Thomas F. Conroy v. Walter Aniskoff, JR., et al. (507 U.S. 511)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 31, 1993 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 507 U.S. 511 · 113 S. Ct. 1562
- Decided
- March 31, 1993
- Term
- October Term 1992
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Stevens
- Issue area
- Civil Rights
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court. The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act of 1940, 54 Stat. 1178, as amended, 50 U. S. C. App. §501 et seq. (1988 ed. and Supp. Ill) (Act), suspends various civil liabilities of persons in military service. At issue in this case is the provision in § 525 that the “period of military service shall not be included in computing any period . . . provided by any law for the redemption of real property sold or forfeited to enforce any obligation, tax, or assessment.” The question presented is whether a member of the Armed Services must show that his military service prejudiced his ability to redeem title to property before he can qualify for the statutory suspension of time. I Petitioner is an officer in the United States Army. He was on active duty continuously from 1966 until the time of trial. In 1973, he purchased a parcel of vacant land in the town of Danforth, Maine. He paid taxes on the property for 10 years, but failed to pay the 1984,1985, and 1986 local real estate taxes. In 1986, following the Maine statutory procedures that authorize it to acquire tax-delinquent real estate, the town sold the property. In 1987, petitioner brought suit in the Maine District Court against the town and the two purchasers. He claimed that § 525 of the Act tolled the redemption period while he was in military service, and federal law…
Excerpt of a 14,033-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.