Virginia Court of Appeals Finds Commonwealth Waived Sovereign Immunity, Allows County Treasurer Enforce Tax Lien

The Virginia Court of Appeals June 25 found that the Commonwealth of Virginia waived its sovereign immunity under Virginia tax code Section 58.1-3952, allowing a county treasurer to enforce a tax lien and collect delinquent taxes from Taxpayer’s unclaimed property held by the Virginia Department of the Treasury. The court found that the statute’s explicit inclusion of the Commonwealth and its agencies as a person subject to the lien process waived sovereign immunity, thus permitting the county to summon the Treasury Department to court to enforce relinquishment of Taxpayer’s property to satisfy unpaid county taxes. Accordingly, the court reversed and ...