Adkins v. Toledo

17 Ohio C.C. Dec. 417
CourtOhio Circuit Courts
DecidedMarch 4, 1905
StatusPublished

This text of 17 Ohio C.C. Dec. 417 (Adkins v. Toledo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Circuit Courts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Adkins v. Toledo, 17 Ohio C.C. Dec. 417 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1905).

Opinion

PARKER, J.

This case comes into this court by appeal. It is an action brought by Richard Adkins and a large number of other persons, to enjoin assessments levied upon their property on account' of the paving of East Broadway in this city. It is charged that the proceedings on the part of the city were so irregular and so lacking in the necessary support of fact and-law as that the assessments are invalid. The principal-grounds of attack are:

First. That in the course of this legislation a certain resolution— which is a necessary foundation proceeding — after having been passed by the board of aldermen, was defeated by a vote of the board of councilmen. That thereafter the board of councilmen undertook to, and did, reconsider their action and passed the resolution, but that the resolution was not thereafter acted upon by the board of aldermen; and it is. [419]*419urged that by reason of the defeat of the resolution by the board of eouncilmen, if the subsequent vote to reconsider and the vote passing the resolution, had any effect, it was only in the way of an initiatory proceeding which would amount to the introduction and passing of a new resolution by the board of eouncilmen, which would therefore require a repassing by the board of aldermen in order to effect its full adoption.

Second. It is also urged that, in order to give support to this proceeding, it was necessary that a petition asking for the improvement should be signed by a majority of those interested — those owning the property along the line of the proposed improvement — and that while there might have been a majority signing the petition which was filed in this case at the time It was filed and at the time it was acted upon by the board of aldermen, there had been such changes of ownership of the property between that time and the time that the board of eouncilmen took action upon the matter that a majority was not represented upon the petition; but, on the other hand, that a remonstrance had been filed which a majority had signed. And it is urged that a petition signed by a majority of those interested, must be on file at the time final action is taken by the legislative body, or at least at the time that final action is taken upon the preliminary resolution.

As to that claim, the averment is denied by the city, and it is insisted ■that a large number of these transfers that occurred between the time of the filing of the petition and the action thereon by the board of aider-men and the subsequent action by the board of eouncilmen were made for the sole purpose of having a majority of those apparently interested, sign the remonstrance and oppose the improvement; that these transfers were not bona fide, and that effect should not be given to them; that the signing of those receiving such conveyances, for this purpose, should hot be recognized.

We supposed that that question of fact had been threshed out upon the trial here, but it turns out since the trial that there has been some misapprehension about it and counsel may desire to be heard further upon it and perhaps introduce some evidence. The conclusion to which we have arrived makes that seem to us to be an entirely immaterial matter here; but if the parties interested shall deem it material, they may have a further inquiry into the matter, in order that a proper finding of fact may be made up upon that question as well as upon other questions involved; but, deeming it immaterial we do not consider it necessary to await such action, and we proceed to a determination of the case.

Third. It is also urged — and this is a matter which does not af[420]*420feet the whole assessment, but only a part of it — that a part of the costs of the preliminary action upon this improvement, viz.: the costs of advertising, the cost of serving the notices, the cost of abstracting and numbering, the cost of inspecting and the cost of the assessment, amounting in all to $384.81, all pertaining to this improvement, all required by law, all necessary action, were paid out of the general funds of the city, a fund for this improvement not having been raised by the sale of bonds or otherwise, at the time this preliminary action was taken and this expense incurred; and while counsel do not dispute that under Lan. R. L. 3654 (R. S. 2284; B. 1536-262), these are all proper charges to enter into the sum that is to be assessed upon the property specially benefited, yet they say that, it having been paid from the general fund, it cannot now be collected from the parties specially benefited; that it may not be levied as an assessment even for the purpose of reimbursing the general fund. I will dispose of that matter first. We find that it is true that these are all proper charges under Sec. 2284 which are to enter into the sum of the charges to be assessed upon the properties benefited as a part of the costs of the improvement.

It would seem that it might be very inconvenient, if not impossible, to raise these funds in the manner that funds are to be raised for special improvements in time so as to pay these bills as they accrue. Before the work is entered upon under the contract the funds to pay the cost of the improvement must be in the treasury. These funds are ordinarily raised by the sale of bonds for the particular improvement, and the funds are set apart for that; but before this action is taken, and before the authorities or the legislature of the city has come to the point where they may properly take this action, expenses like these are incurred.

To. be sure the parties to whom payments are due for such services may be required to wait until the funds are raised and put into the treasury where they can be drawn upon, and we understand that it is conceded by counsel for the plaintiffs that if they should be required to do so they should then be paid from such fund; that such action would be regular and proper. But, because these matters were anticipated, because this money was practically borrowed from the general fund, they say that now the city is in a situation where it cannot reimburse the general fund. We are not cited to any authority which seems to us to be in point, or at least, to control. It seems to us that this claim lacks reason and equity for its support.

The burden is no greater for the persons who are required to pay. these expenses for this improvement, if the payment is made in this [421]*421way than it would be if it were paid in what we conceive to be the regular way; and we know of no law that prevents a council from taking this action; or, if there is a law designed to prevent it we know of no principle which would justify the plaintiffs in insisting that they should be benefited by this irregularity — if it is an irregularity. We are cited by counsel for plaintiffs to the ease of Cin. L. & N. Ry. v. Cincinnati, 62 Ohio St. 465 [57 N. E. Rep. 229; 49 L. R. A. 566], and especially to what is said by Judge Burket in the course of his opinion at pages 474-5, and I will read that. Preliminary to reading that, I will read what was decided by the court, and all that was decided by the court, viz.: what is contained in the syllabus.

“1. Section 19, Art. 1 of the constitution is a limitation upon Sec. 6, Art. 13 as to the power of assessments.

“2. Compensation paid to a landowner for lands taken by appropriation proceedings to open a street, cannot be assessed back upon the lands of the owner remaining after such taking. Neither can the costs and expenses incurred in such proceedings be so assessed. Cleveland v. Wick, 18 Ohio St.

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Bluebook (online)
17 Ohio C.C. Dec. 417, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/adkins-v-toledo-ohiocirct-1905.