Pacific Railroad v. Cass County

53 Mo. 17
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedMarch 15, 1873
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 53 Mo. 17 (Pacific Railroad v. Cass County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pacific Railroad v. Cass County, 53 Mo. 17 (Mo. 1873).

Opinion

Ewing, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court.

The respondent haviugjevied certain taxes for State and county purposes against the appellant for the years 1869 and 1870, payment of which was enforced by the seizure and sale of its property as to the taxes of 1870, the object of this proceeding is to determine certain questions of law in relation to [23]*23the liability of the road to taxation, and the proper mode of assessment.

The cause was submitted to the Circuit Court at special term, upon an agreed statement of facts upon which a judgment pro forma was rendered for the defendant, and again at, General Term.; from which the cause is brought here by appeal. The material facts are that the road was completed and in operation in April, 1866, and has never declared a dividend; that on 1st of February, 1868, it made, through its president, its first return to the State Auditor, as required by the act oí December 25, 1852; that no taxes were ever assessed thereon by the Auditor, that the road is a continuous line extending from St. Louis to Kansas City, 283 miles, through eleven counties, and operates connecting lines of rail in the State of Kansas. The principal office of the company is in the City of St. Louis, where its directors reside, and hold their meetings, where also its managing officers live and attend to the business of the company, and where its records are kept and its business transacted; that its principal machine shops,car sheds, and repair shops are in said city, and its rolling stock, when not in actual use on the road, is also kept at St. Louis and returned to said city; that it has three freight and passenger depots at way stations in Cass County, where passengers and freight are received and discharged, and no other business is transacted except such as is incidental to the receipt and delivery of freight; that thirteen miles of its track are constructed and located in Cass County, andno rolling stock is in said county, except when in actual transit or while waiting to 'receive and discharge freight and passengers.

It is also agreed, for the purpose of this suit only, that the assessor of Cass County for 1869, did not make any assessment of any property of the Pacific railroad ; 'that he did not make any return to the County Court, of the original or any copy of his assessment book until March 1869, when he made affidavit of 1ns book and returned it to the county court; and when so returned it contained no entry in relation to the Pacific railroad. Subsequently the county board of equalization [24]*24verbally ordered the following entry to be made on part first (real estate part) of said assessor’s book.

“The board of equalization of taxes for Cass County, now at this time proceed to assess the Mo. Pacific railroad in Cass Co. for the taxes for the year 1869, and do assess the same as follows ”; then follows a statement of the property, being the road-bed in the County, and the County’s proportionate share of the rolling stock with the assessed value annexed. No order to that effect appears on the record of proceedings of said board of equalization. The verbal order and its entry in the assessor’s book was made without notice to the Pacific railroad either by advertisement in a newspaper or by poster. The assessment of the rolling stock was made by esti-, mating the value of all the rolling stock used on the entire x*oad from St. Louis to Kansas City, (283 miles in length) and then assessing it for Oass County in the ratio of the entire length of the road to the number of miles in that county.

No taxes were charged against the company on the tax book for 1869; and no entries were made in relation to it, on the delinquent tax book for that year, until December 19, 1871, which entry was made under an order of the county court of the same date, and without notice to the coxnpany. This order recites that the railroad was assessed for the taxes of 1869, that said taxes were levied by the county court and wex-e extended by the clerk on the assessor’s book for that year, but, by neglect of said clerk, they wex’e not placed on the copy thereof, made by the clerk for the use of the collector; a,xxd it is ordered that the assessment and the taxes thereon be placed by the elex-k on said copy, and on the delinquent tax books and sale book for the taxes of that year, and that the clerk make out a receipt for the same and deliver it to the collector. On the 21st of December’, 1871, the collector seized a locomotive and train of cars for the taxes ofl869 and 1870, and in January, 1872, sold them for the taxes of 1870 only. It is further agreed that if there was any irregularity or error in the assessment or taxation of the Pacific railroad for the year 1870, or the proceedings in relation to the sale of their [25]*25said property, such that the purchaser of said locomotive and cars would not take a valid title to the same as against said road, then there shall be a judgment for nominal damages and costs against the county and A. C. Brant, as to the taxes of 1870, in favor of the road. But if the court shall be of opin’ ion there were no such irregularities and that a valid title passed by such a sale, and shah be further of opinion that none of the propositions claimed by the appellant as to the mode and manner of taxation are correct, but are each and all erroneous, then there shall've a judgment against it for one cent and costs. A similar stipulation is made with reference to the assessment and taxation for 1869, and as to the effect of a sale of property for the taxes of that year in case a sale has been made.

The charter of the plaintiffs granted' March 12th, 1819 contains no provision exempting its property from taxation, (Sess. Acts Í819, p. 219.)

By an act amendatory of the charter, approved March, 1851 (Sess. Acts 1851, p. 271,) it provided, that the capital stock together with all machines, wagons, cars, engines and carriages belonging to the company,together with all their works and other property and profits which shall arise from the same, shall be vested in the respective shareholders of the company forever, in proportion to their respective shares, and the same shall be deemed personal estate and shall be exempt from all public charge or tax whatsoever,for the period of five years from the passage of the act. This exemption expired in March, 1856. An act was passed Dec. 25th, 1852, (Sess. Acts 1852, p. 10,) to accept a grant of land made to the State by Congress to aid in the construction of certain railroads and to apply a portion thereof to the Pacific railroad. Section 12 of this act is substantially as follows: 1. The Pacific and Southwest branch railroads are respectively exempt from taxation, until the same shall be completed and opened and in operation, and shall declare a dividend.

2, "When this shall have been done, then the road-bedr buildings, machinery, engines, cars and other property of such [26]*26road shall be subject to taxation at the actual cash value thereof, at the same rate assessed by the State ou other property of like value. And,for the purpose of ascertaining the value of said property, the president of the company is required on the 1st of February in each year after the road is completed, opened, put iu operation and declares a dividend, to furnish to the auditor a sworn statement, showing the actual value of the property of the road above mentioned. From this statement the company „is to be charged by the auditor with the amount appearing to be duetto the State. A failure to pay the amount so charged into the State treasury after the .

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Bluebook (online)
53 Mo. 17, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pacific-railroad-v-cass-county-mo-1873.