Harrison v. Barton

1960 OK 256, 358 P.2d 211, 1960 Okla. LEXIS 517
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedDecember 19, 1960
Docket39414
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 1960 OK 256 (Harrison v. Barton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harrison v. Barton, 1960 OK 256, 358 P.2d 211, 1960 Okla. LEXIS 517 (Okla. 1960).

Opinion

WELCH, Justice.

The city of Oklahoma City for years owned and operated a water distribution system in the City; and to serve imperative needs the City recently acquired and completed a large water reservoir near Atoka, more than one hundred miles from the City.

To make desirable provision for construction of a water transportation system from “reservoir” to City, and to pay the costs thereof and to provide for continuing distribution of water in the City there was created the Oklahoma City Municipal Improvement Authority, a public charitable trust, with R. Lewis Barton and Richard W. Camp, business men of the City, and Sheldon L. Stirling, City Manager, and Edward H. Moler, City Attorney, as the four Trustees of said Authority-Trust.

The City Council by appropriate ordinances accepted a beneficial interest in and of such Authority-Trust, as beneficiary thereof. City then leased to Authority-Trust its water distribution system and authorized Authority-Trust, among other things, (1) to issue bonds to provide funds to construct a prescribed water transportation system from “reservoir” to City, (2) to construct such transportation system -under appropriate contracts and to op■erate same, and City’s waterworks system, and to collect appropriate charges or fees from water users in City, (3) to pledge the revenues from such operation to pay the issued bonds, (4) to return to City all such constructed facilities and water distribution system when such revenue bonds had been fully paid.

All of the foregoing was evidenced and implemented, by a Trust Indenture executed by the four Trustees, by Ordinances •of City, by a Lease Agreement executed between Trustees and the City, and by a Bond Indenture.

In this action after full pleadings asserting appropriate allegations and denials, trial was had to the court.

There was substantial evidence by oral testimony, and documents identified and introduced, and after complete trial the court made detailed findings of fact set out in twenty-one paragraphs summarized as follows:

1. The Authority-Trust was created under applicable law because of the necessity for extension of the City’s utilities and water supply by reason of the increased population and area, and the existing water supply conditions; such need and necessity was set forth in detail in Article 1 of the Lease Agreement as of August 1, 1960, between the Trustees and the City, which recited the City’s ownership of “reservoir” with a capacity of forty-one billion gallons of water; City’s prior purchase of part of the land needed for the Elm Creek Reservoir; the purchase of much of the remaining land by the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce for conveyance to the City, and the purchase by City of a part of the pipe line right of way and the great public emergency that would exist in the event of drought, such as has been experienced in past years.

2. As of August 1, 1960, the City entered into a Trust Indenture with the Trustees whereby the Trust was created for the use and benefit of the City, and for the public purposes therein specified.

3. That the purposes of the Trust as set forth in the Trust Indenture were, among other things, to finance, acquire, construct, operate and maintain, improve and extend public utility properties, within or without the City, including water, sewer, garbage and trash disposal facilities for use by the United States of America, or the State of Oklahoma, or by authority for agencies of the United States or Oklahoma, or any municipality thereof, or any political subdivisions, including the beneficiary of *214 said' Tr-r;$t, the City of Oklahoma ' City; and to pay the surplus revenues from the operation of such properties to the City of Oklahoma City.

4. The Trust Indenture refers to and describes the property of the Trust Estate as (1) “Any funds and property in the hands of the Trustees or to be acquired or constructed by them, and dedicated by the Trustor and others to be used for Trust purposes, (2) all leasehold rights passing to the Trustees from the beneficiary (3) any money, property and all other things of value coming into the possession of the Trustees pursuant to the provisions of the Trust Indenture, and (4) .a tract of real property which was specifically described.”

5. The Trust Indenture provides that in case of a tie vote among the four Trustees the matter shall be decided by a majority of the governing body of the City by resolution.

6. The Trust Indenture provides that in acting upon, construction bids, the Trustees shall have authority to reject all bids and readvertise for bids, or enter into contract with the responsible bidder or bidders who in the opinion of the Trustees shall offer the terms deemed most favorable to the Trust Estate.

7. On August 16, 1960, by Ordinance 9052, the City approved the Trust Indenture, and accepted the Trust as the beneficiary thereof.

8. On August 23, 1960, by Lease Agreement as of August 1, 1960, the City leased to the Trustees the water system of the City under specified terms, for forty years, or to such date as indebtedness incurred by the Trustees pursuant to a certain Bond Indenture, hereafter referred to, has been paid or provision made for such payment, whichever is later.

9. On August 22, 1960, a Bond Indenture dated as of August 1, 1960, was executed between Trustees and the First National Bank & Trust Company, and the Fidelity National Bank & Trust Company, both of the City.

10. The Bond Indenture pledges and assigns to the Banks the revenue of the Trust Estate for the payment of the bonds which may be issued and sold to provide funds for construction expense. There is a recital as to a grant, conveyance and pledge of the physical properties of the Trust Estate. The court specifically found that a proper construction was that this constituted only an assignment of the revenue to the bank even in the event of default. (This fact finding No. 10 will be specifically discussed further in this opinion.)

11. That the City by Ordinance No. 9074 on September 6, 1960, cancelled its prior lease of the city water system to the Oklahoma City Development Trust dated April 12, 1960; and approved and authorized the lease agreement of August 1, 1960, and approved and accepted the Bond Indenture dated as of August 1, 1960 (this latter lease agreement being the same as referred to in finding of fact No. 8, and the Bond Indenture being the same as referred to in fact finding No. 9).

12. That the Trustees of the Oklahoma City Development Trust (a prior Trust separate and distinct from the Authority-Trust here involved) had on April 12, 1960, entered into a construction contract with the Atoka Water Contractors Company and had accepted a proposal from John Nu~ veen & Company, and Associates, to purchase said Trustees’ bonds to finance the cost of such improvements; that said Trustees of the said prior Trust had on said’ date executed a lease agreement with the-City whereby the City leased to the said: Trustees of said prior trust the water system of the City, and executed a Bond Indenture with the First National Bank and Trust Company of City for the security of such bonds.

13. There followed litigation concerning-this prior Trust, The Oklahoma City Development Trust, including case No.

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Bluebook (online)
1960 OK 256, 358 P.2d 211, 1960 Okla. LEXIS 517, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harrison-v-barton-okla-1960.