Sec. 11. (a) Subsequent to the issuance of the order directing the county auditor to issue a tax deed to real property sold under IC 6-1.1-24, a county auditor shall refund:
(1) the purchase money and all taxes and special assessments on the property paid by the purchaser, the purchaser's assigns, or the purchaser of the certificate of sale under IC 6-1.1-24 after the tax sale plus five percent (5%) interest per annum; and
(2) the costs described in section 2(e) of this chapter, if the costs were certified before the expiration of the period of redemption, subject to section 2.5 of this chapter;
from the county treasury to the purchaser, the purchaser's successors or assigns, or the purchaser of the certificate of sale under IC 6-1.1-24 if it is found by the court that entered the order for the tax deed that the sale was invalid.
(b) The grantee of an invalid tax deed, including the county, to whom a refund is made under this section shall execute, acknowledge, and deliver to the owner a deed conveying whatever interest the purchaser may have acquired by the tax sale deed. If a county is required to execute a deed under this section, the deed shall be signed by the county board of commissioners and acknowledged by the clerk of the circuit court.
(c) A refund may not be made under this section while an action initiated under either section 14 or 16 of this chapter is pending.
(d) If a sale is declared invalid after a claim is submitted under IC 6-1.1-24-7 for money deposited in the tax sale surplus fund and the claim is paid, the county auditor shall initiate an action to recover the amount claimed, plus reasonable attorney's fees and any other costs reasonably incurred by the county in the course of, and attributable to, the recovery of the amount claimed.