Hengy v. Dallas County Levee Improvement Dist. No. 6

233 S.W.2d 157, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1591
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 7, 1950
DocketNo. 14228
StatusPublished

This text of 233 S.W.2d 157 (Hengy v. Dallas County Levee Improvement Dist. No. 6) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hengy v. Dallas County Levee Improvement Dist. No. 6, 233 S.W.2d 157, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1591 (Tex. Ct. App. 1950).

Opinion

YOUNG, Justice.

This is a second appeal of appellee’s suit for collection of delinquent Levee District taxes against appellant’s 34.4 acres of land. See Tex.Civ.App., Waco, 199 S.W.2d 230 and 146 Tex. 95, 202 S.W.2d 918, for relevant facts and law of the case as there determined. Upon a trial, the court withdrew the cause from the jury after both parties had moved for an instructed verdict, then rendering judgment against defendant in amount of $4,-762.20, taxes claimed for 1929 to 1943, both inclusive together with interest, penalties, and decree of foreclosure, which record is before us for review.

As has been heretofore stated, Levee Improvement District No. 6 was created in 1918 under authority of the Laney Act, 35tb Legislature, 4th Called Session, chapter 44, p. 97. Bonds in amount of $220,000 were voted and issued under a plan of reclamation adopted by a majority of the district land owners, taxes levied for payment of bonds to be based on benefits received from-the project when completed. While work on above plan was under way, it became-evident that funds were insufficient to complete the improvement, along with some new construction work that the engineers found to be necessary. Accordingly in 1920' additional bonds were voted in the amount of $70,000, the statute being followed in-all respects in issuance thereof except that there was no .hearing before Commissioners of Appraisal as to benefits accruing under the supplemental plan; the Commissioners Courts of the several counties, Dallas, Rockwall and Kaufman, simply levying a tax for payment of the additional bonds on-basis of benefits assessed under the initial, plan of reclamation.

[158]*158The Supreme Court in original opinion simply condemned as invalid the second issue of bonds ($70,000) because a tax had been levied to pay them without affording the property owner an opportunity to be heard on amount of the additional assessment against his property; remanding cause to the trial court for purpose of ascertaining “the amount of the unpaid taxes levied for the payment of the origin_l bonds and interest, and to enter judgment therefor, and to dismiss the suit for the taxes levied for the payment of the supplemental bonds, without prejudice, however, to any right plaintiff may have under the validating act to have the benefits of the supplemental plan reappraised as of the time of the issuance of the bonds, and to have such taxes reassessed.” [146 Tex. 95, 202 S.W.2d 920.] On rehearing and contention that part of the supplemental bond issue had been expended to complete the original plan of reclamation, the cause was remanded for a determination of the amount, if any, that was used for such purpose, which portion of the supplemental bonds was declared legal on the principle that where a tax has been levied having both legal and illegal elements, “the lawful part will be sustained if it can be clearly and definitely ascertained and separated from the unlawful part; otherwise the whole levy will be held invalid.”

In consequence and on the present trial, the jury answered “Yes,” to issue 1: “Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that any part of the proceeds of the $70,000 bond issue in question was used to complete the work contemplated under the original plan of reclamation approved by the State Reclamation Engineer and identified as Plaintiff’s Exhibit No. 46?” And to issue 2, answered that $33,440 was the amount of proceeds of the $70,000 bond issue “used to complete the work contemplated under the original plan.” Both parties filed motions for judgment, attaching form thereof, that of the Levee District being approved with rendition accordingly. For reasons hereinafter apparent each of these requested judgments must be given a rather close analysis, in light of the following facts, which, under opinions of the Supreme Court, the Court of Civil Appeals and also by stipulation of the parties, must be regarded a.s undisputed:

(1) The District lies largely in Dallas County, eastern part, with small area extending into both Rockwall and Kaufman. Appellant’s tract of 34.4 acres was out of the J. M. Rowe Survey, acquired by him in 1935. At time the District was created and benefits originally assessed, it was a part of 89 acres owned by John A. Pope. In 1919, before the $220,000 issuance of bonds, the Board of Appraisers had fixed the sum of $8,860 as the amount of benefits accruing to the 89-acre tract by reason of the levee improvement; and the Waco Court, Tex. Civ.App., 199 S.W.2d 230, has ruled that where portions of District lands were sold off, a proration of tax would follow in proportion to the acreage so sold; resulting in this instance in the sum of $3,419

34.4

—of $8,860) as benefits accruing to the

Hengy land here involved.

(2) A tax of $4.50 per $100 of benefits assessed against the real estate in said Levee District was levied by the Commissioners Court of Dallas County for the year 1920, the order providing that during each year thereafter while the $220,000 of bonds or any of them were outstanding, there should be computed and ascertained what rate of tax would be necessary to pay annual interest thereon and produce a sinking fund for full payment at maturity, which tax “hereby is ordered to be levied, assessed and collected * * A similar order fixing tax rate at $4.50 per $100 of assessed benefits appears to have been passed by the Commissioners Courts of both Rockwall and Kaufman Counties with respect to the $220,000 bond issue. Likewise in 1920 and relative to the supplemental bond issue of $70,000, the Commissioners Court of Dallas County levied a tax of $2.00 per $100 of assessed benefits for the year 1921, the order being identical with that already described concerning the $220,-000 of bonds except as to tax rate; in which connection defendant admitted by stipulation that the Commissioners Courts of Rockwall and Kaufman Counties authorized the supplemental issue of $70,000 [159]*159in bonds, along with a tax levy of $2.00 per $100 of assessed benefits “for 1921, and for each and every year thereafter while the bonds were outstanding * *

(3) A few days before the previous trial, appellee’s tax records were taken from the courthouse by G. H. Hickman and R. D. Keys, District land owners, for purpose of an audit and while in possession of Keys were stolen. However, in 1945 Hengy had secured from the office of Dallas County Tax Collector the following delinquent tax statement which, in opinion of the Waco Court, made out a prima facie case against appellant of tax liability on the original issue of bonds ($220,000):

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Related

Hengy v. Dallas County Levee Improvement Dist. No. 6
199 S.W.2d 230 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1946)
Brown County Water Improvement Dist. No. 1 v. McIntosh
164 S.W.2d 722 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1942)
Dallas County Levee Improvement District No. 6 v. Hengy
202 S.W.2d 918 (Texas Supreme Court, 1947)

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Bluebook (online)
233 S.W.2d 157, 1950 Tex. App. LEXIS 1591, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hengy-v-dallas-county-levee-improvement-dist-no-6-texapp-1950.