Sleboda v. Heirs at Law of Harris

BEVILACQUA, Chief Justice, with whom SHEA, Justice, joins,

dissenting.

The initial issue raised on appeal is whether the right of redemption granted in G.L.1956 (1980 Reenactment) chapter 9 of title 44 can be defeated by adverse possession. We answer this question in the negative.

The right to redeem property sold at a tax sale has been recognized in Rhode Island since the late nineteenth century. In 1896, the Rhode Island Legislature enacted G.L. ch. 48, § 16, which granted to a recalcitrant taxpayer a period of one year from the time of the tax sale to redeem the property.3 Although the…