the trial court noted that the following evidence regarding the
    1902-03 deed was introduced:
    In the present case, Woodhouse Club has produced the minutes
    of the Tioga County Court recorded in the Prothonotary’s Office
    that show the acknowledgement in open court of the treasurer’s
    deed conveying the property to Morris Manufacturing Company.
    Woodhouse Club has further provided the records from the
    Treasurer’s Register Book under August 30, 1902, reflecting the
    tax sale of the property in Warrant 1179 to Morris Manufacturing
    Company. Furthermore, in Morris Manufacturing Company’s deed
    ____________________________________________
    5 While Appellant’s new matter avers that no admissible evidence exists
    regarding the 1902 treasurer’s deed, Appellant does not mention the statute
    of frauds, nor does it aver the statute as a defense. See Answer and New
    Matter, at ¶¶ 105-106. Instead, Appellant asserts that the claims are barred
    “by the parole evidence rule.” See Answer and New Matter, at ¶ 165.
    6 In Grakelow, our Court noted that it was the title claimant’s evidentiary
    burden to put in evidence the deed and the record of the court showing that
    his acknowledgment of the deed was taken in open court. Grakelow, 98 Pa.
    Super. at 324; but see Bell, 430 A.2d at 392-93.
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    to Spicer and Vandegrift in 1909, Morris Manufacturing references
    the tax sale of 1902 as the source of its title corroborating the
    records of the Toga Treasurer.
    See TCO, 1/8/14, at 34-35. Thus, Appellee established prima facie evidence
    of the entry of the 1902 deed, and the court did not err in so finding, and in
    entering summary judgment in Appellee’s favor. See Osmer, 68 A. at 390;
    see Central Pennsylvania Lumber Co., 95 A.3d at 383-84; see also
    Swords, 883 A.2d at 566–67.
    Second, Appellant claims that quiet title based on the 1932 tax sale is
    erroneous because a redemption occurred, rendering the sale a nullity. See
    Appellant’s Brief at 42. Appellant argues that the redemption gave no new
    title to C.C. Slaght: rather, it wiped out the tax sale in its entirety. Id. at 46.
    Further, Appellant argues that the time period for redemption was five years
    rather than two years, as the land was sold to county commissioners. Id. at
    44. Essentially, Appellant contends that because C.C. Slaght held a title less
    than fee simple, redemption only served to “revive” the title as it was, i.e.,
    with Appellant’s reservation. Id. at 43.
    Initially, we note that Appellant’s challenge to the 1932 tax sale is of
    limited persuasiveness because as discussed supra, there was evidence of the
    delivery of the 1902 deed. Further, the trial court properly determined that
    the 1902 tax sale effectuated a title wash of the land and divested Appellant
    of its interests. See TCO, 1/8/14, at 24-35. Logically, even if a redemption
    occurred, it could not restore an interest that did not exist. Nevertheless,
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    insofar as Appellant challenges the quality of Woodhouse’s title, we will
    address it herein.
    At the time of the 1932 sale, the effect of a redemption was to set aside
    that tax sale and restore title as though the sale had not been made. Yocum
    v. Zahner, 
    29 A. 778
    , 779 (Pa. 1894).              When the statutory time limit is
    exceeded and the landowner does not redeem the land, the title of the county
    following a tax sale is absolute and unqualified. See Lee v. Jeddo Coal Co.,
    
    84 Pa. 74
    , 79 (1877). Contrary to Appellant’s argument, at the time of the
    tax sale, the redemption period had been amended to two years.                 See
    Babcock Lumber Co. v. Faust, 
    39 A.2d 298
    , 302 (Pa. Super. 1944) (noting
    that the Act of May 9, 1889 acted to amend the redemption period for
    unseated lands to two years); see also Act of July 8, 1885, P.L. 268, 72 P.S.
    § 6111 et seq., as amended by the Act of May 9, 1889, P.L. 141, § 1, 72 P.S.
    § 6113.
    Based on this precedent, C.C. Slaght had until June 13, 1934 to redeem
    the property. They did not. Accordingly, absolute title vested in the county
    and divested any subsurface interests that may have remained following the
    1902 tax sale, and summary judgment was properly entered.7 See Babcock
    Lumber Co., 
    39 A.2d at 302
    ; Swords, 883 A.2d at 566–6.
    ____________________________________________
    7Although the record indicates that the property was permissively redeemed
    outside of the time period for redemption, the fact remains that absolute title
    vested in the county following the expiration of the time period for redemption.
    See, e.g., Goodman v. Sanger, 
    85 Pa. 37
    , 41 (Pa. 1877).
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    Third, Appellant argues that summary judgment was improper, as a
    strict construction of the unseated land tax statutes does not authorize a title
    wash of a recorded non-producing, severed subsurface estate.               See
    Appellant’s Brief at 46-47. Additionally, Appellant argues that the subsurface
    estate is not “lands” per the meaning of the statute because there was no
    evidence that a mineral estate was assessed until 1953. Id. at 46. Appellant
    argues that even though this issue was decided by Herder Spring, the
    Herder Spring Court erred by not utilizing a strict construction approach and
    instead relying upon prior case law. Id. at 46-47.
    The reservation in the 1893 deed included all minerals and mineral
    rights, oil and gas “in, on or under any of said premises, with the right to
    mine, bore for, and remove the same.” See Deed, April 22, 1893, at 1. As
    we noted before, Herder Spring controls. Herder Spring, 143 A.3d at 360.
    In that case, where the assessment of the land does not specify whether it
    involved surface or subsurface rights, the tax sale conveys the property in its
    entirety. Id. The instant case also involves the sale of unseated land where
    the assessment did not specify whether it involved surface or subsurface
    rights.     As in Herder Spring, the tax sale conveyed the property in its
    entirety.
    Nevertheless, Appellant employs a tortured argument to contend that
    the subsurface estate was a non-land, fugacious interest in oil and gas, not
    an interest in the “lands.”   See Appellant’s Brief at 49-50. We reject this
    contention.      The tax sale of unseated lands also validly extinguishes
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    subsurface oil and gas rights, as the owner has the duty to notify the taxing
    authority of their separate interest in oil and gas, regardless of the
    development of that interest. See Cornwall Mt. Invs., L.P. v. Thomas E.
    Proctor Heirs Trust, 
    158 A.3d 148
    , 156-57 (Pa. Super. 2017).
    Accordingly, summary judgment was proper, as the tax sale conveyed
    the oil and gas rights in their entirety. See Swords, 883 A.2d at 566–67;
    Herder Spring, 143 A.3d at 360; Cornwall Mt. Invs., L.P., 158 A.3d at
    156-57.
    In its fourth and fifth issues, Appellant contends that summary
    judgment for a tax sale claimant is erroneous where there exists disputed
    evidence of notice infirmities and other sale-related defects and avers its due
    process rights were violated.   See Appellant’s Brief at 53, 58.     Appellant
    acknowledges that Herder Spring reiterated that collateral attacks on a tax
    sale may not be raised after the redemption period has passed. Id. at 53054,
    58.   However, Appellant argues that in the instant case, there were no
    delivered treasurer’s deeds for the tax sales, and thus, the Hoyts and their
    heirs were not provided with actual notice. See Appellant’s Brief at 53-54,
    58.
    Herder Spring noted that procedural defects could not be raised and
    the sale could not be collaterally attacked. Herder Spring, 143 A.3d at 374.
    Further, the Herder Spring Court found that the notice requirements under
    the Act of 1815 did not violate due process.      Id. at 378.   Regardless of
    Appellant’s arguments regarding the validity of the deeds and notice of the
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    tax sale, the trial court properly entered summary judgment based on this
    precedent. Id. at 374, 378; see also Swords, 883 A.2d at 566–67.
    Sixth, Appellant claims that the court erred in finding Appellant was
    time-barred from defending its 1893 title based on jurisdictional defects to
    Appellee’s claims. See Appellant’s Brief at 66. However, as we have noted,
    this issue is again controlled by Herder Spring, which stated clearly that
    petitioners may not raise tax sale defects as a defense to a quiet title action
    outside of the redemption period.    See Herder Spring, 143 A.3d at 374;
    Cornwall Mt. Invs., L.P., 158 A.3d at 160. Accordingly, the court did not
    err in granting summary judgment. Swords, 883 A.2d at 566–67.
    Judgment affirmed. Jurisdiction relinquished.
    Judgment Entered.
    Joseph D. Seletyn, Esq.
    Prothonotary
    Date:2/2/18
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