Muskogee Times-Democrat v. Com'rs of Muskogee County

1919 OK 298, 184 P. 591, 76 Okla. 188, 1919 Okla. LEXIS 157
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 14, 1919
Docket10656
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 1919 OK 298 (Muskogee Times-Democrat v. Com'rs of Muskogee County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Muskogee Times-Democrat v. Com'rs of Muskogee County, 1919 OK 298, 184 P. 591, 76 Okla. 188, 1919 Okla. LEXIS 157 (Okla. 1919).

Opinion

McNEILL, J.

This proceeding was commenced by the Muskogee Times-Democrat filing with the board of county commissioners of Muskogee county its claim for $6.075, for publication of notices of tax re-sales in Muskogee county. The publication consisted of 2,700 nonpareil squares, for which the paper made a charge of 75 cents per square for the first insertion, and 50 cents per square for subsequent insertions. The board of county commissioners disallowed the claim in part and from the order disallowing the claim the Muskogee Times-Democrat appealed to the district court. On trial of the case in the district court the court allowed the claim in the sum of $787.80 and disallowed the remaining part of the same. »

The facts were not disputed. The publication consisted of 10,248 separate items. Counting the separate descriptions pf lots in the publication, the total number of lots involved were 7,878, which referred to the general tax, penalty and cost of each lot for each year. It is admitted that the remaining 2,370 items referred to the sewerage tax and pavement tax, each with the penalty and cost. The court awarded judgment for the 7,878 items, each item covering a town lot at 10 cents per lot, and disallowed the sewerage and pavement items, since they should have been included in the general tax items. From said judgment, the Muskogee Times-Democrat has appealed.

It is argued on appeal by plaintiff in error, first, admitting that the re-sale of lands as provided in sections 7409, 7410, and 7411, Rev. Laws 1910, is the advertising of delinquent lands, there is no statute controlling the amount to be paid for the publication of the notice of said delinquent lands. There being no contract, the cost for publishing said notices is controlled by that portion of section 3258, Rev. Laws 1910, which provides for payment of the publication at so much per inch. Second, it is argued that the publishing of the re-sale list, as provided in sections 7409, 7410, and 7411, is not a publication of delinquent lists of land.

We will consider the questions in the order they are briefed.

First: Admitting the publication of the resale notice is the publication of lists of delinquent lands. It is admitted that section 7411 does not specify the amount the county shall pay for such publication. We then look to section 3258, Rev. Laws 1910, which is a general statute and provides as f ollows:

“For publishing lists of lands upon which taxes are delinquent, each description, 20 cents. For publishing lists of town lots on which taxes are delinquent, each description, 10 cents.”

It is suggested that this portion of the statute has been repealed by section 7397, Rev. Laws 1910, and was so held by this court in the ease of Stillwater Advance Printing and Publishing Company v. Board of County Commissioners of Payne County, 29 Okla. 859, 119 Pac. 1002. This is true, but from an ex *190 amination of tliat case we think the premises adopted by the court in arriving at its conclusion were erroneous.

The court in the opinion in that case stated that section 3000, Wilson’s Rev. &, Ann. Statutes, which statute is the same as section 325S, Rev. Laws 3910, was repealed by section 6021, Wilson’s Revised Statutes, which is .the same as section 7397, Rev. Laws 1910. The opinion in that case states that section 3060 of Wilson’s Revised Statutes became effective September 25, 1890, and that section 6021 became effective in March, 1895, but as to section 6021 becoming effective in March, 1895. the court was in error. This, no doubt, occurred by reason of the statement in the opinion in the case of Allen & Rixse v. Board of County Commissioners of Cleveland County, 32 Okla. 603, 73 Pac. 286, that the section which is 6021 of Wilson’s Revived Statutes became effective in March, 1895. But from an examination of the statute, or that portion of the same which is material, we find it became effective in December, 1890, at the time of the adoption of the 1890 Code. It is true that it was amended in 1895, but only as to the date when said publication notice should be made.

But looking to the history of the two statutes, we find that the portion of section 3258 which is as follows:

“For publishing lists of lands upon which taxes are delinquent, each description, 20 cents. For publishing lists of town lots on which taxes are delinquent, each description, 10 cents”

■ — was section 2919 of Laws of 1890, section 2901 of Laws 1893, and section 3060 of Rev. Laws of 1903. section 7397 of Rev. Laws of 1910, or the following portion thereof, to wit:

“The county treasurer shall charge and collect in addition to the taxes, interest and penalty the sum of 25 cents on each tract of real property and 10 cents on each town lot advertised for sale, which sum shall be paid into the county treasury and the county shall pay the costs of publication, but in no case shall the county be liable for more than the amount charged to the delinquent lands for advertising”

—was a portion of section 6206 of Laws of 1890. section 5651 of Laws of 1893. and section 6021 of Rev. Laws of 1903.

When the court in the case of Stillwater Advance Printing & Publishing Company v. Board of County Commisioners of Payne County, 29 Okla. 859. 119 Pac. 1002, adopted •the theory that this portion of section 6021, Rev. Laws of 1903, was not adopted until 1895, it was in error, while it would have made no difference in the result in that case, as the publication notice in that case was governed by said section 6021.

The opinion should have stated that section 3060. Wilson’s Laws 1903, referred generally to publication of notice for sale of lands for delinquent taxes, while section 6021, Wilson’s Laws of 1903, referred only to publications designated in that section, and therefore section 3060 was a general statute and 6021 a special statute, and as the publication in that particular case was the publication designated in section 6021, it would follow that the publication was controlled by the special statute, section 6021, and not by the general statute, section 3060.

The rule of construction of the statutes, where one is' a special statute and the other a general statute, covering the same subject-matter was stated by this court in the case of Gardner v. School District No. 87, Kay County, 34 Okla. 716, 126 Pac. 1018:

“Where there are two provisions of the statute, one of which is special and particular and clearly includes the matter in controversy, and where the special statute covering the subject prescribes different rules and procedure from those in the general statute, it will be held that the special statute applies to the subject-matter, and that the general statute does not apply.”

We therefore refuse to follow the former opinion in that respect, and the same will be overruled in so far as it is in conflict with this opinion.

Section 3258 and section 7397, as adopted in the Revised Laws of 1910, are both in full force and effect. Section 3258 is a general statute and section 7397 is a special statute, applying only to publication referred to in that section, and has no application to the publication involved herein.

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

Related

Shnier v. Vahlberg
1941 OK 59 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1941)
Sheridan Oil Co. v. Superior Court of Creek County
1938 OK 298 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1938)
State Ex Rel. Moore v. O'Bannon
1938 OK 148 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1938)
Gibson Co., Inc. v. Oklahoma Tax Commission
1937 OK 222 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1937)
Town of Amherst v. County of Erie
183 N.E. 851 (New York Court of Appeals, 1933)
Neff v. Gray
1932 OK 416 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1932)
Excise Board of Marshall County v. School Dist. No. 34
1932 OK 230 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1932)
Schuman v. Price
1931 OK 720 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1931)
Davis v. State
1931 OK CR 345 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1931)
Lusk Lumber Co. v. Independent Producers Consol.
299 P. 1044 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1931)
Oklahoma Natural Gas Co. v. McFarland
1930 OK 270 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1930)
State Ex Rel. Com'rs of Land Office v. National Bank of Commerce
1929 OK 233 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1929)
McCoy v. Childers
1927 OK 95 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1927)
Campbell v. State
1926 OK CR 70 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1926)
Terry v. State
1925 OK CR 338 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1925)
Creek County v. Robinson
1925 OK 229 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1925)
Excise Board of Creek County v. State Ex Rel. Kissick
1924 OK 1128 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1924)
American Investment Co. v. Usrey
1924 OK 892 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1924)
Rock Island Implement Co. v. Fagerquist
1924 OK 616 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1924)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1919 OK 298, 184 P. 591, 76 Okla. 188, 1919 Okla. LEXIS 157, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/muskogee-times-democrat-v-comrs-of-muskogee-county-okla-1919.