In
Stephanie Berry and Eva Berry v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Co., [Ms 2080840, May 14, 2010] __ So. 3d __ (Ala. Civ. App. 2010), the Alabama
Court of Civil Appeals held that an uncertified tax notice valuing property
at $84,800 constituted substantial evidence establishing a genuine issue
of material fact that Deutsche Bank's payment in a foreclosure sale
was so low in relation to the market value that it would shock the conscience,
which would deprive Deutsche Bank of standing to prosecute an ejectment
action. Recognizing that the tax assessing authority's evaluation
is generally not relevant to prove market value, the Court held that Deutsche
Bank's failure to move to strike the 2008 tax notice permitted the
trial court to consider the otherwise inadmissible evidence (the only
exception D that consideration of the evidence would cause a gross miscarriage
of justice D was not applicable here). The Court then held that the tax
notice constituted substantial evidence that "fair-minded persons
in the exercise of impartial judgment could reasonably infer from the
2008 tax notice that the market value of the property was $84,800 when
Deutsche Bank sold the property to itself for $33,915 at the foreclosure
sale." The Court thus reversed the trial court's granting of
Deutsche Bank's motion for summary judgment.
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