Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. of New York v. Wilcox County

287 F. 809, 1923 U.S. App. LEXIS 2394
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedMarch 6, 1923
DocketNo. 4007
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 287 F. 809 (Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. of New York v. Wilcox County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. of New York v. Wilcox County, 287 F. 809, 1923 U.S. App. LEXIS 2394 (5th Cir. 1923).

Opinion

WALKER, Circuit Judge.

This was an action by the plaintiff in error on the following instrument:

“Six mouths after date, for value received, Wilcox county, Georgia, promises to pay to W. H. Patterson, or bearer, at the Hanover National Bank, in the ' city of New York, N. Y., the sum of twenty thousand ($20,000) dollars, with interest thereon after maturity at the rate of eight per cent, per annum. This note is issued in pursuance of a resolution duly adopted by the commissioners of roads and revenues of Wilcox county, Ga., at a meeting held on the 29th day of August, 1917, and duly signed by the chairman thereof as required by law. It is hereby certified and recited that each and every act', condition, and thing required to be done, to have happened and to be performed precedent to and in the issuance of this note, has been done, has happened, and has been performed in full and strict compliance with the Constitution and laws of the state of Georgia, and that this note is within every debt and other limit prescribed by law, and the faith, credit and resources of Wilcox county, Ga., are hereby irrevocably pledged to the punctual payment of this [811]*811note, and any interest that may accrue hereon after maturity according to its terms. If this note is not paid at maturity and is collected by an attorney, through legal procedure or otherwise, the holder hereof shall be entitled to 10 per cent, attorney’s fees of the principal and interest thereof by giving notice and proceeding as provided by law.
“In witness whefeof, Wilcox county, 6a., has caused its corporate name to be signed hereto by the chairman of its commissioners of roads and revenues, -and its corporate seal to be hereto affixed and attested by its treasurer this the 2d day of September, 1917.
“Commissioners of Roads and Revenues, Wilcox County, 6a.,
“[Seal.] By J. P. Doster, Chairman.
“Attest: D. M. King, Treasurer.”

The petition alleged that a certified copy of the following resolution referred to in said note was attached thereto at the time of the execution thereof:

“Whereas, Wilcox county, 6a., desires to borrow the .sum of $20,000 for a perio'd of six months, from September 2, 1917, and at a rate of interest not exceeding eight per cent, per annum; and
“Whereas said money is to be borrowed for the purpose of defraying expenses of said county in anticipation of collection of taxes;
“Now, therefore, be it resolved, by the commissioners of roads and revenues of said Wilcox county, 6a., that the chairman of said commissioners of roads and revenues of Wilcox county, 6a., be authorized, empowered, and instructed, and he is hereby expressly authorized, empowered, and instructed, to borrow the sum of twenty thousand ($20,000) dollars for said Wilcox county, 6a., the same to be due and payable six months from September 2, 1917, and at a rate of interest not exceeding eight per cent, per annum.
“Be it further resolved by the said commissioners of roads and revenues of said Wilcox county, 6a., that to better secure the payment of said sum, together with any interest that may accrue thereon after maturity, the chairman of said commissioners of roads and revenues is hereby expressly authorized, empowered and instructed to execute the said county of Wilcox’s note therefor, according to the terms mentioned above, and to pledge the faith, credit, and resources of said Wilcox county, 6a., to the punctual payment of said note, together with any interest that may accrue thereon after maturity, according to the above-mentioned terms.
“I hereby certify that the above is a true and correct copy of a resolution passed by the commissioners of roads and revenues of Wilcox county, 6a., at a meeting held the 29th day of August, 1917.
“[Seal.] N. H. Patten, Clerk,
“Commissioners of Roads and Revenues, Wilcox County, 6a.” 1

A general demurrer to the petition was sustained, and the cause was dismissed. The ruling on the demurrer is assigned as error.

The following is a provision of section 7 of article 7 of the Constitution of Georgia:

“Paragraph 1. Debt of Counties and Cities Not to Exceed Seven Per Cent. The debt hereafter incurred by any county, municipal corporation, or political division of this state, except as in this Constitution provided for, shall not exceed seven per centum of the assessed value of all the taxable property therein, and no such county, municipality, or division’ shall incur any new debt, except for a temporary loan or loans to supply casual deficiencies of revenue, not to exceed one-fifth of one per centum of the assessed value of taxable property therein, without the assent of two-thirds of the qualified voters thereof, at an election for that purpose, to be held as may be prescribed by law; but any city, the debt of which does not exceed seven per centum of the assessed value of the taxable property at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, may be authorized by law to increase, at any’ time, the amount of said debt, three per centum upon such assessed valuation.”

[812]*812Under the above set out constitutional provision, a county, unless authorized by an election as stated, cannot incur any new debt, “except for a temporary loan or loans to supply casual deficiencies of revenue, not to exceed one-fifth of one per centum of the assessed value of taxable property therein.” The expression “casual deficiencies of revenue,” as used in the above-quoted provision, means unforeseen or unexpected deficiencies of revenue, brought about, after the levy of taxes' for a year, by casual and unanticipated causes. Lewis v. Lofley, 92 Ga. 804, 19 S. E. 57; Commercial Trust Co. v. Laurens County (D. C.) 267 Fed. 901. The petition contains no allegation as to an election or as to a casual deficiency of revenue.

In behalf of the plaintiff in error it is contended that the recital contained in the note sued on has the effect of estopping the county to deny that a casual deficiency of revenue existed or that there had been an election authorizing the creation of the debt which the note purports to evidence. The county was not so estopped by such recital, if the instrument sued on disclosed the circumstances under which it was executed, and that the borrowing it purported to evidence was not constitutionally authorized under the circumstances so disclosed. The test is: What does the instrument as a whole disclose ? ’ The taker of the note is chargeable with notice of the contents of the resolution, a certified copy of which was attached to the note at the time it was executed. Chaffee County v. Potter, 142 U. S. 355, 364, 12 Sup. Ct. 216, 35 L. Ed. 1040; Waite v. Santa Cruz, 184 U. S. 302, 316, 22 Sup. Ct. 327, 46 L. Ed. 552.

The resolution specifies the purpose for which the money was to be borrowed, namely, “for the purpose of defraying expenses of said county in anticipation of collection of taxes.” The resolution does not purport to show that the borrowing was authorized by an election or by the existence of a casual deficiency of revenue.

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

Related

Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. v. Wilcox County, Ga.
2 F.2d 465 (Fifth Circuit, 1924)
Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. v. Wilcox County
298 F. 772 (S.D. Georgia, 1924)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
287 F. 809, 1923 U.S. App. LEXIS 2394, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/farmers-loan-trust-co-of-new-york-v-wilcox-county-ca5-1923.