Hill v. City of St. Louis

60 S.W. 116, 159 Mo. 159, 1900 Mo. LEXIS 211
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedDecember 18, 1900
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 60 S.W. 116 (Hill v. City of St. Louis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hill v. City of St. Louis, 60 S.W. 116, 159 Mo. 159, 1900 Mo. LEXIS 211 (Mo. 1900).

Opinion

MARSHALL, J.

This is a suit in equity to restrain the city of St. Louis and its sewer commissioner from issuing permits to the owners of property in Hodiamont Sewer District Number 1, to connect with the said district sewer until the special taxes due plaintiffs' as the contractors with the city and the builders of said sewer, are paid.

The petition shows that the city of St. Louis duly enacted a general ordinance which prohibited the connection of any private sewer with a public or district sewer, unless a permit for the connection was first issued by the sewer com■sioner, and which further prohibited the issue of a permit by the sewer commissioner for a sewer connection while an assessment made against the property to be drained for the. construction of the district sewer remained unpaid; that, while 'this ordinance was in force, the city of St. Lonis duly provided for the construction of a district sewer in Hodiamont Sewer District Number 1, and entered into a contract with the plaintiffs for the construction of that sewer; that thereupon the server was constructed by the plaintiffs, and special tax bills issued to them in accordance with the charter of the city; that, in entering into this contract and in carrying it out, the plaintiffs relied upon the ordinance above mentioned; that a large number of the tax bills issued to the plaintiffs as aforesaid, to-wit, tax bills amounting to more than twenty-five thousand dollars, remain unpaid; that the plaintiffs have duly demanded payment from the owners against whom these tax bills were issned, but that such owners deny the validity of the tax bills issued against their property and accordingly refuse payment; that these owners desire and intend to avail themselves of the sewers constructed by the plaintiffs and to connect their respective lots and the dwellings erected thereon with these sewers, notwithstanding their denial of the validity of the tax bills and [164]*164their refusal to pay the same; that the defendants, the city of St. Louis and the said sewer commissioner, pretend that said city had not the legal power or capacity to enact said ordinance, and on that ground refused to enforce any of its said provisions, and that the said sewer commissioner threatens and is about to issue, and unless restrained by injunction will issue, to each and every of the said owners a permit for sewer connection with said sewers, notwithstanding the failure and refusal of such owners to pay the tax bills issued against their lots respectively; that if the ordinance was enforced by the defendants all the said unpaid tax bills would be paid at once, but that if the same is not enforced said permits will be issued to the owners against whose lots said unpaid special tax bills have been severally assessed, and that the plaintiffs will be deprived of the protection and benefit resulting from the ordinance and will be-put to the expense of three thousand dollars in the collection of said uupaid tax bills, which would otherwise be avoided and saved, and that the plaintiffs 'are without adequate remedy at law.

To this petition the defendants interposed a general demurrer, which was overruled by the court, and thereon defendants refused to plead further and judgment was entered against them. From this judgment the defendants have-appealed to this court.

I.

The city and its sewer commissioner base their action-in issning permits to persons in the district to connect with the district sewer, notwithstanding such persons have never-paid the assessment against their property for the building of such district sewer, solely upon the decision of the St. [165]*165Louis Court of Appeals in the case of State ex rel. Peck v. Hermann, 84 Mo. App. 1.

Section 1630, Eevised Ordinances St. Louis 1893, provides: “No permit for a sewer connection under tbe preceding section shall be issued, if the property to be drained by tbe proposed sewer, or any part thereof, has ever been assessed for tbe construction of district sewers until such assessment has- been paid,” etc.

In tbe Peck case it appeared that tbe property of relator bad been assessed for tbe construction of this Hodiamont district sewer; that she bad not paid such assessment, that she applied to tbe sewer commissioner for a permit to connect with tbe district sewer and tbe sewer commissioner refused to issue tbe permit because under said section 1630, Eevised Ordinances St. Louis, she had not paid such assessment. She thereupon commenced a proceeding by mandamus to compel tbe sewer commissioner to issue tbe permit. Tbe circuit court granted a peremptory writ of mandamus as prayed, and tbe sewer commissioner appealed to tbe St. Louis Court of Appeals. That court affirmed tbe judgment of tbe circuit court, and held that said section of the city ordinance was void for two reasons: First, because tbe city charter (section 22, article 6) provides for tbe construction of district sewers and tbe assessment of tbe cost thereof against tbe property in tbe sewer district; provides that the contractor who builds tbe sewer shall be paid by special tax bills against such property in such district, makes such tax bills a lien on tbe property, and provides for their enforcement by suit. Hence tbe remedy thus afforded tbe contractor was exclusive and tbe municipal assembly bad no power to amend tbe city charter and enlarge tbe contractor’s remedy, as section 1630 attempted to; and, second, because while tbe city charter (section 26, article 3) gives tbe city express power to con[166]*166struct and keep in repair all bridges, streets, sewers and drains, and “to regulate the use thereof,” still section 1630, is void because, “if it be conceded that under the power to regulate, the city may exact the payment of a sum of money for the privilege of connecting a private sewer with a public one, to make such exaction a valid regulation, the sum taken should be for the benefit of the public sewers, to be used in making repairs, for inspection or to defray some other expense which the city may be put to, to maintain and keep the system in good repair and working order, and not for the use and benefit of some private person. The sum demanded of the respondents under the ordinance was not for the benefit of the city, not to pay any debt or discharge any obligation for which the city was legally or morally bound, but a demand that they should first pay a private debt due to a private individual and to discharge a lien on their property. The ordinance is not one to regulate the use of sewers, but its purpose is to force payment of private debts. This is beyond the jurisdiction of the city,” etc.

The court of appeals recognizes the force of the decisions of this court in School District v. Livers, 147 Mo. 580, and St. Louis Public Schools v. Woods, 77 Mo. 197, which held that it is within the power of school boards to require its contractors, for the erection of its school buildings, to give bond to secure the claim of subcontractors and materialmen, notwithstanding they would have no claim against the school boards and no mechanic’s lien on the buildings, but the court of appeals draws a distinction between those cases and the case at bar, and s'ays the power existed in those cases because the subcontractors and materialmen would otherwise be without an adequate remedy, whereas in this case the contractor who built the sewer has a full, complete and adequate remedy by his special tax bills being a lien on the land in the sewer district and being enforcible at law.

[167]*167With great respect for the learned judge who wrote the opinion of the St.

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

Related

Hammett v. Kansas City
173 S.W.2d 70 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1943)
State v. City of Tampa
187 So. 604 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1939)
State Ex Rel. Mulvoy v. Miller
285 S.W. 504 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1926)
Mulkey v. City of Kaufman
286 S.W. 620 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1926)
Mobile L. R. Co. v. Copeland Son
73 So. 131 (Alabama Court of Appeals, 1916)
McCandless v. Campbell
20 Haw. 411 (Hawaii Supreme Court, 1911)
Neill v. Trans-Atlantic Mortgage Trust Co.
89 Mo. App. 644 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1901)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
60 S.W. 116, 159 Mo. 159, 1900 Mo. LEXIS 211, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hill-v-city-of-st-louis-mo-1900.