The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court held “that where the parties to a property sale are mutually mistaken as to the actual existence of the property purported to be sold, as here, then the contract is invalid and, therefore, void ab initio.” On September 10, 1973, Decedent and her husband purchased land purportedly located in Middle Paxton Township, Dauphin County (Purported Property), for $450 at a judicial tax sale. Between 1974 and 2014, Middle Paxton Township assessed, and Decedent and her husband paid real estate taxes on the Purported Property. Upon Decedent’s death, the Purported Property passed to Appellant, who questioned the Purported Property’s $11,000 tax assessment valuation. The Office of Tax Assessment investigated the matter and discovered the Purported Property did not exist. Accordingly, the Office of Tax Assessment sent Appellant a letter explaining that the Purported Parcel did not exist and would be removed from the mapping and tax roll. Appellant filed a “Petition for Recovery of Assets and Imposition of Constructive Trusts” (Petition). The trial court granted the Petition in part and denied the Petition in part. The Commonwealth Court affirmed, ruling that the collection of the property’s purchase price and taxes was a mutual mistake. The return of these amounts placed the parties back in their former position regarding the Purported Property.
