In re Ferris

10 N.Y. St. Rep. 480
CourtSuperior Court of Buffalo
DecidedSeptember 26, 1887
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 10 N.Y. St. Rep. 480 (In re Ferris) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Buffalo primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Ferris, 10 N.Y. St. Rep. 480 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1887).

Opinion

Hatch, J.

This proceeding is brought under and by virtue of chapter 275, Laws 1880. So much of said act as confers power upon the court to entertain this proceeding is found in section 9; and is as follows:

“Where the invalidity or irregularity of any tax or assessment appears upon the face of the proceedings, any party in interest may apply by petition to the superior court of Buffalo for an order canceling the same. Said court shall require reasonable notice to be given to the city of such petition, and shall hear the proofs and allegations of the parties, and shall, in case such irregularity or invalidity is established, order such tax or assessment to be canceled, [483]*483and thereupon the same shall be canceled by the comptroller.”

Under this provision the court is limited to such matters as appear upon the face of the proceedings.

Counsel for the petitioner not only attacks the immediate proceedings connected with the levying of the assessment, but he also challenges the proceedings taken to condemn the lands necessary for the proposed improvement, and which form the basis for the laying of this assessment. The claim is that the condemnation proceedings, by reason of a failure to comply with the law, are void. I am of opinion that, so far as mere irregularities are concerned, appearing in the proceedings last mentioned, no power rests in this court upon this proceeding to entertain them, but if the proceedings are so defective as to show that the common council never acquired jurisdiction to act, then the proceeding is a nullity, and all subsequent acts , founded upon such void proceeding must fall with it; such void act may be taken advantage of in any stage of the proceeding. Petition of Daniel Buhler, 19 How., 317-320.

Any other rule would give force and effect to an act which has no legal existence.

It appears from the records introduced in evidence, and was conceded upon the hearing, that after the court had confirmed the proceedings taken to condemn the lands, the common council directed the attorney for the city to make a motion in this court to vacate and set aside said proceedings, and the whole thereof. Such motion was made, and brought on for hearing at the July special term, 1885, before Judge Smith. Upon the argument the same questions were presented for consideration, and urged (so far as relates to the condemnation proceedings as are now presented and argued. A careful examination of the opinion of the learned judge, written on deciding the motion, shows that he exhaustively and ably considered each objection in detail, and reached the conclusion that the proceedings were regular, and in substantial compliance with the statute.

See In the Matter of the Extension of Ellicott Street in the City of Buffalo, from Seneca Street to Exchange Street. MSS opinion. Smith, J., filed July 29,1885, not reported.

Upon a re-examination of this question, I see no reason for departing from the conclusion there reached. That motion was undoubtedly made for the purpose of testing the validity of the proceedings taken, before ordering the assessment levied. The magnitude of the amount involved, coupled with the objections urged, and pertinaciously argued. rendered such step one of unquestionable wisdom. No appeal was taken from the decision. To now overturn such conclusion would tend to disturb the decisions of [484]*484courts exercising concurrent powers, and to render uncertain, when the object is to make stable and certain. In view of this decision upon the same facts, I should feel impelled to follow it, unless so plain an error was committed as to leave no room for doubt. It is needless to add that such is not the case here. Rogers v. Rochester, etc., R. R. Co., 21 Hun, 44; Moore v. City of Albany, 98 N. Y., 396, 410.

Adopting the rule of the above authorities, and for the reasons stated, it follows that the objections to the condemnation proceedings must fail.

The objections to the roll itself and the proceedings on its ordering are numerous; they will now be considered.

Section 14, of title 8, city charter, provides that upon the confirmation of the report of the commissioners, the common council shall ascertain the amount of money required to pay the compensation awarded, and the costs of the proceeding. How this shall be ascertained by the council is not pointed out; they are left, therefore, to adopt such means as will put them in possession of the necessary^ facts. As enabling them to determine the amount, official in-, formation, imparted by the law officer of the municipality who had the proceedings in charge, and who would naturally know the extent of the necessary costs and expenses of the proceeding, would be competent evidence upon which the council might act in determining the amount. It appears from the minutes that this is what the common council did. But it is suggested that the paper upon which they acted was signed by Giles Stillwell, who was not an officer of the city government. It appears that Mr. Still-well was city attorney at the time when these proceedings were instituted. His successor applied to, and was granted leave by the common council to employ Mr. Stillwell to attend to such unfinished matters as in the judgment of his successor was proper and necessary. The council had before them at the time of ascertaining the necessary costs and expenses of the proceeding, a communication headed, “Report from the late city attorney,” which stated that the total amount of the awards, costs and expenses of the proceedings, naming it, was $183,493.09; signed, Giles Stillwell. Minutes common council proceedings for 1884, pages 21-165.

From this the presumption arises that he was employed about the conduct of the proceedings. It was an official communication, and the council were authorized to act 'upon it. Besides, it does not appear but that the council made other investigations. The burden is upon the petitioner to show affirmatively that it did not, Welty on assessments, § 205, page 363; In the Matter of the Petition [485]*485of Brady, 85 N. Y., 268, 269 I find no error committed here.

Objection is made that the resolution of the common council directing the assessment is void, for the reason that the resolution required the assessors to assess the amount upon “the property deemed benefited,” while the charter directs that it be “ assessed upon the real estate benefited.” Section 14 of title 8, charter. And that the direction of the statute to the assessors is to “Assess the whole amount ordered to be assessed upon the parcels of land benefited by work, act or improvement in proportion to such benefit.” Section 3 of title 6, Laws of 1870, chap. 519.

While the certificate of the assessors attached to the assessment-roll states that they assessed “upon the property by them deemed benefited.”

The claim in brief is that the common council violated the statute in ordering the assessment, and the assessors violated the statute in levying the assessment.

Under section 14 of title 8, charter {supra),

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Bluebook (online)
10 N.Y. St. Rep. 480, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-ferris-nysuperctbuf-1887.