Buffalo Savings Bank v. Victory

This is a motion, in a foreclosure action, to strike out the answer of defendant, United States of America, and for summary judgment of foreclosure and sale.

As plaintiff requests a judgment of sale, subject only to local real estate taxes, the more substantial question presented is whether the determination in United States v. New Britain (347 U. S. 81 [1954]), with its resulting doctrine of circular priority, is applicable.

Under most State laws, including New York, real property taxes rank above pre-existing liens and mortgages. In the New Britain case (supra) the U. S. Supreme Court held…