Widow who lost her $280,000 property over $6 unpaid tax bill wins a hearing to try and get her home back

Eileen Battisti's home was sold under her feet after it was seized by Pennsylvania tax authorities over the minuscule bill

She and her late husband bought the house in 1999 and she paid off the mortgage in 2004 with money from his life insurance

Widow: Eileen Battisti talks about a ruling which has given her a new chance to win back her home as she sits on the stairs in front of the house yesterday



A widow whose $280,000 home was seized and sold off over $6.30 in unpaid tax has won a court decision allowing her a fresh opportunity to argue she should not lose her home.

Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court ruled it was a mistake for a Beaver County judge to rule against Eileen Battisti of Aliquippa, near Pittsburgh, without first holding an evidentiary hearing.

'This was particularly inappropriate because the outstanding liability was small and the value of the home was far greater than the amount paid by (the) purchaser,' wrote Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt.

She said the state Supreme Court has 'emphasised that due process under both the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions must be satisfied whenever the government subjects a citizen's property to forfeiture for nonpayment of taxes.'

Mrs Battisti's lawyer says she still lives in her Aliquippa home, even though it was sold nearly two years ago to S.P. Lewis of Imperial for about $116,000.

Messages seeking comment weren't returned yesterday by Mr Lewis and his lawyer, or by the Beaver County solicitor's office.

Mrs Battisti bought the home outside Pittsburgh in 1999 with her husband, who managed their finances. After he died in 2004 she paid off the mortgange on the property with proceeds from his life insurance policy.

The opinion by Judge Leavitt said Mrs Battisti had difficulty taking over the financial matters, in part because of a series of personal setbacks.

She fell behind on various tax bills, but believed she had paid them all off, even though some were late.

The $6.30 penalty was added to her tax bill in 2009, which grew with interests and costs to $235 by late 2011, when the home was sold at auction. She appealed the sale to county court, which ruled in May 2012 that she received all notices required by law.

Stress: The home valued at $280,000 was sold under her feet at auction after it was seized by tax authorities $6.30 in unpaid interest. She still lives in the property while she exhausts all the various avenues of appeal

Sentimental value: Mrs Battisti bought the home outside Pittsburgh in 1999 with her husband. After he died in 2004 she paid off the mortgage on the property with proceeds from his life insurance policy

Castle: Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court ruled it was a mistake for a Beaver County judge to rule against Mrs Battisti without first holding an evidentiary hearing

A month later she was given a temporary reprieve when Judge C. Gus Kwindis ordered that the Beaver County Tax Claim Bureau could not issue a deed to Mr Lewis while Mrs Battisti appealed.

An attorney for Mr Lewis offered to settle the dispute last year for $160,000 from Mrs Battisti.

David Holland wrote in a court brief that Mrs Battisti did have notice of the tax sale, and that she made arguments in the appeal that legal procedures should not permit.

Mrs Battisti's lawyer, Ed Santillan, said his client was elated by the court's decision yesterday.