Crosslin v. Warner-Quinlan Asphalt Co.

1918 OK 751, 177 P. 376, 71 Okla. 286, 1918 Okla. LEXIS 949
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedDecember 31, 1918
Docket8792
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 1918 OK 751 (Crosslin v. Warner-Quinlan Asphalt Co.) 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
Crosslin v. Warner-Quinlan Asphalt Co., 1918 OK 751, 177 P. 376, 71 Okla. 286, 1918 Okla. LEXIS 949 (Okla. 1918).

Opinion

MILEY, J.

This action was commenced on the 9th day of December, 1914, by the plaintiff in error Wm. E. Crosslin, as plaintiff in the court below, against the defendants in error, except the First National Bank of Cleveland, as defendants therein, to enjoin the collection of a certain special assessment levied pursuant to chapter 10, S. L. 1907-08, p. 166, as amended by article 1, c. 7, S. L. 1909, p. 131, against a lot or parcel of land belonging to him, fronting and abutting on East Main street in the city of Enid, Okla* to pay the cost of the improvement of said street. The other plaintiffs in errer, being severally the owners of other lots and pieces of land abutting on said street, were from time to time by leave of court permitted to join in the action as plaintiffs. The First National Bank of Cleveland, being the owner of the street improvement bonds issued by the city and payable solely from the assessments levied upon the lots and tracts of land benefited by said improvement, joined as defendant in the court below. After issue joined, there was a trial to1 the court, result, ing in decision and final judgment in favor of the defendants, from which the plaintiffs below prosecute error to this court. The validity of the assessment was assailed by the plaintiffs in error in the court below upon *287 many grounds, some of which are not urged in this court.

Of the questions raised and argued here, the first which we shall notice is that the city did not acquire jurisdiction to improve the street to be paid for by special assessments against the lots and tracts of land abutting thereon and benefited thereby. Sec. tion 2 of the act provides:

“When the mayor and council shall deem it necessary to grade, pave, macadamize, gut-t'e'-\ curb, drain or otherwise improve any street, avenue, alley, or lane, or any part thereof, within the limits of the city for which a special tax is to be levied as herein provided said mayor and council shall, by resolution, declare such work or improvement necessary to be done, and such resolution shall be published in six consecutive issues of a daily newspaper, or two consecutive issues of a weekly newspaper published and having a general circulation within such city; and if the owners of more than one-half in area of the land) liable to assessment to pay for such improvement of any such highway shall not, within fifteen days after the last publication of such resolution, file with the clerk of said city their protest in writing against such improvement, then the mayor and council shall have power to cause such improvement to be made and to contract therefor and to levy assessments as herein provided. * * *”

It appears from the record that on December 11, 1908, the resolution of necessity to grade, pave, curb, gutter, and drain and otherwise improve Main street from the east line of Third street to the east line of Twelfth street, in the city of Enid, was regularly passed by the council and approved by the mayor. It further appears that this resolution was published in the Enid Daily Eagle, a daily newspaper published and having general circulation within that city, for six regular consecutive issues exclusive of Sundays and holidays, and due proof was .made thereof; the first publication being made of the 22d day of December, 1908. and the last on the 29th day of December, 1908.

It seems that the plaintiffs in error do not now question the sufficiency of the resolution so passed, or the publication thereof. It is their claim, however, that the owners of more than one-half in area of the land liable to assessment to pay for such improvement filed a protest in writing against the same. -While by section 4 of the act it is provided that after the expiration of the time for objection or protest of the property owners, if no sufficient protest be filed, the mayor and council shall adopt a resolution reciting that no such protest has been filed and expressing the determination of the council to proceed with the improvement, etc., and a resolution was passed by the said council of the city of Enid on September, 17, 1909, reciting that no protests against the improvement had been filed, which was published on the 21st and 28th days of October, 1909, in the Enid Events, a weekly newspaper of general circulation in that city, yet it seems that such finding by the council is not conclusive and may be attacked collaterally. Berry v. City of Stillwater, 49 Okla. 560, 153 Pac. 870.

Much of the testimony at the trial was directed to the question of whether a protest had been filed. The original, if any, filed with the city clerk, was not produced, and it was contended by the plaintiffs that the same had been lost or made away with, We have examined all of the evidence with care, and, while there is considerable evidence tending to show that two or more protests were circulated and signed by various owners of property abutting on the proposed improvement some time between the publication of the initial resolution and the letting of the contract, one witness fixing the time when he circulated the protest as being in the last days of December, 1908, and the early days of January. 1909, and while there is some evidence tending to show that a meeting was held by the city council, at which many of the protestants were present and their protests considered, yet we have been unable to find, and counsel for plaintiffs in error in their brief fail to call attention to any evidence tending to show that a sufficient pro. test, or indeed that any protest at all, was filed within 15 days after the last publication of the resolution. On the other hand, a protest signed by property owners against .the improvement of a part of the street here involved and other streets, directed against a prior resolution of necessity passed June 21, 1907, was produced at the trial, and there is evidencew hich tends to show that this is the protest which the witnesses for plaintiffs had in mind and that no protest was circulated and filed under the resolution of December 11, 1908. Manifestly, the council was not deprived of jurisdiction to proceed with the contemplated improvement by a protest filed more than 15 days after the last publication of the resolution, or one previously filed and directed to a prior resolution. Having found generally for the defendants, the trial court necessarily found that a time *288 ly or sufficient protest was not filed by the property owners and on the state of the record, we cannot disturb the same.

The next contention of the plaintiffs in error is that the assessment is invalid for the reason that the journal kept by the city clerk does not show the final passage of the assessing ordinance, as required. by section 822, Comp. L. 1909, section 553, R. L. 1910. The ordinance in question appears in the ordinance book kept by the city clerk pursuant to section 823. Comp. L. 1909, section 555, R. L. 1910, with a note appended thereto stating that it was passed June 13, 1910. This ordinance was numbered No. 721. Reference to the journal kept by the city clerk of the proceedings of the council of that date shows that an ordinance of that number was considered and regularly passed by the council; but at one place, in the journal of the proceedings of the council from which the jour-is recited to be, “an ordinance defining cruelty to animals, providing penalties for violation thereof,” etc. An ordinance bearing this title appears in the ordinance- book as No. 721%, which appears to have been passed on June 20, 1910.

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Bluebook (online)
1918 OK 751, 177 P. 376, 71 Okla. 286, 1918 Okla. LEXIS 949, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crosslin-v-warner-quinlan-asphalt-co-okla-1918.