They Liened on Him but He Pushed Back

William D. Houghton was not seriously affected by the bureaucratic mistake that threatened his credit rating, but he said he still wanted to protect the family name that never before was tarnished in its 120 years in California.

The mistake was simple: County tax collectors erroneously filed a lien against his condominium, claiming taxes due that Houghton had in fact paid. But the solution was not so simple: Houghton learned that under state law a lien cannot be removed from county records, even if the lien is an error.

‘It Makes You Angry’

“Nothing like this had ever happened to anyone in my family, through eight generations. It makes you angry,” said the Corona del Mar resident.

Houghton’s bureaucratic ordeal began in 1982 when he and his wife inherited a bay-front condominium. Because of the change in ownership the property was routinely reappraised at 1,100% of its former value.

Houghton, facing a hike in his property tax bill from $500 to $5,300, paid his taxes but appealed the reassessment. In late 1983 he reached a compromise with the county: the reappraisal would increase about 550%.

Despite the settlement, Houghton later discovered that a $2,332 tax lien had been erroneously filed against him by the county. He was furious, knowing that lien would affect his credit rating.

The matter was straightened out with the county tax collector’s office and other county agencies. The tax collector’s office even sent a letter to credit-rating agencies telling them the problem no longer existed. But the letter gave no explanation for the error.

More important to Houghton, the lien was not removed from his record. He learned, to his dismay, that an obscure state law requires even erroneous liens to be maintained in county records.

Houghton began gathering documents to show that the lien was an error. He made at least 25 trips to the county seat in Santa Ana.

But no one could help him because state law is state law.

Houghton said his credit rating immediately suffered. He said he rarely buys on credit, but he saw how the law could hurt other people who might be caught in a similar error.

Others Affected

“I know hundreds and hundreds of people have been affected by this law,” Houghton said. “I’m not the common person; I don’t buy very much on credit, but the average person uses plastic cards.”

More important for Houghton, 67, a retired schoolteacher and military reservist, was the “shadow cast on the family name.”

His grandfather migrated to Central California from Texas in 1866. For the 120 years the Houghton family has lived in California, no one had a credit problem, he said. His grandfather was even a banker.

Houghton also wanted to correct an unfair law.

“Something had to be done to correct plain, common mistakes,” he said.

But in the end all his efforts failed, and he turned to state Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach), who agreed the law “seemed unfair,” she said.

A Bergeson-sponsored bill would correct that inequity. On Wednesday, the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee voted unanimously to approve the measure, which requires that in cases such as Houghton’s, an explanation of the error must be included in official county property records.

Partial Victory

County tax collectors would be responsible for explaining the error, and the county recorders would have to ensure that the explanation remained in official files.

Since county collectors and credit rating associations support the bill, Bergeson expects it to pass without problem, perhaps within six weeks.

Houghton said the bill is a partial solution because it does not remove errors, only explains them.

“We really didn’t get what we wanted. It’s only a compromise,” he said.

And he remains miffed that no one in the tax collector’s office would admit to the mistake. County Tax Collector Robert L. Citron was out of town and unavailable for comment, and one of his collections department supervisors, Bill Keys, declined to comment on Houghton’s case.

Houghton, at least, is relieved that his long ordeal is almost over.

“It’s been a struggle,” he said. “We have had times of almost total despair. But I feel like we came out of this looking like a white knight after persevering for so long.

“And the good thing is that you have helped someone else.”

Times staff writer Kenneth F. Bunting in Sacramento contributed to this story.