Hampton v. Hamsher

53 N.Y. Sup. Ct. 144, 10 N.Y. St. Rep. 769
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 15, 1887
StatusPublished

This text of 53 N.Y. Sup. Ct. 144 (Hampton v. Hamsher) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hampton v. Hamsher, 53 N.Y. Sup. Ct. 144, 10 N.Y. St. Rep. 769 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1887).

Opinion

Haight, J.:

This action was brought to recover -pay for three and one-half days’ services performed upon the highway. The plaintiff was a resident of the town of Ossian, living upon a farm partly in that town and partly in the town of Nunda. The whole of the farm was assessed for town, county and State purposes in the town of Ossian. In the year 18-85 the defendant, as commissioner of highways, in apportioning the amount of highway work chargeable against the plaintiff in the road district in which he lived in the [145]*145town.of Ossian, included, for the purposes of such apportionment and assessment for highway labor, that portion of his farm lying in the town of Nunda, following the last assessment-roll of the town of Ossian.

It is contended that he had no jurisdiction to do this and that ho consequently became liable to the plaintiff for the damages suffered by reason of this assessment. The respondent, in his brief, concedes that the whole farm was properly borne upon the assessment-roll of the town of Ossian for the purposes of town, county' and State taxes. 'If we could follow this concession we should have but'little trouble with the case.

Section 4, title 2, article 1, chapter 13,1 Revised Statutes, page 389, provided that “ "When the line between two towns, or wards, divides a farm or lot the same shall be taxed, if occupied, in the town or ward where the occupant resides. If unoccupied, each part shall be assessed in the town in which the same shall lie, and this whether such division line be a town line only or be also a county line.” This provision was general and not necessarily limited to town, county or State taxes, but covered highway taxes as well. But the difficulty is that this section was amended by chapter 287 of the Laws of 1871, and that chapter was repealed by chapter 355 of the Laws of 1872, the effect of which was to repeal the entire provision. (Harris v. Board of Supervisors of Niagara County, 33 Hun, 279-282; McMillan v. Bellows, 37 id., 214; The People, ex rel. Canajoharie Nat. B’k v. Board of Supervisors of Montgomery, County, 67 N. Y., 109.)

The legislature, however, doubtless did not intend this result and has hastened to re-enact section 4 of the Revised Statutes so repealed, which was done by chapter 315 of the Laws of 1886. The plaintiff, however, toolc no proceedings for the correction of the assessment-roll of the town of Ossian, but appears to have acquiesced in the assessment of the whole of his farm in that town. "We, therefore, pass to consider the duties of highway commissioners in reference to assessing highway labor in their respective towns. Section 19 of title 1, article 2, chapter 16 of the Revised Statutes (1R. S., 505,506), provides: “ Every person owning or occupying land in the town in which he or she resides, and every male inhabitant, above the age of twenty-[146]*146one years, residing in the town when the assessment is made, shall be assessed to work on the public highways in such town; and the lands of non-residents situated in such town shall be assessed for highway labor as hereinafter directed.” Section 24 provides that “ in making such estimate and assessment the commissioner shall proceed as "follows: 1. The whole number of days’ work to be assessed in each year shall be ascertained, and shall be at least three times the number •of taxable inhabitants in such town. 2. Every male inhabitant .above the age of twenty-one years (excepting ministers of the gospel .and priests of every denomination, paupers, idiots and lunatics) shall ■be assessed at least one day. 3. The residue of such day’s work .Shall be apportioned upon the estate, real and personal, of every inhabitant of such town as the same shall appear by the last assessment-roll of the town, and upon each tract or parcel of land, of which .the owners are non-residents, contained in the list made as aforesaid.”

It will be observed that under this subdivision of the section the residue of the work, after assessing one day to every male inhabitant •over twenty-one years of age, etc., is to be apportioned upon the .estate, real and personal, of every inhabitant of the town as the same shall appear by the last assessmenProll of the town. Here is a positive statutory requirement for the commissioner to apportion the work, and in doing so to' follow the last assessment-roll. He is .given no discretion in the matter. Iir the case under consideration ,the defendant did follow the last assessment-roll in ajaportioning the ■plaintiff’s highway labor; and as that part of the plaintiff’s farm lying in Nunda was borne upon the assessment-roll of Ossian, it follows that he was properly assessed for that land in the town of .Ossian for highway purposes.

The learned county judge, in commenting upon the provisions of section 19, has transposed the same, and then draws the conclusion that its provisions are limited to lands lying within the town. He reads it as follows: “ Every person owning or occupying land in the town in which he or she resides, and the lands of non-residents .situated in such town are the lands upon which the apportionment is to be made.” Wq do not so read it. It is, every person owning or occupying land in the town that is to be assessed for work on the public highways, and then follow provisions in reference to nonresident lands which are also to be assessed. The first subdivision [147]*147of the section does not in terms limit the assessment to lands in the town, but limits it to the persons owning land in the town.

It is also contended that that portion of the plaintiff’s farm lying in Nunda could properly be assessed in that town under section 22, which p’ovides that the commissioner of highways in each town, at their first or subsequent meeting shall make out a list and statement of the contents of all lots, pieces or parcels of land within such town owned by non-residents therein. Every lot so designated shall be described in the same manner as is required for assessors, and its value shall be set down opposite to such description. Such value shall be the same as was affixed to such lot in the last assessment-roll of the town, and if such lot was not separately valued in such roll then in proportion to the valuation which shall have been affixed to the whole tract of which such lot shall be a part.” But this section has reference to non-resident lands. Non-resident lands are defined to be unoccupied lands not owned by a person residing in the town or ward in which the same are situated. (1 R. S., 389, § 3, art. 1, tit. 2, chap. 13.) The plaintiff’s farm in Nunda was not non-resident land but were lands upon which he lived, being a portion of the farm tilled and cultivated by him. But this section gives no power to the commissioner of highways to assess the value of the lot. Eor the value is the same as was affixed to the last assessment-roll of the town. The commissioner of highways in Nunda could not value the lot, neither could he get its value from the last assessment-roll of that town, for it was not borne upon the assessment-roll of that town.

Ve are, consequently, of the opinion that this section has no application to the lands in question.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
53 N.Y. Sup. Ct. 144, 10 N.Y. St. Rep. 769, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hampton-v-hamsher-nysupct-1887.