McManus v. State Ex Rel. Knox

114 So. 617, 148 Miss. 384, 1927 Miss. LEXIS 61
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 21, 1927
DocketNo. 26659.
StatusPublished

This text of 114 So. 617 (McManus v. State Ex Rel. Knox) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McManus v. State Ex Rel. Knox, 114 So. 617, 148 Miss. 384, 1927 Miss. LEXIS 61 (Mich. 1927).

Opinion

*389 Cook, J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

Acting under chapter 231, Law of 1920, the chancery clerk of Harrison county collected during the years 1920 to 1926, inclusive, the sum of four thousand eight hundred nine.dollars and four cents, on account of land sold to the state for taxes and redeemed during the two years allowed by law for redemption. This sum was paid into-the county treasury front time to time to the credit of the general county fund. No part of this sum has been remitted to the state treasurer in payment of the state tax on such land, printers’ fees, and the twenty-five per cent, damages required to be collected when the lands were redeemed.

On behalf of the state, the attorney-general filed with the board of supervisors of said county claims for the amount of state taxes on said redeemed lands, the printers ’ fees, and the twenty-five per cent, damages on the total state and county taxes for which the land had been sold, and which had been paid into the county treasury. These claims were allowed by the board of supervisors, but the clerk of the board refused to issue warrants therefor; and thereupon the attorney-general filed a petition for mandamus to require the clerk to issue to petitioner, for the use and benefit of the state, _ warrants on the general county fund of Harrison county for the sum so allowed by the board of supervisors.

The petition for mandamus, among other things, alleged that, under and by virtue of the provisions of chapter 231, Laws of 1920, it is the duty of the said chancery clerk to attend to the redemption of lands sold for taxes *390 in such county; and, when land sold for taxes has been redeemed, it is the duty of said clerk to pay the sums received on account of such redemptions into the county treasury to be distributed as provided by law. And the law provides that said money shall be paid over to the state and the various taxing districts of the county according to. the levies made therefor, after having paid the costs of such tax sales and expenses incident thereto.

To this petition, the respondent, the clerk of the board of supervisors, first filed a demurrer, the grounds of which may be briefly summarized as follows:

(1) That the board of supervisors was without authority to make the allowances, for the reason that the claims were made under chapter 231, Laws of 1920, which requires that the funds derived from the redemption of land sold to the state for taxes shall be paid into the county treasury instead of the state treasury, and requires that the board of supervisors shall pay out such money as then provided by law, and there is no law authorizing the payment of any part of such redemption funds to the state.

(2) Because section 2921, Code of 1906 -(section 6091, Hemingway’s 1927 Code), provides that the purchase money of tax lands forfeited and sold to the state shall be paid into the state treasury on the receipt warrant of the auditor, and makes no provision for payment of delinquent taxes on said lands to the county where said land is situated, while chapter 231, Laws of 1920, requires the chancery clerk to pay all money received as redemption for taxes into the county treasury, and does not provide for the payment of any redemption money -into the state, treasury from the county treasury.

(3) Because sections 341 and3146-, Code of 1906 (sections 4020' and 4025, Hemingway’s 1927 Code), forbid the board of supervisors to allow a claim, unless there’ is marked on the claim a section of law authorizing the payment of same; and a warrant, issued under an order *391 which does not specify the statute authorizing the issuance of same, is void.

The demurrer was overruled, and thereupon the respondent answered the petition, setting up practically the same defenses as were asserted as gTounds of demurrer; and also averring that the claims filed with the board of supervisors were audited by the respondent as clerk of the board of supervisors, and found incorrect; and that consequently the petition should be dismissed for the reason that section 343, Code of 1906 (section 4022, Hemingway’s 1927 Code), makes it unlawful for the board of supervisors to allow a greater sum for any account, claim, or demand against the county than the amount actually due thereon, dollar for dollar; and any illegal allowance for such board may be inquired into by the proper tribunal or legal proceedings for that purpose whenever such matter may come into question in any case.

The answer further alleged that the account and claim as filed and allowed by the board of supervisors was incorrect, in that it includes the entire twenty-five per cent damages that had been collected on state and county taxes; while, if the state was entitled to recover any part of such damages it would only recover the twenty-five per cent damages on the state taxes for which the lands were sold. An itemized statement of the amount of state taxes, printers’ fees, and twenty-five per cent damages on the state taxes which had been collected and paid into the county treasury was filed as Exhibit 0 to the answer, and, when the case came on for hearing, it was submitted to the circuit judge upon the pleadings and an agreed statement of facts reading as follows:

“It is agreed by and between the complainant and the defendant, by their attorneys of record, that, if the state is entitled to all of the twenty-five per cent, damages collected by the chancery clerk both on county and state taxes, the amounts allowed by the board of supervisors, as shown by the certified copy of their orders attached *392 to the petition, is correct; but, if the state is only entitled to receive twenty-five per cent damages on the amount of state taxes on the land for the year for which it was sold, then the account attached to the answer of. defendant is correct.
“The only question now before the court is whether or not the state is entitled to recover the full amount of state tax, printers ’ fees and .the entire twenty-five per cent, damages collected by the clerk on state and county taxes, or whether it is entitled to receive only the state tax, printers’ fees, and twenty-five per cent, damages on the state taxes for the year for which land was sold.”

The court below entered a judgment, ordering the issuance of the writ of mandamus commanding and requiring the clerk of the board of supervisors to issue to the attorney-general, for the use óf the state, warrants for the sum allowed by the board of supervisors, which included1 the twenty-five per cent, damages collected by the chancery clerk on both county and state taxes, and from this judgment this appeal was prosecuted.

The statute in force prior to 1920' required the county tax collector to transmit to the state land commissioner a certified list of lands sold to the state for taxes, this provision of the statute appearing in section 2933, Code of 1906 (section 6103-, Hemingway’s 1927 Code), which reads, in part, as follows:

“If, upon offering the land of .

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

Related

Hart v. Backstrom
113 So. 898 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1927)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
114 So. 617, 148 Miss. 384, 1927 Miss. LEXIS 61, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcmanus-v-state-ex-rel-knox-miss-1927.