Harjim, Inc. v. Owens

52 F.2d 530, 1931 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1663
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedAugust 12, 1931
DocketNo. 982-M
StatusPublished

This text of 52 F.2d 530 (Harjim, Inc. v. Owens) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harjim, Inc. v. Owens, 52 F.2d 530, 1931 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1663 (S.D. Fla. 1931).

Opinion

RITTER, District Judge.

The plaintiffs are the owners of real and personal property in Palm Beach county who present their bill for an injunction and other relief against the publication of notice and sale of their property for nonpayment of taxes assessed thereon for the years 1927, 1928, 1929, and 1930. It is alleged in the bill that the defendant tax assessor, with the knowledge, consent, and acquiescence of the defendant county commissioners, deliberately, willfully, intentionally, arbitrarily, and fraudulently valued the property of the plaintiffs for taxation purposes for the said years at a higher percentage of-values than on other property of similar character; that the values fixed by the assessor were not based upon any percentage of the actual cash value of the property, and that the tax assessor intentionally, deliberately, willfully, knowingly, arbitrarily, systematically, and fraudulently refused and neglected to assess a large amount of personal property which should have been assessed under the laws of the state; .that the taxes of said county are not equal and uniform, and the said tax assessment roll is illegal and void, and the plaintiffs have been denied the equal protection of the law as guaranteed by the State and Federal Constitutions.

The defendants have answered, admitting a large part of the allegations of the bill, but denying the vital question as to the willful, deliberate, and fraudulent conduct of the assessor, as alleged, asserting the validity of the assessment, and that whatever errors or omissions may be found are not due to any such deliberate, intentional, and fraudulent conduct of the tax assessor, but are due to errors of judgment and inability to ascertain the omitted taxable property.

Under the allegations of fraud and intentional conduct of the tax assessor, this court has jurisdiction of the cause, and has heard the testimony and the arguments of counsel, and examined the briefs submitted.

This case 'is one which stands at the outset with a presumption in favor of the performance by the officers of their duty, as required by law. The burden of proof is upon the plaintiffs assailing the good faith of the tax assessor and the validity of his action. The tax assessor, in valuation of property, has a wide discretion. In the absence of proof of fraud, illegal acts, or abuse of discretion, courts will not control his valuations or omissions or property for tax assessment. There must be such illegal, intentional, arbitrary, systematic discrimination, and willful conduct as amounts to fraud in the making up the tax assessment roll before the court will exercise its power of interference. State v. Beardsley, 77 Fla. 803, 82 So. 794, 800; City of Tampa v. Palmer, 89 Fla. 514, 105 So. 115; Wade v. Murrhee, 75 Fla. 494, 78 So. 536; Graham v. City of West Tampa, 71 Fla. 605, 71 So. 926; Camp Phosphate Co. v. Allen, 77 Fla. 341, 81 So. 503; Bass v. Alderman, 80 Fla. 345, 86 So. 244.

These authorities are in accord with the decisions of the federal courts in reference to the question presented.

[532]*532The laws of Morida under consideration are found in Compiled General Laws 1927. I shall refer in a general way to certain sections pertinent to this case.

Section 893: “All real and personal property in this State, and all personal property belonging to persons residing in this State, not hereby expressly exempted therefrom, shall be subject to taxation in the manner provided by law.”

Sections 895 and 896 define real property and personal property. Personal property shall “be construed to include all goods and chattels, moneys and effects, all boats and vessels, all debts due or to become due from solvent debtors, whether on account, contract, note or otherwise, all public stocks or shares in all incorporated or unincorporated companies.”

Section 904 defines taxable money as meaning “gold and silver coin, United States treasury and bank notes, legal tender and all other forms of currency and every deposit which any person owning the same or holding in trust and residing in this State is entitled to withdraw in money on'demand.” “Credits” are in said section defined “to mean and include every claim and demand for money or other valuable thing, and every annuity or sum of money receivable at stated periods, due or to become due.”

Section 907 provides for the taxing of stocks in incorporated companies as personal property, including shares in state organized banks, requiring the bank to pay the tax on the stock of its shareholders. The residence of the shareholder is not considered.

Section 908: “Any banking, loan or trust company or corporation or any person acting as the agent of another, and, having in his possession or under his control, or management, any money, notes, credits or personal property belonging to such other person, with a view to investing or loaning or in any other manner using the same for pecuniary profits, shall be required to return the same for assessment at the real value, and such company, corporation or person shall be liable for the tax on the same; and if such company, corporation or person refuse to list such property on a return for assessment or to swear to the same, the amount of such money, notes, mortgages or credits shall be listed and valued according to the best knowledge of the assessor.”

Section 909: All steamboats, dredge boats, sailing vessels, wharf boats, barges and other erafts are taxable “in the county in which the same may belong or be enrolled, registered or licensed.”

Section 913: “Between the first day of January and the first day of July in each year, the county assessor of taxes in each county * * * shall ascertain by diligent inquiry the names of all taxable persons in his county, and also all of their taxable personal property, and all taxable real estate therein, on the first day of January of such year, and shall make out an assessment roll of all such taxable property.” Assessments of property and real estate shall be kept separately.

Section 915: “When a person is assessed as a trustee, guardian, executor, or administrator, a designation of his representative character shall be added to his name, and such assessment shall be entered upon a separate line from the individual assessment.”

Section 917 requires every person holding property to return the same for taxation on or before the 1st day of April of each year. Upon a failure so to do, the tax assessor makes out an assessment and valuation and the same “shall be deemed and held to be binding upon such owner or other person or corporation interested in such property, unless complaint is made of such assessment and valuation on the day set for hearing complaints and receiving testimony as to the value of any property, real or personal, as fixed by the county assessor of taxes.”

Section 919: “All personal estate liable to taxation, the value of which shall not have been specified under oath as aforesaid, shall be estimated by the county assessor of taxes at its true cash value, according to his best judgment and information, and his failure by neglect or refusal to make such estimate shall be a cause of suspension by the Governor.”

Section 929 provides that the county commissioners shall sit at stated periods as a board of equalization after the assessment roll is completed, to hear complaints for the purpose of “perfecting, reviewing and equalizing the assessment.”

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Related

Cordova v. Hood
84 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1873)
Cummings v. National Bank
101 U.S. 153 (Supreme Court, 1880)
City of Tampa v. Palmer
105 So. 115 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1925)
Pickett v. Russell
42 Fla. 116 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1900)
Graham v. City of West Tampa
71 So. 926 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1916)
Wade v. Murrhee
78 So. 536 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1918)
Camp Phosphate Co. v. Allen
81 So. 503 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1919)
State v. Beardsley
77 Fla. 803 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1919)
Bass v. Alderman
86 So. 244 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1920)
Nevada-California Power Co. v. Hamilton
235 F. 317 (D. Nevada, 1916)

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Bluebook (online)
52 F.2d 530, 1931 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1663, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harjim-inc-v-owens-flsd-1931.