Frankenstein v. COIL CONSTR. CO., INC.

143 N.E.2d 468, 127 Ind. App. 642, 1957 Ind. App. LEXIS 167
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 19, 1957
Docket18,797
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 143 N.E.2d 468 (Frankenstein v. COIL CONSTR. CO., INC.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Frankenstein v. COIL CONSTR. CO., INC., 143 N.E.2d 468, 127 Ind. App. 642, 1957 Ind. App. LEXIS 167 (Ind. Ct. App. 1957).

Opinions

Kelley, J.

Action by appellee, Coil Construction Company, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Company) to foreclose a sidewalk improvement assessment lien against real estate of appellant. Appellee, Marian L. Frankenstein, is proceeded against as the wife of appellant. The issues made by appellant’s answers to the complaint were submitted to the court for trial, without jury. The court found the facts specially and stated five conclusions of law thereon, favorable to the Company. Consistent judgment followed, which, in substance, decreed that appellant and appellee, Marian L. Frankenstein, his wife, pay the assessment in the sum of $666.35, together with interest at 6% per annum from September 13, 1951 and with $250.00 attorney fees, which collectively “constitutes a valid and subsisting lien upon said real estate.” That appellant’s real estate, consisting of five (5) separately numbered lots in Paramount Extended, an addition to the City of Fort Wayne, or so much as necessary, be sold as lands are sold on execution and the proceeds be applied as directed.

Appellant’s motion for a new trial, consisting of four specifications, was overruled, as was appellant’s written objections to the entering of the judgment. Specification 4 of the new trial motion comprised five separate asserted errors, lettered [646]*646(a) to (e), inclusively, only two of which, (a) and (b) , are argued and it is therefore considered that (c), (d) and (e) are waived. The relied upon specifications of errors in the Assignment of Errors, in addition to assigning error in the overruling of the motion for a new trial, charge error in each of the five conclusions of law, the sustaining of the Company’s demurrer to appellant’s Plea in Abatement, and the overruling of appellant’s written objections to the entering of the judgment rendered by the court.

The complaint of the appellee Company alleged, in substance, that on April 17, 1951, the Board of Public Works of the City of Fort Wayne adopted Declaratory-Resolution No. 3994-1951, providing for the improvement of a sidewalk walk on the north side of Vance Avenue in said city; that on May 24, 1951 said “public improvement” was confirmed by said Board; that the cost thereof was ordered assessed against and to be collected from the owners of real estate bordering on said sidewalk; that a contract for said public improvement was awarded to said Company and, in pursuance of said contract, the work and improvement was completed and on July 26, 1951, it reported the completion of the work; that the appellant, during all times mentioned, was and “still is” the owner of Lots Numbered 88, 90, 91, 92 and 93 in Paramount Extended, an addition to said city, which are located on the north side of said Vance Avenue and front entirely on the improved sidewalk; that on September 13, 1951, said Board of Public Works confirmed an assessment roll for said improvement and the above described real estate was assessed on said roll for said improvement in the amount of $666.35; that on September 13, 1951, said assessment roll was “delivered by the said Board of Public Works to the Department of Finance of said City” and is shown in the records of the Comptroller [647]*647of said City; that appellant failed and refused to pay the sum “now due” and said assessment has been a lien against said described real estate in the sum of $666.35 since September 13, 1951, together with interest thereon; that the Company was compelled to employ an attorney to bring the action and a reasonable fee for his services is $250.00; and that appellee, Marian L. Frankenstein, is the wife of appellant.

Appellant and appellee, Marian L., his wife, filed a Plea in Abatement of the cause alleging:

“. . . that the Statutes of the State of Indiana provide that before any suit is instituted for the foreclosure of an assessment lien, notice shall be given by the owners of such lien or assessment fifteen (15) days before the institution of said suit.
These defendants further say that no notice was given by the owners of such lien or assessment prior to the filing of this suit.”

The Company demurred to the plea on the ground that it did not state facts sufficient to constitute a ground for abating the action. The theory of the demurrer, as shown by the memorandum thereto, is that the Statutes of this State do not provide for such notice and that no notice is required prior to the filing of a suit to foreclose such lien. The demurrer was sustained.

It has been held that the Act of 1909, Ch. 172, §7 (Burns’ 1950 Replacement, §48-2722), insofar as it provided for 15 days’ notice before institution of action to collect unpaid assessment, was repealed by Acts 1931, Ch. 99 (Burns’ 1950 Replacement, §48-4401, et seq.), which contains no provisions for notice. Hastings v. Gault et al. (1940), 216 Ind. 315, 318, point 1, 25 N. E. 2d 232. We see no error in sustaining the demurrer to the Plea in Abatement.

[648]*648Appellant’s motion for new trial asserts that the decision of .the court is not sustained by sufficient evidence and is contrary to law. In this regard appellant urges error in admitting in evidence the Company’s Exhibits 1 and 2, over his objection.

The objection to said Exhibit 1, to the extent it is argued by appellant, was that it was not properly certified in that the certificate was not made by the Comptroller of the City of Fort Wayne but was made by the Secretary of the Board of Works of said City and that it was not certified to be a “true and complete” copy but was certified only as an “exact” copy. We gather from the brief that said Exhibit 1 “purported to be an exact copy of the final assessment rolls confirmed by the Board of Works . . . for the improving of the sidewalk . . . .” However, appellant, in his Condensed Recital of the Evidence, does not set forth either a copy of said Exhibit 1 or said certificate thereto or the substance of either. We are thus, driven to the transcript in search of error upon which to reverse the judgment of the trial court. This we are not required to do. State of Indiana ex rel. Salt Creek Civil Township et al. v. Stevens et al. (1918), 69 Ind. App. 137, 139, 121 N. E. 371; Lake Motor Freight Line, Inc. v. New York Central Railroad Company (1950), 228 Ind. 371, 372, 92 N. E. 2d 221.

As to said Exhibit 2, appellant’s brief, in the Condensed Recital of the Evidence, recites that it is “a contract between the Board of Public Works, City of Fort Wayne, and the Coil Construction Co., Inc., . . . for the construction of a sidewalk on the north side of Vance Avenue . . . .” The objection thereto was that “there is no showing that the Board of Public Works . . . had any authority to enter into this contract . . . .” This objection was not well taken. It is provided in §48-2701, Burns’ 1950 Re[649]*649placement, “That in the event of the execution of any contract for any public improvement, the validity of such contract shall not subsequently be questioned by any persons except in a suit to enjoin the performance of such contract . . . .” See, also, Kellems et al. v. Republic Construction Company (1921), 77 Ind. App. 18, 21, 131 N. E. 545; Varble et ux. v. O’Neil (1941), 110 Ind. App. 164, 168, 37 N. E. 2d 276.

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

Related

Walker Process Equipment v. Advance Mechanical System, Inc.
668 N.E.2d 132 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1996)
Boruff v. Boruff
602 N.E.2d 180 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1992)
Hinshaw v. Hildebrand
192 N.E.2d 767 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1963)
State Ex Rel. Sanders v. CIRCUIT COURT ETC.
182 N.E.2d 781 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1962)
Frankenstein v. COIL CONSTR. CO., INC.
143 N.E.2d 468 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1957)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
143 N.E.2d 468, 127 Ind. App. 642, 1957 Ind. App. LEXIS 167, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/frankenstein-v-coil-constr-co-inc-indctapp-1957.