Atkins v. Shreveport & Red River Valley Railway Co.

106 La. 568
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedNovember 15, 1901
DocketNo. 13,950
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 106 La. 568 (Atkins v. Shreveport & Red River Valley Railway Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Atkins v. Shreveport & Red River Valley Railway Co., 106 La. 568 (La. 1901).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Blanchard, J.

Certain taxpayers of the Parish of Eed Eiver, for themselves, and the Police Jury of the parish, for the body of the taxpayers, bring this action to have declared forfeited a special tax of five mills voted by the property taxpayers of the parish in aid of the defendant company.

The ground for this demand of forfeiture is the non-fulfillment of the conditions attached to the grant.

In the year 1897 petitions addressed to the Police Jury were circulated throughout the parish praying that body to submit to the prop-erty taxpayers a proposition to vote the tax. It is averred by plaintiffs that these petitions were gotten up and circulated by the defendant company. This, however, is not of much moment.

The law required at least' one-third of the property taxpayers of the parish should sign the petition before the Police Jury could act.

The requisite number having signed, the Jury adopted an ordinance submitting the proposition to the property taxpayers at an election called for the purpose, and at this election, held on the 23rd of September 1897, a majority in number and in amount or value of property voted in favor of the tax.

Following this the Jury and the railway company entered into a formal contract, the first obligating itself to extend upon the assessment rolls of the parish the tax of five mills for ten years in favor of the second, and the latter obligating itself to build and operate the line of road in aid of which the tax was voted.

In this contract the petition of taxpayers aforesaid is referred to as [570]*570containing the reciprocal obligations of the contracting parties, and a copy of the petition is annexed to and made part of the contract.

Following the execution of the instrument evidencing this contract, the Police Jury adopted an ordinance levying the tax and ordering its collection.

As the petition of taxpayers to the Police Jury, praying the submission of the proposition to vote the tax, was the initial step required by law in the movement to grant the aid, and as this petition contains the terms and conditions upon which the grant was to be made we copy the same as follows:

“The undersigned petitioners constituting more than Yz of the property tax-payers of the Parish of Red River, State of Louisiana, with respect represent that the construction of the Shreveport & Red River Valley Railroad by the Shreveport & Red River Valley Ry. Co., a corporation duly organized under the laws of Louisiana, from the City of Shreveport * * * on a line intersecting the northern boundary of said Parish of Red River and running thence in a southerly direction to within the incorporated limits of the town of Ooushatta * * ®, said town being the terminus of said road — said road to be constructed of the best material of modern equipment — will he of great benefit to the people and property of said Parish of Red River—
“We, therefore, * * * respectfully pray that your Honorable body will levy a special tax of five mills annually for a period of ten years in aid of said Shreveport & Red River Valley Ry. Oo., commencing January 1st, 1898, and said tax to be levied for the years 1898-1899-1900-1901-1902-1903-1904-1905-1906 and 1907.
“Provided, that this tax is voted and to be levied under the following conditions, to-wit:—
“That said Shreveport & Red River Valley Ry. Co. shall commence work on the construction of said railroad from the said City of Shreveport within thirty days after the promulgation of a favorable vote taken hereon, and shall fully complete and put in operation said railroad from' said City of Shreveport to within the corporation limits of the said town of Ooushatta within twelve months from the promulgation of said favorable vote taken hereon, and shall continuously operate through trains on said road, unless prevented by war, overflow, labor strikes, or other unforeseen fortuitous events, and no part of said tax to be paid said company until the completion and operation of trains thereon.
“Provided, further, that said Shreveport & Red River Valley Ry. Co-shall operate tow-boats or steam tugs with convenient'barges at such points on the stream of Red River as to furnish transportation of such freight and agricultural products as may he assembled at such points, and to onerate such boats or steam tugs with convenient barges as low down said stream of Red River as the present site of Lake End, La.
“Tour petitioners further pray your Honorable body to order an election according to law to take the sense of the property tax-payers on said proposition for or against said proposed aid — the ballots to he [571]*571used at said election to be written or printed in the following form, viz:—
“For a special tax of 5 mills in aid of the Shreveport & Eed Eiver Yalley Ey. Co. for the time and on the conditions set forth in the petition of the property tax-payers.
“Against the special tax of 5 mills in aid of the Shreveport & Eed Eiver Yalley Ey. Co. for the time and on the conditions set forth in the petition of the property tax-payers—
“With the name of the voter and the value of his assessed property written on each ballot.
“And for which we will ever pray, &c.”

The special election at which the tax was voted was held and conducted in all respects as thus petitioned for.

The railway company completed the road to Coushatta and put the same in operation within the time named in the petition. The line was inspected by the Police Jury and that body, by formal ordinance passed on November 23, 1898, accepted the road and instructed the tax collector to pay over to the company “the special tax levied in aid of the construction thereof, as provided by law, as long as said company continue to comply with their contract.”

It appears that this tax for the years 1898 and 1899 has been paid to the company.

The present suit was filed September 10, 1900, and decided in the lower court March 9, 1901. The decision was adverse to the plaintiffs and they prosecute this appeal.

The contention of the appellants is that the conditions upon which the tax was voted that have not been fulfilled are;—

1. The town of Coushatta was stipulated to be the terminus of the line — whereas, in point of fact, the road, after reaching Coushatta, passed on southward into and through other parishes than the Parish of Eed Eiver and has made some point other than Coushatta its terminus.
2. The company undertook to operate, in connection with the railway, boats or tugs with barges on the river for the convenience of shippers and receivers of freight — -which stipulation has not been met and fulfilled, at least not so since the latter part of February 1899, at which time a boat, the TJni, owned and operated by the railway company, was destroyed by fire.

It is insisted that these being essential and continuing conditions of the grant the failure to meet them operates the forfeiture of the tax.

As to the demand of the Police Jury, the defendant filed an excep

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Related

City Sav. Bank & Trust Co. v. Shreveport Brick Co.
134 So. 397 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1931)
McAdams v. Wells Fargo & Co. Express
71 So. 945 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1916)
Louisiana Ry. & Navigation Co. v. Mayor of Coushatta
48 So. 532 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1909)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
106 La. 568, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/atkins-v-shreveport-red-river-valley-railway-co-la-1901.