Boone v. District Court of the Third Judicial District ex rel. County of Ada

224 P. 429, 38 Idaho 688, 1924 Ida. LEXIS 152
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 6, 1924
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 224 P. 429 (Boone v. District Court of the Third Judicial District ex rel. County of Ada) 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
Boone v. District Court of the Third Judicial District ex rel. County of Ada, 224 P. 429, 38 Idaho 688, 1924 Ida. LEXIS 152 (Idaho 1924).

Opinion

"WM. E. LEE, J.

— This is a mandamus proceeding brought by plaintiffs, the commissioners of Drainage District No. 3, of. Ada county, against defendant, one of the judgés of the district court of the third judicial district, to require him to proceed with the hearing of the report of the commissioners and the confirmation thereof. This court issued an order to defendant to show cause why he should not be required to proceed with the hearing of the report. Counsel for Mrs. R. H. Lilly, one of the remonstrants in the district court, who defends the action of that court in sustaining the motion to dismiss the drainage proceeding, has moved to quash the alternative order and has interposed a demurrer. The facts are stipulated.

It appears that on June 10, 1922, a petition for the organization of the drainage district was filed in the office of the clerk of the district court for Ada county; that thereafter a time for hearing the petition was fixed and a notice [691]*691thereof published; that thereafter certain objections were filed to the formation of the district, and were heard and overruled; that on March 2, 1923, the court made findings and entered a decree declaring the district organized; and that thereupon plaintiffs herein were appointed commissioners of the district. On October 6, 1923, the commissioners filed their report, and the court fixed a time for hearing the report of the commissioners and directed that notice be given. (0. S., sec. 4510.) Notice was given, and at the time fixed for hearing the report of the commissioners, certain persons appeared and objected to the confirmation of the report. Finally, Mrs. R. H. Lilly appeared specially, and moved to quash and set aside the notice on the ground that the same was insufficient to give the court jurisdiction of the proceeding. The motion was sustained, and the court, believing the notice insufficient and that it lacked jurisdiction, refused, upon demand of plaintiffs, to proceed further.

It is contended that mandamus is not the proper remedy, and that this court’s action in directing the district court to proceed with the hearing of the report of the commissioners would amount to an attempt to control the discretion vested in the district court, and would be equivalent to not only directing the district court to act, but also specifying the manner in which it should act. Hill v. Morgan, 9 Ida. 718, 76 Pac. 323, determines this question against the contention of defendant. In that case, this court cited, with approval, Merrill on Mandamus, as follows:

Section 36: “When the tribunal or officer whose duty it is to take jurisdiction of a matter, believing, erroneously, that it has no jurisdiction, declines to consider the matter, a mandamus will issue to compel such a hearing.” Section 203: “Mandamus lies to compel a court to try a cause, when it refuses to do so upon the erroneous decision that it has no jurisdiction.”

See, also: Connolly v. Woods, 13 Ida. 591, 92 Pac. 573; In re Grossmayer, 177 U. S. 48, 44 L. ed. 665; Golden Gate Tile Co. v. Superior Court, 159 Cal. 474, 114 Pac. 978; State v. Moulton, 57 Mont. 414, 189 Pac. 59; Roberts v. [692]*692Second Judicial District Court, 43 Nev. 332, 185 Pac. 1067; State v. Seehorn, 283 Mo. 508, 223 S. W. 664.

The decision of a court that it will not hear and determine a cause upon the mistaken assumption that it does not possess the -requisite jurisdiction is equivalent to a refusal to exercise its jurisdiction, and mandamus will issue to compel such court to assume jurisdiction of the cause. The motion to quash is denied.

It appears that the petition for the establishment of the drainage district originally embraced certain definite territory, and the proposition presented by the petition was approved by the court. By its findings and by its decree, the court established said Drainage District No. 3, and, under C. S., sec. 4498, such findings had the effect of a lis pendens. The commissioners, however, are not confined to the plan of drainage originally outlined in the petition, and they may recommend a change in the plan of the route of the ditches and drains. (0. S., sec. 4508.) If the commissioners find that the proposed district will not embrace all the lands that will be benefited, they may extend the boundaries of the proposed district in their report so as to include such additional lands, but the temporary boundaries, as fixed by the findings and decree provided for in 0. S., secs. 4498 and 4499, can only be altered by the court. (C. S., sec. 4509.)

Subsequently to the making and entering of the findings and decree establishing the proposed district, the commissioners changed the plan of drainage and enlarged the territorial boundaries of the proposed district so that the district, as described in the report of the commissioners under consideration at the time the eomrt concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to proceed, contained about a section of land in addition to that contained in the original district. The notice was directed “to the land owners and .... persons or corporations owning or- interested in lands .... within the boundaries of Drainage District No. 3 . . . . Persons and corporations owning or interested in the additional section of land sought to be brought into the district by the confirmation of the report would not be [693]*693affected by the notice, since the notice directed and limited attention to those owning and interested in lands embraced within the original district.

The notice contains the title of the court and the proceeding, and is directed “To the land owners and any and all persons or corporations owning or interested in lands included in the territory within the boundaries of Drainage District No. 3 of the County of Ada in the State of Idaho: You and each of you will please take notice that the Commissioners .... ”

It will be observed that the notice is directed “to the land owners and .... persons or corporations owning or interested in lands included in ... . Drainage District No. 3 . . . . ” It is claimed that this notice is not in substantial compliance with C. S., sec. 4510, and that the giving of this notice did not vest the court with jurisdiction to hear and determine the report of the commissioners.

The notice, which the court held to be insufficient to give the court jurisdiction in the premises, is an attempted compliance with C. S., sec. 4510. This section requires the court to fix a time and place “when and where all persons interested” may appear, etc. The same section requires that “ . The clerk of the court shall cause notices of the time and place of said hearing to be given to all parties interested by the publication of a notice thereof .... and by personally serving or sending by registered mail a copy of said notice to each land owner . . . . ”

C. S., sec. 4511, provides that “any of the land owners or any person or corporation affected by the work proposed may appear .... and remonstrate,” etc., and any person or municipality may object on the ground that “the public health or welfare will not be promoted by the proposed work.” The published notice is directed neither to all parties interested in the organization of the district, nor to all parties interested in hearing the report of the commissioners, but it is addressed “to the land owners and ....

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Bluebook (online)
224 P. 429, 38 Idaho 688, 1924 Ida. LEXIS 152, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/boone-v-district-court-of-the-third-judicial-district-ex-rel-county-of-idaho-1924.