Auditor General v. Crane

115 N.W. 1041, 152 Mich. 94, 1908 Mich. LEXIS 819
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 31, 1908
DocketDocket No. 18
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 115 N.W. 1041 (Auditor General v. Crane) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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

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]*95the 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]*96in 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]*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:

“The present drain commissioner asked me if I would sign a release for the right of way for what he then said was the laying out of a drain across this land to be known as the Three Mile Lake and Jenning’s Drain. At that time he had with him printed papers, which purported to be survey notes of the Three Mile Lake and Jenning’s Drain and which I notice is a copy of one of the exhibits filed by him with the county clerk last Saturday and was identified as Exhibit —, as testified to by the county clerk. He presented me a paper which purported to be a release of the right of way for establishing the proposed drain. The paper marked Exhibit — in those deposited by him in January, 1907, and now here produced by the county clerk is that paper. I refused to sign the paper or to give any release of the right of way across the property for the purpose for which he asked for it, and I never have. The next that I knew about any drain on this land in question I [98]*98learned from some one that there had been a ditch dug across my land. I came to Paw Paw, went to the county clerk’s office to see what authority any one had for digging such a ditch, and I could find no record of any. Several times since then X have examined and have had the county clerk examine the records and files where such papers, according tci law, should be kept in his office and was unable to find any such papers or any record of any such drain, and the clerk was unable to find them and told me there never had been any such paper filed or deposited with him.

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Related

Eddy v. Walker
183 N.W. 708 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1921)
Williams v. Doane
167 N.W. 921 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1918)
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122 N.W. 91 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1909)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
115 N.W. 1041, 152 Mich. 94, 1908 Mich. LEXIS 819, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/auditor-general-v-crane-mich-1908.