Mullen v. Hart

156 P. 610, 24 Wyo. 143, 1916 Wyo. LEXIS 17
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedApril 17, 1916
DocketNo. 839
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 156 P. 610 (Mullen v. Hart) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mullen v. Hart, 156 P. 610, 24 Wyo. 143, 1916 Wyo. LEXIS 17 (Wyo. 1916).

Opinion

Beard, Justice.

The Bench Canal Drainage District is a Drainage District organized for the purpose of draining certain lands in Big Horn county, under the provisions of Chapter 95, S. L. 1911, entitled, “An Act for the formation and organization of drainage districts, and conferring certain powers thereon.” The organization of the district appears .to have been proceeded with under the provisions of said chapter, the [149]*149preliminary report of the commissioners provided for by 'Section 27 of said chapter made and approved in accordance with Section 34. The journal entries prior to May 16, .1914, have not been brought up, but it appears by an order of that date that the report of the commissioners provided for in sections 39 to 51, inclusive, had theretofore been filed, that remonstrances against the approval of the report had been made, a hearing had and a decision rendered that day, as of the date of May 19, 1913, by which order the report of the commissioners was disapproved and the report referred back to the commissioners for modification and amendment. That on September 2, 1914, the commissioners filed an amended and supplemental report, to which the plaintiffs in error, Iowa M. Mullen, J. O. Neff, Charles Meyers, Rose M. Newcomer, D. A. Redmon, Charles Olson, William Hodson, William Peper, John Wamhoff, Plerman Ahlgrim, Christian Jensen, H. G. Stearns and H. C. Teyler (and others not appealing) filed their remonstrances against the approval of said report. (The above named Christian Jensen, one of the plaintiffs in error, does not appear to have been one of the remonstrators.) The matter came on for hearing and was heard December 1, 2 and 3, 1915, and was by the court taken under advisement; and on February 20, 1915, an order was entered confirming said report, and overruling and dismissing the objections and remonstrances of the remonstrators, and rendering judgment against them for costs. From that order the above named remonstrators bring the matter here on error.

The objections of plaintiffs in error to the approval and confirmation of said report, as contained in the remonstrance, are, in substance, that their lands were included within the district by said report; that neither said Neff, Mullen, Redmon, Olson, Hodson, Ahlgrim or Stearns were signers to the petition for the organization of said district, but that their lands were brought into said district by said commissioners, and that each and all of the tracts belonging to said last mentioned remonstrators were dry lands and [150]*150would not be drained or in any manner benefited by the construction of the drainage system proposed, or by.any other that could be constructed. That only a small area of the land included in said district was wet and boggy, and could be properly and fully drained by open ditches at a much less cost than that estimated by the commissioners by the plan proposed, which was excessive and unjustifiable. That the public health or welfare would in no manner be promoted by the drainage of said lands or any of them or by the inclusion of the same in said drainage district. That Chapter 95, S. D. 1911, is unconstitutional and void for the following reasons:

1. That by its provisions and especially under Sec. 74 thereof, the remonstrators are, and each of them can be deprived of their property without due process of law.

2. That their private property can be and is sought to be taken for private use without consent of the owner and without due compensation.

3. That their private property can be and is sought to be taken for private use without just compensation.

4. That these remonstrators who are brought into and whose lands are included in such drainage district are compelled to submit any objections they may have to having their lands assessed in such drainage district to the Court or Judge, while other persons subsequently brought in have a right to have such issue determined by a jury.

In order to fairly and, if we can, clearly present the questions raised, it will be necessary to refer at some length to the statute and to quote the sections particularly involved. The organization of a drainage district is initiated by a petition, filed in the district court, signed by a majority of the adult owners of land within the district representing one-third in area of the lands in'said district to be reclaimed or benefited, or by the adult owners of more than one-half of the lands in said district, stating their desire to construct drains, ditches or levees across the lands of others, for the promotion of the public health or welfare, and the drain[151]*151age of said lands, which petition shall set forth: • 1. The proposed name of said district. 2.'The necessity of the proposed work, describing the necessity. 3, A general description of the proposed starting points', routes and termini of the proposed drains, ditches or levees. 4. A general description of the lands proposed to be included in said district. 5. The names of the owners of all lands in said district when known; and praying for the organization of such district and for the appointment of commissioners for the execution of the work. On the filing of such petition the court is required to fix the time and place for a hearing on said petition, and ordering notice to be given. On the day fixed for hearing on such petition all parties owning lands, or any interest or easement in land, within the proposed district, or who would be affected thereby, may appear and contest: (1)1 The sufficiency of,the petition, (2) The sufficiency of the signers to the petition, (3) The sufficiency of the notice, (4) The constitutionality of the law and (5) The jurisdiction of the court. The court shall hear and determine whether or not the petition complies with the requirements of the statute, and shall determine all questions of law arising on any contest; and if the petition is found to so comply, it shall appoint three commissioners, who are required to personally examine the lands in said district and make a preliminary report to the court, which report shall state: 1. Whether said proposed work is necessary, or would be of utility in carrying out the purposes of the petition. 2. Whether it would promote the; public health. 3. Whether it would promote the public welfare. 4. Whether the total benefits from said proposed work will exceed the cost thereof together with the damages resulting therefrorn. And 5. Fix as near as may be the boundaries of said district. The commissioners are authorized to change the .boundaries of the district from those described in the petition, and to include other lands they deem benefited;. and also to change the plan of drainage'. Upon the‘filing of this preliminary report the court or judge shall fix a time and place [152]*152of hearing, of which notice is required to be given to all parties including the owners of any lands 'added to the district by the commissioners in said report. At the time fixed in the notice any interested party may appear and remonstrate against said report or any material part thereof. All issues arising upon said preliminary report shall be tried by the court without a jury.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
156 P. 610, 24 Wyo. 143, 1916 Wyo. LEXIS 17, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mullen-v-hart-wyo-1916.