Davidson v. Wells

233 S.W. 518, 1921 Tex. App. LEXIS 896
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 18, 1921
DocketNo. 8566.
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 233 S.W. 518 (Davidson v. Wells) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Davidson v. Wells, 233 S.W. 518, 1921 Tex. App. LEXIS 896 (Tex. Ct. App. 1921).

Opinion

HAMILTON, J.

This suit was filed by appellants, seeking to enjoin the commission- - ers’ court of Rockwall county and the ad-visors of said court from diverting certain road funds.

It was alleged by appellants that, at an election properly held under the provisions of the general law of Texas, Rockwall count ty; voted to issue its bonds for $800,000, for the purpose of preparing, maintaining, and operating macadamized roads in said county; that the bonds were sold, and that the proceeds were in the county treasury.

It was alleged that the .provisions of a special act of the Thirty-Sixth Legislature (Acts 36th Leg. c. 67), which became operative March 15, 1919, directed how these funds should be spent, and that it required a road designated as highway No. 1 to commence at the line between Dallas county and Rockwall county and extend east through the towns of Rockwall, Fate, and Royse, to the county line, and also required that it should be built before the construction of any other road provided for in the act was undertaken.

And it was alleged that the commissioners’ court and its advisors, the latter selected and acting under authority of the special road law, had surveyed and located said highway No. 1, commencing at a point in the Dallas county line, extending east through the towns of Rockwall and Fate, and into the town of Royse, near the business center of which it ended; and that they had made surveys and plans of highway No. 3, and were proceeding to build this road, commencing at a point o.n the Gollin county line near the city water reservoir at Royse, extending thence south through the town of Royse, and intersecting highway No. 1 in Royse; that this was being done without first having constructed highway No. 1 from its terminus in Royse east to the county line; and it was alleged that, if the defendants were permitted to carry out their design and intention, the funds arising from the bond sale would “be exhausted without the completion of said highway No. 1 to the east line of the county, and its construction will never be completed.”

The acts of appellees were alleged to amount to an unlawful diversion of public funds of the county from the purposes designated by law for their use. A temporary injunction was granted, and thereafter, upon appellees’ motion, it was dissolved, and the act of the court dissolving it has resulted in this appeal.

[1] In the absence of some mandatory provision of the special act specifically requiring the building of the roads in conformity with particular lines, the commissioners’ court would have broad discretion as to where the roads should be laid out and built. Only in case of abuse of such discretion could the execution of the plans determined upon by that body be interfered with by injunction. And under the authorities abuse of its discretion could not be declared because of acts merely disclosing bad judgment or acts merely showing that the building of a particular road was being given preference over others of equal or greater importance. Facts would have to be established either positively proving the proposed action to be fraudulent, or having the necessary effect of showing it to be fraudulent. Grayson County v. Harrell,. 202 S. W. 160.

[2] But appellants say, in substance, that the special law mandatorily requires the construction of road No. 1 before work is to be *519 begun on any other road for the building of which the law provides. This, they say, deprives the commissioners’ court of any discretion. They contend not only that the legislative fiat expressed in the enactment requires the construction of road No. 1 before beginning any other, but also requires that it extend east to the line between Rock-wall county and Hunt county, subject only to the limitation in the special law that such construction be not in conflict with the provisions of some requirement made by the state or federal government. We do not think, that from a consideration of the different sections of the law together there can be derived the construction that road No. 1 must be constructed east to a point in the Hunt county line, and that it must be completed before any other road is commenced.

Section 7 of the law seems to recognize the right and duty of the commissioners’ court to exercise discretion in selecting the’route and course of all the roads. That section is as follows:

“In the construction of the permanent roads and highways with the proceeds of the bonds voted as aforesaid, the commissioners’ court shall lay out same in the most direct and practicable route, taking into consideration the economy, cost of construction, the people served, looking to and securing the best possible road and results for the cost of construction.”

Section 13 is as follows:

“The highway to be construtted under federal and state aid' shall commence at the Dallas county line and pass through the town of Rock-wall and across the public square and through the town and streets of Date and through the city of Royse to the county line unless some provision of the requirement of the federal and state government prohibits.”

Section 15 is as follows:

“It is provided that the road from Dallas county line east through the town of Rockwall, Date and Royse to the county line and known as state highway number one, shall be the first road constructed and shall be of concrete or other hard material in conformity to the requirements of the Highway Department of the state of Texas and Federal Highway Engineer. The second road to be constructed is highway number two and shall run from the courthouse in Rockwall through McLendon and Chisholm to Kaufman county line. The next road to be constructed is highway number three extending from the Collin county line crossing near the city water reservoir of Royse and extending through the town of Royse in a southerly direction and connecting with highway number two at some point near Chisholm or McLendon. The next highway to be constructed is highway number four from a point on highway number one in the town of Rockwall extending in a southerly direction to the town of Heath and on to Kaufman county line. The next highway to be constructed is highway number five leading south or southeast from the town of Fate beginning at highway number one and intersecting highway number three at some point near or beyond Blackland. The next highway is highway number six leading from the town of Rockwall and from some point on highway number one and extending north or northeast and then east passing near Mt. Zion church and connecting with the highway number one at a point near Old Fate, or some point which will connect the east end of same with highway number one. The next highway to be _ built is highway number seven which leads in a southeast direction from Royse at a point on highway number one and, if practicable connect with the Hunt county highway or at least give the Royse precinct a highway which shall consist of four and one-half miles of road, the same to be left to the discretion of the commissioners’ court. The next highway is highway number eight and shall extend from a point southeast of Rockwall on highway number two in an easterly direction, to connect with highway number three at some point near Blackland, the same to be left to the discretion of the commissioners’ court.

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Bluebook (online)
233 S.W. 518, 1921 Tex. App. LEXIS 896, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/davidson-v-wells-texapp-1921.