Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka Railway Co. v. Del City

1963 OK 186, 392 P.2d 365, 1963 Okla. LEXIS 583
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedJuly 23, 1963
DocketNo. 40068
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 1963 OK 186 (Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka Railway Co. v. Del City) 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
Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka Railway Co. v. Del City, 1963 OK 186, 392 P.2d 365, 1963 Okla. LEXIS 583 (Okla. 1963).

Opinion

HALLEY, Vice Chief Justice.

This action was commenced on July 13, 1961, by plaintiff in error hereafter referred to as plaintiff, against defendants in error, hereafter referred to as defendants or by name, to enjoin the collection of certain paving assessments in the City of Del City.

The facts giving rise to plaintiff’s cause of action are as follows. Under the provisions of 11 O.S.1961 § 87, on or prior to-August 1, 1960, defendant Steelman, the owner of 53 per cent of the property in the proposed paving district, petitioned the governing body of the defendant City for the paving and improving a section of Northeast Fourth Street exceeding 1000 feet in length. On August 1, 1960, defendant City passed its resolution declaring that the work of improvements, including the paving'of the section of Northeast Fourth Street, was [367]*367necessary. On Septetnber 19, 1960, defendant City passed its resolution ordering and expressing its determination to proceed with the doing of the improvements called for in defendant Steelman’s petition and directing the City Engineer to prepare and file plans and estimates of the costs of said improvements. Said plans and estimates were duly adopted and approved by defendant City on the same date.

Thereafter defendant City advertised for bids and after the contract had been let for the work to the lowest bidder, the City Engineer was directed to prepare and file final complete and accurate statement of the costs of the paving and all proper costs incurred in connection therewith. The statement of costs was, by resolution, adopted by defendant City, and appraisers were appointed to assess the costs of the paving to the owners of the property included within the paving district. The appraisers within due time filed their report apportioning the benefits to the several lots and tracts of land within the paving district. Plaintiff’s part of the apportionment amounted to $5,837.83.

Defendant City published notice and held a meeting of the governing body on May 15, 1961, for the purpose of reviewing the report of the appraisers and to hear and adjust complaints and to review, revise and correct the appraisements. Plaintiff filed with the defendant City its written protest against said proposed assessment and appeared at the meeting to present its protest. The defendant City continued the meeting to a date in June and to a final meeting on July 3, 1961, at which time it passed its ordinance to assess the cost of paving and improving the section of Northeast Fourth Street. The ordinance levied and assessed the sum of $7,094.57 against plaintiff. The ordinance, which was published on July 14, 1961, was admitted into evidence at the trial of the instant case without objection. The evidence does not show when the paving was completed, but the parties indicate in their briefs that it was completed prior to the passage of the assessing ordinance.

Plaintiff offered the testimony of an expert witness that plaintiff’s property received no benefit whatsoever as a result of the paving in issue. Defendants objected to the offer of such evidence and the trial court sustained the objection. At the conclusion of all the evidence, judgment was rendered for defendants. Plaintiff’s motion for new trial was overruled and plaintiff appeals.

After the appeal was perfected in this Court, plaintiff paid under protest to defendant City the sum of $1,136.96, representing the interest on the assessment together with one year’s installment thereon as assessed against plaintiff by the assessing ordinance. Defendants have filed a motion to dismiss the appeal on the ground that a party cannot recognize the validity of a judgment and at the same time appeal therefrom. The cases cited by defendants in support of this theory are not based on facts such as are now before us.

Our statutory provisions, 11 O.S. 1961 §§ 105-107, provide for payment of the assessment by installments. If the installments are not paid when due', the property assessed is subject to certain penalties and is subject to forced sale. A protest payment made by plaintiff under such circumstances is not voluntary; it is compulsory. By such payment plaintiff does not recognize the validity of the judgment or evidence an intention to abide by it. The general rule is stated in the first paragraph of the syllabus of Lucas v. First Nat. Bank of Pawnee, 171 Okl. 606, 43 P.2d 752:

“An involuntary payment or satisfaction of a judgment or decree cannot be construed as a release of errors assigned on appeal.’’

See 2 Am.Jur., Appeal and Error § 222; 4 C.J.S. Appeal and Error § 214. The motion to dismiss the appeal is denied.

Although plaintiff asserts several propositions of error, we need review but one to dispose of this appeal. Plaintiff con[368]*368tends that the trial court committed error in sustaining defendants’ objection to plaintiff’s offer of proof that plaintiff’s property would not be benefited by the paving. We agree that this was error.

There are two methods under our statutes by which proceedings for street improvements in municipal corporations in this State may be commenced. The procedure used in the instant case is that authorized by 11 O.S.1961 § 87. Defendant Steel-man, record owner of more than one-half of the area of the land liable to assessment for the improvement, petitioned the governing body of defendant Del City for the improvement.

The second method of commencing such proceedings is authorized by 11 O.S.1961 § 85. The governing body under such second method may commence the proceedings without consulting any landowner ultimately liable for the payment of the cost of such improvement. The governing body under this procedure must adopt and approve a resolution declaring such work of improvement necessary to be done. Such resolution must be published in a newspaper as provided in section 85, supra. 11 O.S.1961 § 86, provide^ that, unless an interested property owner wishing to contest this method of proceeding files an action in the district court not later than fifteen days after the publication of the resolution, he will be deemed to have waived all objections thereto.

We have recognized these two distinct methods of commencing such proceedings in Riedt v. City of McAlester, Okl., 262 P.2d 152. There, the trial court found that it did not have jurisdiction because the contesting landowners had not filed their petition in district court within fifteen days of publication as provided in section 86, supra. We affirmed the trial court and pointed out that the result would have been the same, in that case, if the improvement proceedings had been commenced under section 87, supra. This is true because the contesting landowners were attempting to question the sufficiency of the petition filed with the governing body and, under section 87, supra, such an action to question sufficiency of petition is barred unless brought within fifteen days. Plaintiff in the instant case does not question the sufficiency of defendant Steelman’s petition filed with the defendant City. Therefore the fifteen day limitation period provided in section 87, supra, is not applicable herein.

11 O.S.1961 § 87, further provides that “notice providing for determining the necessity of such improvements shall not be published as provided in (11 O.S.1961 § 85).” Such language is mandatory. Therefore the City of Del City was prohibited from publishing a resolution of necessity.

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440 P.2d 700 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1968)

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Bluebook (online)
1963 OK 186, 392 P.2d 365, 1963 Okla. LEXIS 583, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/oklahoma-city-ada-atoka-railway-co-v-del-city-okla-1963.