Boise Valley Traction Co. v. Ada County

222 P. 1035, 38 Idaho 350, 1923 Ida. LEXIS 95
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 4, 1923
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 222 P. 1035 (Boise Valley Traction Co. v. Ada County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Boise Valley Traction Co. v. Ada County, 222 P. 1035, 38 Idaho 350, 1923 Ida. LEXIS 95 (Idaho 1923).

Opinions

VARIAN, Commissioner.

— This is an appeal from a judgment sustaining an amended demurrer to plaintiff’s complaint.

The complaint was filed July 10, 1920, and an amendment thereto was filed on April 5, 1921. A demurrer to the complaint was filed on April 25, 1921, and overruled by the trial court July 2, 1921. By leave of the court an amended demurrer was filed July 26, 1921, and on September 6, 1921, the order overruling the original demurrer was vacated and the amended demurrer sustained. Judgment on the amended demurrer was entered January 26, 1922.

The complaint alleges in effect that appellant is a public utilities corporation, to wit, a railroad corporation, engaged as a common carrier of freight and passengers in Ada county, and operating its lines in said county; that the respondent is a duly organized county of the state of Idaho; that between July 29, 1918, and October 28, 1918, inclusive, appellant performed services, as a common carrier, in hauling sand and gravel for respondent, at its request, and thereafter presented its verified claims for payment, which were acted upon by the board of county commissioners of respondent county. Four claims were filed, each relating to the services performed up to the time of presentation, and containing an itemized statement of the date of services, number of cars hauled, rate per car, war tax and total charge on all cars hauled. That the lawful scheduled rate for the services rendered was $5 per car for all cars hauled to and including July 27, 1918, and that after July 29, 1918, the lawful scheduled rate was $10 per car. That said claims were allowed by the board of county commissioners at the rate of $5 per car, and proportionate war tax charge, at regular meetings of said board, on August 14, 1918, October 16, 1918, November 13, 1918, and Decern-[355]*355ber 9, 1918, respectively. That warrants for the amounts allowed were authorized, issued and delivered to appellant, which were eventually paid. That appellant did not receive said warrants, or accept payment thereof in full satisfaction of its claims. That the board of county commissioners, in each case, approved and allowed said claims as to all portions thereof, including dates, quantities and number of cars hauled and quality of service, but disallowed $5 per car, and a proportionate amount of war tax, on all cars charged at $10 per car after July 29, 1918. That there remained a balance unpaid on said claims of $1741.80, and upon July 15, 1919, said claims were duly refiled for said balance, and at a regular meeting of the board of county commissioners, on July 16, 1919, all items therein, including dates, quantity and quality of service, were approved, accepted and allowed, except only the amount charged, which said amount was disallowed. That said balance of $1,741.80 is now, and since said disallowances has been, due appellant from respondent, with interest from the date of the filing of such original claims.

The complaint also alleges that appellant is required by law to file with the Public Utilities Commission its rates and charges, and to charge without change, modification, variance or rebate the rates set forth in its approved schedules. That pursuant to law, appellant on July 25, 1918, issued its local freight tariff, No. 8, which was approved and became effective by order of the Public Utilities Commission on July 29, 1918; that the approved rate for hauling sand and gravel applicable to the service rendered by appellant was fifty cents per cubic yard on a minimum carload of twenty carloads; that said rate was the only rate that could be charged by appellant to respondent from said July 29, 1918, to October 28, 1918; that said rate was fixed by said commission and that it would have been unlawful for appellant to have accepted any other or different rate. That on or about October 16, 1918, respondent filed complaint with said Public Utilities Commission praying that appellant be required to furnish said sand and gravel [356]*356hauling at the price of twenty-five -cents per cubic yard, and that the rate established in the schedule effective July 29, 1918, be canceled as unreasonable, excessive and unjust. That no decision was ever rendered upon said complaint and the same was dismissed at the instigation of respondent, and said tariff of rates, so far as the sand and gravel rates mentioned therein, are concerned, is still unchanged.

The demurrer filed was to the effect that the complaint did not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action, in the following particulars: (a) The complaint shows upon its face that the account has been settled and paid in full under sec. 3508, C. S.; (b) that the complaint shows that the claim sued on is barred under sec. 3513, C. S.

This demurrer was overruled by the court, and leave granted to file an amended demurrer. The amended demurrer is in effect that the complaint as amended does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action against respondent, particularly as follows: (a) Said complaint as amended shows on its face that said account has been settled and paid in full under sec. 3508, C. S.; (b) that said -complaint fails to allege that after the said claim was disallowed in part, that appellant’s refusal to accept said partial allowance as payment in full was made known to respondent, and that respondent was given an opportunity to pass upon the allowance of the rejected part of said account as provided for under sec. 3508, C. S.; (c) that said complaint shows upon its face that the claim sued on is barred under sees. 3513 and 6614, C. S. This demurrer was sustained by the trial court, and judgment entered for respondent.

Appellant contends that the court below erred in permitting respondent to- file an amended demurrer, after the original demurrer had been overruled and time granted for answer had expired, in vacating its former order overruling demurrer, and in sustaining the amended demurrer.

The order overruling the original demurrer was entered July 2, 1921, and gave respondent twenty days in which [357]*357to answer. The amended demurrer was served and filed July 26, 1921, as shown by the record.

Counsel for respondent stated in open court at the argument that the record is incorrect, and that the amended demurrer was filed July 22, 1921, within the time limited for answer. This was not controverted by counsel for appellant, and as it is such an error that would have been ordered corrected had application been made therefor at the hearing, or prior thereto, we will assume that the demurrer was filed on July 22, 1921, and not on July 26, 1921. It is immaterial whether the amended demurrer was filed within the time limited, for no default was entered. (Kerney v. Hatfield, 30 Ida. 90.)

Appellant in its brief raises the question that the order permitting the amended demurrer to be filed was made without notice to appellant.

Sec. 6726, C. S., reads in part as follows: ‘ ‘ The court may likewise, in its discretion, after notice to the adverse party, allow upon such terms as may be just an amendment to any pleading or proceeding in other particulars, .... ”

While the record does not affirmatively show any application for permission to file the amended demurrer, or the service of notice of the hearing thereof, or the order allowing the amended demurrer to be filed, there is no proof in the record, by certificate of the trial judge or the clerk, to the effect that the record contains all the files or shows all the proceedings in the court below.

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Related

Morrison v. Pierce
276 P. 306 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1929)
Drainage District No. 2 v. Ada County
226 P. 290 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1924)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
222 P. 1035, 38 Idaho 350, 1923 Ida. LEXIS 95, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/boise-valley-traction-co-v-ada-county-idaho-1923.