City of Alva v. Mason

1931 OK 364, 300 P. 784, 150 Okla. 25, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 271
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedJune 23, 1931
Docket21487
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 1931 OK 364 (City of Alva v. Mason) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Alva v. Mason, 1931 OK 364, 300 P. 784, 150 Okla. 25, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 271 (Okla. 1931).

Opinion

ANDREWS, J.

This is an appeal from the judgment of the district court of AVoods county, granting a permanent injunction in an action brought by certain taxpayers against the city of Alva and its mayor, city council, and city treasurer to restrain them *26 from carrying out a contract to purchase property know n as the Lena Nickel residence to be converted into a city hospital, and to restrain the city treasurer from registering and paying a certain city warrant issued in imyment therefor. The parties will be referred to as they appeared in the trial court.

The record shows that the city council passed an ordinance authorizing the mayor to call an election for the purpose of voting-on the proposition of the issuance of bonds by the city of Alva to provide funds for the erection of a city hospital. An election was called and a proposition was voted upon. A majority voted at the election in favor of the issuance of the bonds, and the bonds were duly issued, approved, and sold. There is no question presented 'here as to the validity of the bonds.

Thereafter, the city council, at a regular meeting, adopted a resolution selecting a site known as the “Reid” property, for the construction of a hospital, and directed an architect to prepare plans and specifications for the erection of a hospital upon that site. Plans and specifications were submitted to the city council. Thereafter a resolution was adopted by the council for the purchase of what is known as the “Nickel” property, with the buildings thereon, and the city clerk was directed to issue a warrant against the funds of the city of Alva for the amount of the agreed purchase price, to wit, $35,000, and deliver the same to Lena Nickel.

The warrant was prepared for delivery to the defendant, Lena Nickel, when the plaintiffs brought an injunction proceeding in the district court to prevent the registration and delivery of said warrant and all other proceedings toward the purchase and use of the Nickel property as a city hospital. A temporary order was made. The defendants filed their answers to the plaintiffs’ petition. Upon the trial a permanent injunction was granted, from which judgment the defendants appealed to this court. The defendants present- eight assignments of error upon which a reversal of the judgment is asked.

Whether the preliminary order of the trial court was a restraining order, as it was sometimes called, or a temporary injunction, as it was sometimes called, is now immaterial. The action was brought for the purpose of procuring a permanent injunction, and, after a trial upon the merits, a permanent injunction was granted. The journal entry of judgment- shows that that Was the purpose of the trial court, and the parties hereto so treated the order. While the journal entry might have been worded in language somewhat more clear, it is apparent to lis that the order amounted to a permanent injunction after the trial of the issues upon the merits. No appeal was taken from the temporary order, and, though there had been error in the making of the temporary order, it was not such error as would justify this court in vacating- an order granting a permanent injunction after a trial upon the merits. A permanent injunction could have been granted after a trial upon the merits although no temporary order had been made. The cause comes to this court after a final order made after a trial upon the merits, and this court will consider herein only the question of whether a permanent injunction should have been granted.

The record shows the facts to be within the rule stated by this court in Allison v. Massey, 108 Okla. 140, 235 Pac. 192, wherein this court said:

“Appellant suggests by his assignments the alleged failure to execute an injunction bond by plaintiff, in accordance with section 415, Comp. Stats. 1921, and that the judgment of the court was in error because of the failure of the plaintiff therein to comply with said section. No argument is made and no authorities are cited on this question. The judgment of the trial court, from which this appeal is taken, is that a permanent injunction be granted as prayed by the plaintiff. Said section 415, Comp. Stats. 1921, provides the condition of the same becoming operative. The provisions of said section 415 are prerequisite to the injunction becoming operative, but appellant treated the judgment as effective, and neither argument is made, nor authorities cited, to indicate that a judgment so treated by appellant, and to reverse which on the merits the appeal is clearly taken, should be disturbed on the ground assigned. It is here treated as waived.”

Section 415, C. O. S. 1921, requires such bond as shall be fixed by the court or judge allowing the injunction. Here the injunction was allowed by the court and the court did not fix the amount of the injunction bond. The record shows no request on the part of the defendants for the fixing of the amount of any such bond, and no exceptions were taken thereto.

The proposition authorized by the ordinance to be submitted to the qualified property taxpaying voters of the city was as follows:

“Shall the city of Alva, Woods county, state of Oklahoma, incur an indebtedn"ss by issuing its negotiable coupon bonds in the sum of $50,000 to provide funds for the purpose of purchasing a site and constructing a city hospital. * * *”

That proposition was not submitted to the *27 voters. The election proclamation and tlie ballot stated tlie proposition to be as follows :

“Shall the city of Alva, Woods county, state of Oklahoma, incur an indebtedness by issuing its negotiable coupon bonds in the sum $50,000 to provide funds for the purchase of a site for and the construction of a new city hospital. * * *”

It will be observed that tlie material differences in the language used are the inclusion of the word “for” after the word “site” and the word “new” before the words “city hospital.” The inclusion of those words materially changed the meaning, and it is apparent that the election proclamation and the ballot informed the voters that they were asked to authorize the incurring of an indebtedness “for the purchase of a site for and the construction of a new city hospital.” The power to become indebted is dependent upon the purpose for which the funds derived therefrom are to be used. Section 27, art. 10, of the Constitution. Section 4392, C. O. S. 1921, provides:

“* ® * The mayor or the president of the board of trustees shall thereupon issue a proc amation calling such election and shall set forth therein the proposition or propositions to be voted on at such election. * * *”

Under the provisions of section 27, art. IP, supra, the proposition submitted to the voters may be “for the purpose of purchasing or constructing public utilities, or for repairing the same.” While the proposition submitted to the qualified property taxpaying voters of the city of Alva might have been for the purpose of purchasing or constructing a city hospital, or for repairing the same, the city officials of the city of Alva, in the exercise of their discretion, submitted a proposition for (he purchase of a site for and the construction of a new city hospital; or, in other words, those city officers elected to proceed in accordance with the provisions of section 27, art. 10, Id., for the construction of a public utility.

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Bluebook (online)
1931 OK 364, 300 P. 784, 150 Okla. 25, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 271, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-alva-v-mason-okla-1931.