Illinois Appellate Court reverses trial court's tax deed decision, holding that occupants of an apartment building were not given proper notice

Client(s) C.R. and W.M.

Jones Day, along with the Lawyers' Committee for Better Housing, represented occupants of an apartment who had been evicted in a tax deed case. On March 31, 2017, the Illinois Appellate Court ruled in the occupants' favor. Finding that the occupants were not given proper notice of the tax deed, the Appellate Court reversed the trial court's denial of the occupants' petition to intervene and 2-1401 petition, and vacated the tax deed applicant's order of possession. This decision explicitly established that occupants' interest in the premises where they live is sufficient to entitle them to notice in tax deed proceedings in Illinois. The matter has been remanded to the trial court for further proceedings.