Oden v. Industrial Lumber Co.

96 So. 549, 153 La. 734, 1923 La. LEXIS 1831
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedApril 2, 1923
DocketNo. 25589
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 96 So. 549 (Oden v. Industrial Lumber Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Oden v. Industrial Lumber Co., 96 So. 549, 153 La. 734, 1923 La. LEXIS 1831 (La. 1923).

Opinion

O’N'IELL, C. J.

This is a summary proceeding, under section 54 of Act 170 of 1898, to compel the surrender of personal property sufficient to satisfy taxes, amounting to $19,-092.01, assessed against defendant’s credits for the year 1921. In answer to the rule nisi, defendant admitted the material facts alleged in the petition of the tax collector, particularly that the list of property that had been rendered by defendant for assessment of the taxes of 1921 carried the item of “credits.” Defendant alleged, however, that all of the credits on the list rendered were due for sales of lumber, and were therefore exempted from taxation by section 4 of article 10 of the Constitution of 1921, exempting “debts due for merchandise or other articles of commerce or for services.”

.. The issue tendered by defendant’s answer ■to the rule was whether the exemption of credits from taxation remitted the taxes -thereon for the year 1921. The tax collector’s contention was that the taxes for that year •weré reserved by the saving clause in the fourth paragraph of section 1 of article 22 , (being the schedule) of the new Constitution, viz.:'

“All * * * taxes * * * due, owing or accruing to the state of Louisiana, or to any parish, city, municipality, board, or other public corporation therein under the Constitution and laws' heretofore in force, * * * except as herein otherwise provided, shall continue and remain unaffected by the adoption of this Constitution.”

The question at issue was pending on appeal in this court, in the ease of State ex rel. W. K. Henderson Iron Works & Supply Co. v. Jeter, Tax Assessor, 151 La. 1011, 92 South. 594, when this suit was filed. The original opinion in the Henderson Iron Works Case, declaring that credits due for articles of commerce sold, or for services, were exempted from taxation for the year 1921, was handed down one week after the present suit was filed. The original answer to this suit was filed five weeks later, while the Henderson Iron Works Case was pending on an application for rehearing. A few weeks later we handed down our final judgment in the Henderson Iron Works Case, declaring that the exemption of credits from taxation, granted by section 4 of article 10 of the Constitution of 1921 did not affect the taxes for that year. Thereupon, the defendant in this case tendered to the tax collector the amount of the state taxes that had been assessed for 1921 on the credits shown on the list rendered, with interest at 10 per cent, per annum from the 1st of February, 1922, the total sum, being $10,062.16; which the tax collector declined to accept as a settlement of his demand. Defendant then filed a supplemental answer, alleging that the tender had been made, not in response to or because of this suit, but in deference to our ruling in the Henderson Iron Works Case, and “with the sole idea of paying the taxes on its assessment of ‘credits’ for 1921, under said de-' cisión of the Supreme Court, as interpreted by respondent.” Defendant alleged that the credits, which had been assessed for the taxes of 1921, were exempted from the parish, taxes, school tax, school bond tax, road district .taxes and road bond taxes, claimed in this suit, because the police jury had not levied those taxes for 1921 until after the lfet [737]*737day of July of that year, when the new, Constitution had gone into effect.

Defendant also pleaded, in the supplemental answer to this suit, that the tax collect- or’s petition did not disclose a cause or right of action.

On motion of the attorneys for the tax collector, the supplemental answer was rejected by the district court, on the ground that it was filed in violation of section 54 of Act 170 of 1898, requiring that all answers to such proceedings shall “set forth specifically” all defenses relied upon by the defendant, and shall be filed on or before the return day of the rule nisi. On trial of the rule, therefore, the attorneys for the tax collector objected to defendant’s offering of proof that the resolutions of the police jury, levying the local taxes for 1921, were adopted after the 1st day of July of that year. The judge overruled the objection and allowed the proof, on the ground that defendant’s original answer to the suit was specific enough to put at issue the contention that the local taxes were not “accruing,” because they had not been assessed, when the new Constitution went into effect.

The district court gave judgment as prayed for in the defendant’s supplemental answer, rejecting the tax collector’s demand for the production of personal property to satisfy the local taxes, $9,029.85, and ordering the defendant to produce only sufficient of the credits assessed, or of other personal property, to satisfy the state taxes, $10,062.16, and the interest thereon at 10 per cent, per annum from the 1st day of February, 1922. The,tax collector has appealed.

We doubt that the defense made in the supplemental answer, having reference only to'the local taxes, was “set forth specifically,” as the statute required, in defendant’s original answer to this suit. On the contrary, it appears that there was no intention, in defendant’s original answer, to ask the court to make a distinction between the state taxes, which had been assessed, and the parish taxes, which had not been assessed, when the new Constitution went into effect. The idea of making the distinction appears to have been suggested by one of the reasons given for our ruling in the Henderson Iron Works Case, on rehearing.

In deciding this case, .however, we may accept as correct the district judge’s ruling that the defense made in the supplemental answer to this suit, that the local taxes for 1921 were not levied by the police jury of Allen parish.until after the 1st day of July of that year, was “set forth specifically,” as the statute says, in thfe original answer to this .suit. The judgment sustaining the defense is founded upon a wrong interpretation of our ruling in the Henderson Iron Works Case. It is true, in our reasoning, we put great stress upon the fact that the taxes for 1921 were already levied, and were therefore “accruing,” when the new Constitution went into effect. But we had no thought of making a distinction between the, state taxes for 1921, which we knew had been levied before the 1st of July, and local taxes, which the local authorities, might have neglected to levy until the 1st of July, of that year. It is certain, from the language of the reservation in the fourth paragraph of section 1 of article 22 of the Constitution, that there was no intention of making the distinction that is made in the judgment 'appealed from in this case. Of course, the argument that'taxes which had been levied were “accruing” when the new Constitution went into effect would not have been an appropriate argument in the Henderson Iron Works Case, if we had been dealing with taxes that had not been levied when the Constitution went into effect. But we were dealing with taxes which, for the most part at least, and as far as we knew, had been levied when the new Constitution wentinto effect. If the argument was [739]*739good for those taxes for 1921, it w.as good for all of the taxes for 1921, because all of the taxes for that year — that is, either all or none — were reserved alike by the saving clause in the fourth paragraph of section 1 of article 22 of the new Constitution. The principal reason for our ruling in the Henderson Iron Works Case, however, was expressed thus:

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

Related

Missouri Pac. R. Co. v. Grant
110 So. 78 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1926)
Gulf Refining Co. of Louisiana v. Phillips
11 F.2d 967 (Fifth Circuit, 1926)
Bemis Bro. Bag Co. v. Louisiana Tax Commission
103 So. 337 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1925)
Louisiana A. Ry. Co. v. School of Webster Parish
103 So. 318 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1925)
Simms Oil Co. v. Flanagan
99 So. 450 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1924)
State ex rel. Lemoine v. Morrow
97 So. 875 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1923)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
96 So. 549, 153 La. 734, 1923 La. LEXIS 1831, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/oden-v-industrial-lumber-co-la-1923.