Kansas City Life Insurance v. Moss

118 S.W.2d 873, 196 Ark. 553, 1938 Ark. LEXIS 227
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedJuly 11, 1938
Docket4-5155
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 118 S.W.2d 873 (Kansas City Life Insurance v. Moss) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kansas City Life Insurance v. Moss, 118 S.W.2d 873, 196 Ark. 553, 1938 Ark. LEXIS 227 (Ark. 1938).

Opinion

Baker, J.

This suit was instituted by appellant to cancel a tax sale alleged to be invalid. There was a conveyance of the south 105 feet of lots 9,10 and 11 in block 10 of 'the original town of Harrison. The sale was made on the 10th day of June, 1933, to the state of Arkansas, by the collector of Boone county for taxes for the year 1932.

On the 9th day of March, 1936, the Commissioner of State Lands conveyed to W. L. Moss the above described property. Mrs. Moss was made a party only because of her inchoate dower rights'. The appellant was the owner' of the said lands prior to the time of this forfeiture and conveyance. The appellant sets forth and argues three reasons as being sufficient to cancel the above described tax sale.

The first is that there was no warrant made or issued by the. county clerk of Boone county to the collector of-said county as required by and under provision in § 13763 of Pope’s.Digest. The second reason is that there was no substantial compliance with § 2526 of Pope’s Digest, which provides that the clerk shall attend the sitting of the quorum court and keep a record fairly written of the proceedings of saicl court and the names of the members of same voting in the affirmative and those voting in the negative on all propositions or motions to levy taxes or appropriate any money. The third reason urged was the failure on the part of the clerk to extend taxes for the year, 1932, as required by § 13758 of Pope’s Digest.

The trial court held that these three several alleged defects in the title to said property were cured by act No. 142 of the Acts of 1935, and this appeal challenges the correctness of the trial court’s decision in this respect.

It may be said by way of introduction that though any of the several reasons as urged by appellant may have been sufficient within itself to make, invalid and ineffectual the tax sale unless these matters were mere irregularities or defects that could have been and were cured by aforesaid act 142. Said, act was applicable in this case because its provisions were in force and had been invoked or were available for the defense in the pending suit at the time of its repeal by and under the doctrine announced in the case of Carle v. Gehl, 193 Ark. 1061, 104 S. W. 2d 445. The defense under said act was not destroyed, but continued in force under § 13284 of Pope’s Digest.

There is no good reason to reargue or restate in any manner the principle so clearly announced by the late Mr. Justice Butler, who wrote the opinion in the above cited case. It will suffice to say that he made clear in that case the fact that act 142 cured irregularities and informalities or omissions, but that it did not cure or make valid a purported sale that was void by reason of the fact that there was a lack of power to sell.

So in this case even though we might determine that the irregularities, informalities or omissions were sufficient within themselves if unaffected by act 142 to render the sale invalid, but if there is not lacking the power to sell then such irregularities were cured by act 142 and the decree of the trial court should be affirmed,, or, on the other hand, if these omissions, irregularities or in-formalities were such as to go or extend to the power to make the sale of the property, or prevent the exercise of that power to sell, then appellant is correct in its contention and should prevail.

In regard to the first one of these contentions made by appellant to the effect that there was no warrant made or issued by the county clerk of Boone county authorizing the collector to collect taxes we think appellant’s contention is not well founded. In the case of Deaner v. Gwaltney, 194 Ark. 332, 108 S. W. 2d 600, a similar condition prevailed as in this case. That is to say, there was a stipulation by the parties trying the case that the county clerk did not attach a warrant authorizing the collection of taxes. It was held in that case that the omission on the part of the clerk was a mere irregularity or informality. Again in the ease of Gilley v. Southern Corporation, 194 Ark. 1134, 110 S. W. 2d 509, this court reconsidered the question of the failure of the clerk to attach warrant in question and again decided as in the case of Deaner v. Gwaltney, supra, that this was mere omission or irregularity and that act 142 aforesaid was a curative act as determined in the case of Carle v. Gehl, supra, and on that account the defect was cured and the sale was valid. Kirk v. Ellis, 192 Ark. 587, 93 S. W. 2d 139. We must, therefore, hold that appellant’s first contention was not well taken. We think it wholly unnecessary to reopen and reargue a proposition so well settled upon authority so conclusive and so eminent.

The second contention made is that the county clerk did not keep a record of the voting of the members of the quorum court showing the affirmative and negative votes of those constituting that court upon the levying of taxes.

There is no doubt about the soundness of this contention, if it were made otherwise than in the face of the curative statute the effect of which has been heretofore declared in the cases cited, nor have we any controversy with the contention of learned counsel as to the benefits intended to be guaranteed by the statute under consideration.

We are not unaware of the numerous decisions of this court- in regard to the duties of the clerk in this respect, nor the declaration in the several decisions as to the wholesome purposes to be served in the matter of a record of the affirmative and negative votes of the members of the quorum court. However mandatory this language should appear, we think it should be remembered that these duties were required by statute only. Such statutes so enacted by the Legislature, it had ample power to repeal. This particular statute did not go to the capacity or power of the court-to levy the taxes, but relates solely to the evidence of the fact that a levy had been made and that evidence is lacking only in its proper certification. The objection cannot be made under the record relied upon in this case that the taxes were not in fact levied, but the objections must be urged, if at all, that there was an omission to certify properly the manner in which, the tax was levied. It was mere omission of an officer to do a positive duty required by statute, but not so potent was that defect or irregularity as to destroy the power to sell. Since it 'is reasonably conceivable that the statute might have been so amended as to make such certification of the levy a proper one, it must be admitted under the authority of Carle v. Gehl that there was ample power to cure that defect.

Besides, act 142 specifically provides that tax sales shall not be set aside “because of any irregularity, informality or omission by any officer in the assessment of said property, etc.” Section 1, act 142, Acts 1935.

The third and final reason urged for the alleged invalidity of this tax sale is that there was no proper extension of the taxes for the year 1932 on the tax records as required by § 13758 of Pope’s Digest, as interpreted in Mixon v. Bell, 190 Ark. 903, 82 S. W. 2d 33.

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118 S.W.2d 873, 196 Ark. 553, 1938 Ark. LEXIS 227, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kansas-city-life-insurance-v-moss-ark-1938.