Kirkpatrick v. Parker

406 S.W.2d 81, 1966 Tex. App. LEXIS 2958
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 15, 1966
DocketNo. 16740
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 406 S.W.2d 81 (Kirkpatrick v. Parker) 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
Kirkpatrick v. Parker, 406 S.W.2d 81, 1966 Tex. App. LEXIS 2958 (Tex. Ct. App. 1966).

Opinion

OPINION

LANGDON, Justice.

This appeal is from dissolution of temporary restraining order and denial of temporary injunction. Appellants, the plaintiffs instituting this suit, are all taxpayers of the Lewisville Independent School District and owners of property therein, and, including the original plaintiffs and those who later joined in, 22 such taxpayers are appellants. These plaintiffs, having received notice of proposed increases in the valuations of their property for purposes of the 1965 ad valorem tax, brought suit to restrain the Tax Assessor-Collector, the Superintendent of Schools, and the Board of Trustees from proceeding with assessment of their properties for tax purposes upon the proposed basis, which was alleged to be arbitrary, discriminatory and fraudulent, and based upon a plan or scheme omitting entirely complete categories of taxable property, and for mandamus to require defendants to place on the tax rolls of the District for 1965, all of the taxable property owned by persons living in the District.

After hearing, the trial court dissolved the temporary restraining order and denied temporary injunction. From its said order this appeal has been duly perfected.

By three points of error appellants contend that the trial court erred in denying temporary injunction when the record showed (1) uncontrovertedly that many categories of non-exempt property were intentionally omitted from assessment and taxation; (2) that the valuations proposed to be assessed against the properties of appellants were grossly excessive, arbitrary, and discriminatory; and (3) because the record establishes that injunctive relief was timely sought.

We affirm.

In their original petition the plaintiffs alleged that the “Defendants have failed entirely to assess monies, bank accounts, and other types of non-exempt personal property held and owned by residents of the district, in violation of the statutory and constitutional requirements that all taxable property in the district be taxed uniformly and equally according to its real value. They have deliberately adopted a plan for the omission from the tax rolls of such categories of property, there being a large volume thereof in the district, thus causing substantial injury to Plaintiffs by requiring higher taxes upon them than would otherwise be necessary to raise the same total tax revenue if all such taxable property were assessed and taxed, and amounting to a denial of due process and equal protection to Plaintiffs, discrimination, and denial of rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Texas and the United States.” The record reflects that suit was filed on October 14, 1965. That 84% of all taxes in the District have been paid and all but 4 of the plaintiffs have paid their 1965 taxes and one of the four made a partial payment on his tax.

The testimony upon the temporary injunction hearing reflected that individually owned bank accounts, stocks and bonds, annuities, household and kitchen furniture in excess of $250.00, notes receivable and jewelry were not taxed in 1965 nor in any previous years and no effort had been made to do so except for business [83]*83inventories. Livestock is taxed and some automobiles. An effort is made to tax individually owned boats according to lists furnished by the State. Some are taxed. Others are not. Mail addressed to many is returned and the Tax Assessor-Collector “can’t pin them down.” He has made every effort to do so. He stated there was money in the bank on January 1, 1965, and that he had obtained a statement from the bank and assessed the money on deposit.

The Tax Assessor-Collector for the District is aware of the fact that all of the items excluded from the tax roll are legally subject to tax. He has never been instructed by the School Board to assess such property or not to assess it. Under the evidence (1) there was no plan or intention in this regard; (2) such a plan had not been discussed; and (3) it was not deliberate. The Board has never complained to or criticized him for not including such items for taxes. The Board of Equalization recognized that there were taxable categories of property excluded but had never suggested it be omitted. If rendered it would be taxed. There was no preconceived plan or scheme to omit any property.

The record reflects that the President and members of the Board of Trustees and the plaintiffs owned personal property in the excluded categories. It further reflected that not a single one of the plaintiffs rendered any property, personal or real, for 1965 taxes. It was therefore rendered and assessed by the Tax Assessor-Collector and the Board of Equalization did not raise such valuations. Not one of the appellants protested any plan of taxation before the School Board or before the Board of Equalization and they offered no testimony, sworn or unsworn, before such Board of Equalization to show their properties were excessively valued.

At the hearing on the temporary injunction only four of the appellants offered any testimony. Only 13 or 14 of the plaintiffs appeared before the Equalization Board although notices were mailed to all of them. The four appellants appearing in court testified that they owned nonexempt personal properties, jewelry, stocks, bonds, money in the bank etc., as of January 1, 1965, yet they did not render it. One of the plaintiffs who testified he had money in the bank was then asked how much he had in the bank on January 1, 1965, and declared the question was too personal. Not one of the plaintiffs had in past years ever rendered items in the excluded categories nor paid any taxes thereon. At least two of the four who testified stated they had never known of any one rendering such personal items for taxes. Plaintiffs were aware of the exclusion in past years but had never previously complained about it. Their complaint was not initiated on this occasion until after they had received notice of a proposed increase in the assessed valuation of their property.

The plaintiffs failed to offer any proof in support of the allegation that there was a “large volume” of property in the District in the excluded categories. They failed to show the identity, location, ownership or value of any such property or that the exclusion of such property caused them substantial injury.

The burden was on the plaintiffs to show that the omission of personal property from the tax roll was harmful to them. In Clark v. Cedar Hill Independent School District, Tex.Civ.App., 295 S.W.2d 671 (Dallas 1956, ref., n. r. e. ), it is stated: “There is no evidence in the record to show how much personal property escaped taxation, to whom it belonged, or what effect its omission had on any of appellants — that is, whether he had to pay more or less by reason of the omission than he otherwise would have been required to pay. Failing to show individual injury, no one of appellants can escape payment of his taxes because of the omission of personal property from the tax rolls, nor is he entitled to an injunction. Whelan [84]*84v. State [155 Tex. 14], 282 S.W.2d 378; City of Arlington v. Cannon, 153 Tex. 566, 271 S.W.2d 414; State v. Whittenburg, 153 Tex. 205, 265 S.W.2d 569; Hutchinson v. City of Dallas, Tex.Civ.App.,

Related

Granbury Independent School District v. Andrews
439 S.W.2d 896 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1969)

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406 S.W.2d 81, 1966 Tex. App. LEXIS 2958, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kirkpatrick-v-parker-texapp-1966.