Auditor General v. Crane

115 N.W. 1041, 152 Mich. 94, 1908 Mich. LEXIS 819
Michigan Supreme Court·Decided March 31, 1908·No. Docket No. 18·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

Blair, J.

Appellant, Edgar A. Crane, appeals from the decree of the circuit court for Van Burén county ordering sale, for delinquent taxes, of the north quarter of [95] the northeast quarter of section 22, town 3 south, of range 14 west, belonging to appellant, and overruling appellant’s objections to said sale.

The drain proceedings were commenced August 1, 1901, by an application to John Hathaway, county drain commissioner, for cleaning out, deepening, widening, straightening, or extending a drain known and designated as “the Three Mile Lake and Jenning’s Drain.” The application sets forth that:

“ Said drain needs cleaning out to a point where said drain intersects a natural watercourse across the south one-half of the northwest one-quarter of section 23, said township, thence following said natural watercourse far enough on the north one-half of southwest one-quarter of said section to furnish sufficient fall to carry off the water. That such cleaning out of said drain is a necessity by reason of the same having become filled up.”

The first order of determination-in the matter of the extension of Three Mile Lake and Jenning’s Drain purports to have been made by John Hathaway, county drain commissioner, on September 4, 1903. This order recites an application bearing date September 4,1903:

‘‘ For the location of a certain drain therein as follows, to wit: Said Three Mile Lake and Jenning’s Drain needs cleaning out to a point where said drain intersects the natural watercourse across the south one-half of the northwest one-quarter of section 23, said township, thence following said natural watercourse far enough on the north one-half, southeast one-quarter, said section, to furnish sufficient waterfall to cary off the water,” etc.

The order determined that “ said proposed drain is necessary and conducive to the public health,” etc.; that the application should be granted and the drain located in accordance with the survey, etc.; “And I do further order and determine that the name of said drain shall be the ‘Three Mile Lake Extension Drain,’by which name it «hall hereafter be known and recorded.”

On the 4th day of August, 1904, copies of notice of letting the drain contract were posted in “five public places [96] in said township to be traversed by said drain mentioned in said notice.” The notice specified that the drain commissioner would receive bids on the 15th day of August, 1904, at the outlet of the drain, at ten o’clock a. m., and contained the statutory requirements as to announcement of assessments of benefits, review, etc.

The drain commissioner testified:

“ I remember that I did not get all of the releases. I started condemnation proceedings in the probate court. The judge told me he could not appoint commissioners because in the cleaning out it was not necessary. . * * * I caused notice of letting the contract to be published. The paper shown me, exhibit C, is one of the notices. * * * The notice to let I helped serve. Exhibit C is one of those notices. * * * One of those notices was served on the parties interested who has land the ditch went across, if they were in the township. I did not serve one on Mr. Crane and did not cause one to be served on him. On the 15th of August I met at the outlet of that drain. It is on Wess Young’s land. Where the outlet was would depend upon where the surveyor originally stopped. I could not tell you exactly where that was. I do not know where that was. I did not know where that was at the time I posted these notices, nor where the original survey was; nor I do not think anybody else does. *» * *

“Q. Did Mr. Ridgley dig the ditch according to that contract ?

“A. No, sir.

“Q. How was it dug?

“A. Well, I relet it. I re-advertised by posting notices but not in paper. I posted notices that I would relet the contract, but did not serve a copy of any notice on those parties interested. The contractor dug some and then he gave up the contract. When I relet the contract to somebody else I have forgotten as to whether I relet it at the same price that I let it to Mr. Ridgley. The papers should tell all in regard to that. I took a written contract from the man that I let it to the second time. It should be here. I cannot tell whether I relet it for more or less. * * *

“Q. Do you know where the files of what you call the Three Mile Lake and Jenning’s Drain are ?

[97] “A. I wish I did. There is no record of them whatever that I could find in any of the record books. I do not know that there ever was a legal drain laid out by that name, only from what I have heard. I could not find any record of one. * * * Well, now you will understand or you know that there was a misunderstanding here and we went ahead and cleaned this drain out. I went to see you (defendant Crane) to get a release of the right of way, and you said you would have no objection if it would go into the old drain, and when I went to the probate court to get this application for special commissioners I found that it only called for a clean-out and an extension of the lower end. That is what we went by.

“Q. Then you did not go by your survey stakes at all ?

“A. Well, in a way, yes, but across your particular parcel of land I saw that we followed the old drain exactly. The survey stakes did not follow the old drain and in crossing your land we did not go where the survey stakes were. * * * When I relet the contract I did not follow the survey stakes. It was practically finished up to the Decatur road when I relet it. We followed the old drain on your land.”

Defendant Crane, who is not a resident of Van Burén county, testified that the drain commissioner applied to him on May 16, 1904, for a release of the right of way of the drain:

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Auditor General v. Crane, 115 N.W. 1041, 152 Mich. 94, 1908 Mich. LEXIS 819 (Mich. 1908).

115 N.W. 1041 (Auditor General v. Crane) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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