Fish v. Coggeshall

Supreme Court of Rhode Island

Fish v. Coggeshall

47 A. 692, 22 R.I. 318, 1900 R.I. LEXIS 111

CourtSupreme Court of Rhode Island

DecidedDecember 21, 1900

StatusPublished

Cited by2 cases

This text of 47 A. 692 (Fish v. Coggeshall) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Rhode Island primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Fish v. Coggeshall, 47 A. 692, 22 R.I. 318, 1900 R.I. LEXIS 111 (R.I. 1900).

Pincite

Opinion

Per Curiam.

Gen. Laws cap. 15, § i, provides that taxes on real estate shall be assessed to the owner.

*319 William P. Sheffield, Jr., for plaintiff. J. Stacy Brown, for defendant.

February 28, 1898, a tax on real estate in Newport was assessed against the plaintiff, which he paid under protest, and he now sues to recover back the amount so paid.

(1) At the time of the assessment the plaintiff was not the owner of the land in question. He had agreed orally to purchase it at a price named, but he did not pay for it until March 14th, 1898, when the deed was delivered to him. The defendant claims that the plaintiff was the equitable owner at the time of the assessment, because of the contract and the fact that he had taken possession of the property. This latter assertion is not established as a fact by the evidence. The plaintiff was first notified of the acceptance of his offer for the land on March 8, 1898, while he was in Mississippi, and he at once forwarded a check for the purchase-money. With no enforceable contract and no authority to. enter, .he cannot be regarded as an equitable owner prior to that time. See McKee v. McCardell, 22 R. I. 71. He was not liable for .the tax when it was assessed, and is entitled to recover it. back.

Case remitted to the District Court of the First Judicial District, with direction to enter judgment for the plaintiff for $178.41 and costs.

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

Per Curiam.

Gen. Laws cap. 15, § i, provides that taxes on real estate shall be assessed to the owner.

*319 William P. Sheffield, Jr., for plaintiff. J. Stacy Brown, for defendant.

February 28, 1898, a tax on real estate in Newport was assessed against the plaintiff, which he paid under protest, and he now sues to recover back the amount so paid.

(1) At the time of the assessment the plaintiff was not the owner of the land in question. He had agreed orally to purchase it at a price named, but he did not pay for it until March 14th, 1898, when the deed was delivered to him. The defendant claims that the plaintiff was the equitable owner at the time of the assessment, because of the contract and the fact that he had taken possession of the property. This latter assertion is not established as a fact by the evidence. The plaintiff was first notified of the acceptance of his offer for the land on March 8, 1898, while he was in Mississippi, and he at once forwarded a check for the purchase-money. With no enforceable contract and no authority to. enter, .he cannot be regarded as an equitable owner prior to that time. See McKee v. McCardell, 22 R. I. 71. He was not liable for .the tax when it was assessed, and is entitled to recover it. back.

Case remitted to the District Court of the First Judicial District, with direction to enter judgment for the plaintiff for $178.41 and costs.

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)

47 A. 692, 22 R.I. 318, 1900 R.I. LEXIS 111, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fish-v-coggeshall-ri-1900.

Opinion

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack