Ogburn v. Ward County Irr. Dist. No. 1

267 S.W. 316
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 18, 1924
DocketNo. 1686. [fn*]
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 267 S.W. 316 (Ogburn v. Ward County Irr. Dist. No. 1) 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
Ogburn v. Ward County Irr. Dist. No. 1, 267 S.W. 316 (Tex. Ct. App. 1924).

Opinion

HIGGINS, J.

This suit was brought by the appellee, Ward County Irrigation District No. 1, a water improvement district for irrigation purposes, incorporated under the laws of this state against appellant Ogburn, the owner of 466 acres of land situate in the district, to recover taxes assessed against the land for the years 1917 to 1922, inclusive, together with interest, penalties, and costs, and for foreclosure of lien.

The defendant, in addition to a general denial, answered as follows:

“Defendant alleges that the plaintiff has not equalized_ said property as provided by law; that said’property was not assessed by competent authorities; that a list of the delinquent taxes for the years complained of were not published as provided by law. That a legal notice of said delinquency was not issued to defendant; that a list of said delinquent taxes for said years has not been compiled and no delinquent tax record is kept by said district.
“Fifth.
“Defendant further says that plaintiff’s cause of action, if any, accrued over two years before this suit, is barred by the two-year statute of limitation, which is here now pleaded in bar thereof.
“Sixth.
“Defendant further alleges that in assessing his land for taxes the tax collector did not assess same at its actual value, but knowingly assessed said land at over two times its actual value, and that the pretended board of equalization for said district likewise assessed said land for over two times its actual value and approved the assessment so made with knowledge that said assessment was excessive and was over two times the. actual value and the cash market value of defendant’s land, which is not in excess of $5 per acre.
“Seventh.
“That said tax is not equal or uniform, that defendant’s land is assessed at two times its actual value, but the other lands in said district, including lands belonging to A. N. Edwards and E. P. Nelson, are assessed at their cash market value and actual value; that the personal property in said district, including the milk cows and horses belonging to the plaintiff directors, are assessed at their actual value, with the result that plaintiff is attempting to force this defendant to pay tax at a disproportionate and unequal rate, and same is not uniform.
“Wherefore defendant prays judgment that plaintiff take nothing and defendant go hence with his cost, and for such other and further relief in law or equity, to which he be justly entitled.”

The question of limitation was eliminated by the plaintiff’s dismissal as to the taxes for the years 1917 and 1918.

The court submitted this issue:

“Were the defendant’s lands assessed for taxation on the same basis with reference to actual values as all other taxable properties in the district in question?”

*318 This was answered in the affirmative. Two other issues were submitted, but were not answered, as the jury was instructed to answer same in the event only the first issue was answered in the negative. Upon this finding judgment was rendered in favor of the plaintiff for $2,110.10, being the amount of taxes, interest, penalties, and costs for the years 1919 to 1922, both inclusive, with foreclosure of lien, and Ogburn appeals.

It is, in effect, first insisted by the appellant that his land has been arbitrarily, grossly, and fraudulently overvalued by the tax assessor and board of equalization of the district under a system of valuation adopted by them, and that he has been discriminated against in such valuation, particularly as compared with personal property in the district.

Upon this phase of the case the evidence in its material features. is undisputed and substantially as follows: For the purpose of land valuation the district has been divided into zones. The first embraces all land within a radius of one and one-half miles of the center; the second embraces all land outside the first zone and within a radius of three and one-half miles of the center; the third embraces all other land in the district. In the various zones all land planted in fruit and alfalfa is designated as first class; all in cotton, feed, or grain as second class; all uncultivated land as third class. Beginning in 1922 a fourth class was added, which consisted of land unfit for cultivation. Ogburn’s land is all in the third zone. Apparently,, without reference to improvements or any other consideration except the use to which the land is devoted and the zone in which it is situate, arbitrary valuations are fixed upon the land as follows: $135 per acre for first class land; $96 per acre for land of the second class; land of the third class at $67 per acre. More than 300 acres of Og-burn’s land was uncultivated, and about 200 acres thereof was impregnated with alkali, which rendered it unfit for any purpose except grazing. During the years 1919. 1920, and 1921 this uncultivated land was valued at $67 per acre. In 1922 there were 266 acres of the uncultivated land which was valued at $7.50 per acre. During the years indicated the balance of Ogburn’s land was classified in part as first class and part as second class, and valued accordingly. The assessor of the district testified that in valuing Ogburn's land he paid no attention to its real value, but valued it according to its classification under the plan adopted. He said:

“I took into consideration solely whether it was in class 1, 2, or 3, or in zone 1, 2, or 3. * * * In other words, in making up these tax renditions I did not rely upon anything except that schedule, I paid no attention to the values of the land.”

According to his own testimony the uncultivated land belonging to Ogburn did not exceed $7.50 per acre in value, and there are a number of witnesses who placed it at $2 per acre. Several witnesses testified with reference to the value of the first and second class land owned by Ogburn, and placed its value at from $35 to $50 per acre. Appellee offered no evidence to the contrary. The undisputed evidence further shows that all personal property in the district is assessed at one-half its real value. It was shown by, the assessor’s testimony that $10,000 worth of personal property belonging to the Hillside Irrigation Company was assessed at $5,-000.

It is apparent that Ogburn’s land, in part at least, has been arbitrarily valued by the taxing authorities at figures grossly in excess of its market or real value. The plain «import of articles 5107 — 25 and 5107 — 27 (Complete Texas Statutes 1920) is that property is to be assessed at its “full value” and no more. We recognize that ordinarily the courts will not revise the action of a board of equalization in the valuation which it places upon property, but it is well settled by the decisions of this state that by appropriate action the taxpayer can obtain relief in the courts where the board has arbitrarily and grossly overvalued his property and discriminated against him. In such cases the action of the board is regarded as a fraud upon the taxpayer, and subject to be set aside by direct. proceeding. Lively v. Railway, 102 Tex. 545, 120 S. W. 852; Holland v. Johnson, 17 Tex. Civ. App. 210, 43 S. W. 71; Power v. Andrews (Tex. Civ. App.) 253 S. W. 870; Brown v. Bank (Tex. Civ.

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Bluebook (online)
267 S.W. 316, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ogburn-v-ward-county-irr-dist-no-1-texapp-1924.