City of Enid v. Gensman

1919 OK 164, 181 P. 308, 76 Okla. 90, 1919 Okla. LEXIS 133
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedJune 3, 1919
Docket7521
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 1919 OK 164 (City of Enid v. Gensman) 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 Enid v. Gensman, 1919 OK 164, 181 P. 308, 76 Okla. 90, 1919 Okla. LEXIS 133 (Okla. 1919).

Opinion

McNEILL, T.

This cause was before the court and reported in 158 Pac. 377 (not officially reported), but on second petition for rehearing it is agreed by all parties that in briefing the case they were in error as to the law applicable to the ease. Both sides briefed the case on the theory that the law applicable was the Revised Laws of 1910, and the court decided the ease by referring to said statute, while the proceedings are to be governed by Wilson’s Rev. & Ann. Statutes of 1903.

The facts in this case are that the city of Enid attempted to proceed to pave and improve certain streets in the city. The city council passed a resolution of necessity, as required by section 444, Wilson’s Rev. & Ann. Statutes of 1903, but said resolution was not published. The street was paved and the assessment placed against the land of defendants in error. The defendants in error, being the property owners, brought an action against the city clerk and county treasurer in the district court of Garfield county, and enjoined them from collecting the assessment. The trial court rendered judgment against the said city declaring said assessment void, and enjoined the county treasurer from collecting said taxes. Thereafter the city authorities, without taking any steps to acquire the necessary jurisdiction to pave in the first instance, passed a reassessing ordinance, and under it sought to reassess the lands of the defendants in error.

The defendants in rror filed their petition in the district court of Garfield county, seeking to enjoin the city from making a reassessment against said property, and alleging that the district court of Garfield county in a former action held that the original assessment was void, for the reason that' no publication of the resolution was had, and alleging that the city was without jurisdiction to reassess said property for the reason they had never acquired jurisdiction in the first instance, therefore would be unable to reassess the property until they had first acquired jurisdiction — not having acquired jurisdiction in the first instance, they would be unable to pass a reassessment ordinance. The city filed a demurrer, the court overruled the demurrer, the city excepted, and refused to plead further. The court rendered judgment enjoining the city from proceeding further under the reassessment ordinance or from attempting to fix a lien upon defendants in error’s property. From this judgment the city appeals, and brings the case here for review.

The paving was initiated under and by virtue of section 444, Wilson’s Revised Statutes 1903, and it is agreed the controversy is governed by provision of Wilson’s Revised Statutes of 1903, and it is admitted that the resolution of necessity was never published.

The plaintiffs in error now contend that the publication of said resolution was not jurisdictional, but this court has held contrary to said view in the case of Kerker v. Bocher, 20 Okla. 729, 95 Pac. 981, and on page 757 of 20 Okla., on page 992 of 95 Pac., the court used the following language:

“The declaring by resolution and the publication of the same for four consecutive weeks in some newspaper of general circulation in the city is a condition precedent to jurisdiction, and, when that is done without protest on the part of the property owners to be affected, then the council shall have the power to cause such improvement to be made.”

It is next contended that, by reason of section 451, Wilson’s Revised Laws 1903, plaintiff in error has the right to pass a reassessment ordinance and to reassess the property for the improvements already made. A portion of said statute is as follows:

“Provided further, that in the event any special assessment shall be set aside or be invalid in whole or in part, the city council may, at any time, in the manner herein provided for an original assessment, proceed to cause a new assessment to be made, which shall have the like force and effect as an original assessment.”

The question presented is whether the statute is broad enough to permit the city council to pass an ordinance reassessing the property for the improvements made, when the original proceedings were void. The plaintiff in error argues that it makes no difference whether the city council had jurisdiction in the first instance or not, or whether the proceedings were void; that the statute authorized the passing of a reassessment ordinance in either event. In support of their contention they cite cases from different states, but an examination of those cases discloses that the statutes of those states are very different from our statute, the case of Kansas City v. Silver, 74 Kan. 851, 85 Pac. 805, being one of the cases they rely *92 upon, which is a per curiam opinion, but the Kansas statute contains the following language:

“Which special assessment order may be informal, illegal, irregular or void for want of sufficient authority, to make or levy the same, or for any cause whatever.”

They also cite the case from the state of Washington, Frederick v. City of Seattle, 13 Wash. 428, 43 Pac. 364. The statute there in regard to 'reassessing property contains the following provision:

“Or for any legal improvement which has heretofore been made or which hereafter may be made by any city or town has been or may hereafter be declared void.”

They also cite or rely upon the case of Sanderson v. Herman, 108 Wis. 662, 84 N. W. 890, 85 N. W. 141. This was a case from Wisconsin, but the statute there provides “is or may be invalid for certain reasons.” But the court held in that case that the invalidity of the first assessment came entirely within the provision of the latter act, but did not pass upon the question as to what ruling the court would make if the city had no jurisdiction in the first instance.

Plaintiffs in error cite State ex rel. v. District Court of Ramsey County et al., 97 Minn. 147, 106 N. W. 306, this case following the case of State ex rel. St. Anthony Park North Trust Co. v. District Court of Ramsey County, 95 Minn. 183, 103 N. W. 881, a decision of the Supreme Court of Minnesota, but the statute of Minnesota provides as follows:

“And no error or omission or irregularity, whether jurisdictional or otherwise, shall prevent a reassessment to the extent of the benefits conferred by such improvement.”

We do not think these cases are in point. These cases support the theory of the constitutionality, or the authority of the Legislature to enact a curative statute, by providing that the Legislature may provide, where the proceedings are void, that a reassessment ordinance may be passed. It is not necessary for us to pass upon the question of the constitutionality in the case at bar for the reason the question is whether our statute is broad enough to include a case to remedy jurisdictional defects. Our statute does not attempt to grant any such power or authority. It provides that a new assessment shall have like force and effect as the original assessment, and of course, if the /council had no jurisdiction in the first instance, they would acquire none in the second.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

American-First National Bank v. Peterson
1934 OK 695 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1934)
City of New Cordell v. Mansell
1934 OK 508 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1934)
McKnight v. Oklahoma City
1933 OK 463 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1933)
Brown Real Estate Co. v. Lancaster County
188 N.W. 247 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 1922)
Oliver v. Pickett, Co.
1920 OK 226 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1920)
Mulligan v. Johnson
1919 OK 251 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1919)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1919 OK 164, 181 P. 308, 76 Okla. 90, 1919 Okla. LEXIS 133, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-enid-v-gensman-okla-1919.