N.Y. Public Lands Law § 17-a: Abandonment of claims under defective tax sales; recovery of taxes paid thereon by state

§ 17-a. Abandonment of claims under defective tax sales; recovery of

taxes paid thereon by state. Where the claim of title of the state to

any land is based on a tax sale, which title in the opinion of the

attorney-general would be declared void by the courts, the commissioner

of general services, on the filing with him of such opinion and the

evidence upon which such opinion was based, may, by order, abandon any

claim of title to such land, but, notwithstanding such abandonment, the

people of the state shall have a lien upon the real property affected by

the abandonment, prior and superior to all other liens, for the amount

of all taxes, fees and charges admitted or paid by the people upon such

real property to the date of the abandonment of the state's claim of

title, together with interest thereon from the dates of payment.

Provided such lien remains unpaid after the expiration of one year from

the date of the abandonment, the people of the state may foreclose such

lien as a mortgage on real property is foreclosed; but in any such

action establishment of payments of taxes on said land or any part

thereof by the adjudged or admitted owner of the property during any of

the same years in which payments were also made by the people of the

state shall reduce the lien of the people by the larger of the two tax

payments for each of the years affected by duplicate payments, and in

the event that wholly identical areas are not affected by the duplicate

payments the court shall have power to apportion and adjust the amount

of the lien as equity may require. This remedy for recovery of tax

payments shall be in addition to any other remedy now or hereafter

available in law or in equity, and shall be without prejudice to any

defense or offset available to an adverse claimant in law or in equity.