75.63 Ejectment as to public lands; conditions.
(1)
(a) No action may be commenced, maintained or prosecuted by or on behalf of the original owner or any person claiming title through or under the original owner to recover possession of or in any way involving the title to any lands conveyed to this state by any county, or attempted to be so conveyed, and sold by this state to any person until all of the following have been paid into the treasury of the county where the lands are located:
1. All taxes levied and assessed on the lands from the date of the sale of the lands by the state.
2. All legal charges for assessing and collecting the taxes described in subd. 1, and interest thereon at the rate of 8 percent per year from the January 15 in each year during which the lands were assessed, commencing with the January following the first assessment after the sale.
3. All delinquent taxes levied upon and returned against the lands that were unpaid when the lands were conveyed or attempted to be conveyed to the state, together with interest on those delinquent taxes at the rate and in the manner described in subd. 2.
(b) All money paid into a county treasury under par. (a) shall be retained in the treasury pending the conclusion of the action described in par. (a) (intro.). The money shall be returned to the party paying or depositing the money if the party fails to maintain the action. If the action is maintained, an amount equal to the delinquent taxes and interest described in par. (a) shall be retained by the county. The remainder shall be paid over to the person purchasing the lands from the state or that person's legal representatives.
(2) If the title to any such lands shall be adjudged to be in such original owner or party claiming title through or under the original owner they shall be deemed to be and shall be subject to taxation during the time the same were held by the state in like manner as if they had not been conveyed to or held by it, and the taxes for such period shall be levied and assessed upon such lands and collected in like manner as other taxes upon real estate. In all such actions the court shall enter an order requiring the plaintiff therein, within a reasonable time to be fixed in the order, to comply with this section by payment of the taxes, charges and interest as provided herein, and in default of compliance therewith the court shall dismiss the action. Nothing herein contained shall be construed as amending or repealing s. 75.26, 75.27 or 75.61.
History: 1973 c. 189; 1977 c. 29 s. 1646 (3); 1977 c. 273; 1979 c. 110 s. 60 (13); 1991 a. 316; 1997 a. 253; 2005 a. 253.