Parker v. Seward School Township

159 N.E.2d 576, 240 Ind. 1, 1959 Ind. LEXIS 243
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedJune 23, 1959
Docket29,812
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 159 N.E.2d 576 (Parker v. Seward School Township) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Parker v. Seward School Township, 159 N.E.2d 576, 240 Ind. 1, 1959 Ind. LEXIS 243 (Ind. 1959).

Opinions

Bobbitt, J.

This case comes to us on petition to transfer from the Appellate Court under Acts 1933, ch. 151, §1, p. 800, being §4-215, Burns’ 1946 Replacement. See: Parker v. Seward School Township (1958), 154 N. E. 2d 735, for opinion of the Appellate Court.

Appellants filed this suit to enjoin the Trustee, and Advisory Board of Seward School Township and of Seward Civil Township, and the County Auditor of Kosciusko County, Indiana, from proceeding further in the issuance of bonds to pay the cost of remodeling and improving a school building in such township, asserting that the number of remonstrators exceeded the number of petitioners, and because of this any bonds so issued would be illegal and void.

The sole question at issue in the trial court and the only one properly presented here on appeal is: Were there more remonstrators than there were petitioners?.

At the request of plaintiffs-appellants, the trial [4]*4court made a special finding of facts. Those pertinent to the issues here may be summarized as follows:

(3) On April 23, 1955, a petition was filed with the Township Trustee praying that the Advisory Board and the Trustee authorize an issue of bonds for the purpose “of procuring funds to be applied on the cost of remodelZing and improving the existing school building located in the incorporated Town of Burket, Seward Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana, and the construction and equipment of an addition thereto, to accomodate the pupils of school age residing within such School Township, . . . .”

A certificate of the County Auditor was attached to the petition certifying that “such petition was signed by Seven Hundred Forty-four (744) owners of taxable real estate in said School and Civil Townships.”

(4) On April 23, 1955, written withdrawals from the petition were filed by One Hundred Twenty-two (122) signers who were owners of taxable real estate in the township.

(5) Thereafter, on April 28, 1955, a special meeting of the Advisory Board of the Township was called for the purpose of considering the sufficiency of the petition and withdrawals therefrom, and to determine whether an indispensable emergency and necessity existed for the providing of funds for the purposes set forth in the petition.

(6, 7, 8, 9) At the meeting on April 28, 1955, the Advisory Board found the petition to be sufficient and adopted a resolution accordingly. It also found that an indispensable necessity and an extraordinary emergency existed for the issuance of bonds of Seward School Township and Seward Civil Township, to provide funds [5]*5to pay the cost of the proposed v?ork as requested in such petition and determined to issue such bonds, and adopted resolutions accordingly.

(10) Notice of the determination to issue the bonds was given, as provided by statute, the last publication being on May 12,1955.

(16) Within 30 days after the publication of the notice of the determination to issue such bonds, a remonstrance against the issuance thereof was filed.

A certificate of the County Auditor was attached thereto certifying that such remonstrance was signed by Seven Hundred Eighteen (718) owners of taxable real estate within the Township. Also, during such 30 day period seventy (70) owners of taxable real estate within the Township filed written withdrawals from the remonstrance.

(17) A special meeting of the Advisory Board was held on June 9, 1955, to consider the remonstrance filed against the issuance of the bonds.

Because of the importance of Finding No. 19, it is set out verbatim herein and is as follows:

“19. At said special meeting of June 9, 1955, aforesaid, the Advisory Board considered the remonstrance against the issuance of said bonds and withdrawals from such remonstrance aforesaid, and found and determined that in addition to the Seventy (70) taxpayers who had filed withdrawals from the remonstrance as hereinbefore found, Eight (8) others had signed such remonstrance twice, and that Two Hundred Two (202) names of taxpayers appeared as signors [signers] of said remonstrance whose names had also appeared on the petition referred to in Finding 3 above and which had been counted as petitioners in the action of the Advisory Board in granting the petition at its special meeting of April 28, 1955, as set out in Finding 7, and the proceedings had consequent thereon as hereinbefore found, and that none of [6]*6said Two Hundred Two (202) persons had ever filed a withdrawal from or petition to withdraw their names from the original petition referred to in Finding 3; and it further found that after deducting from the number of taxpayers who had signed the original petition aforesaid the said withdrawals therefrom, and deducting from the number of taxpayers whose names appeared on said remonstrance the Two Hundred Two (202) names of persons who had signed both the original petition and the remonstrance without ever having withdrawn from the petition plus the Seventy (70) names of taxpayers who had filed withdrawals from said remonstrance, plus the Eight (8) names of taxpayers who had twice signed said remonstrance, there remained a greater number of names on said original petition, than on such remonstrance. And, thereupon, said Advisory Board found such remonstrance to be insufficient and denied the same, and all by resolution of said Board passed and adopted at said meeting.”

Under the record here we accept the foregoing facts as correctly found. Gross Income Tax Div. v. Surface Comb. Corp. (1953), 232 Ind. 100, 107, 111 N. E. 2d 50.

The trial court found against the plaintiffs-appellants and for the defendants-appellees.

Appellees herein have proceeded under Acts 1945, ch. 5, §1, p. 9, being §64-312, Burns’ 1951 Replacement, and Acts 1939, ch. 97, §1, p. 507, being §64-313, Burns’ 1951 Replacement.

Section 64-313, supra, provides that no taxes shall be levied to meet the principal and interest of municipal bonds unless prior to the issuance of such bonds a petition or petitions shall be filed by at least fifty (50) owners of taxable real estate “in the municipal corporation desiring to issue such obligations praying for the issuance” thereof.

[7]*7Such section also provides that within thirty (30) days after the publication of the notice of the determination to issue the bonds as provided in such section, remonstrances may be filed “by owners of taxable real estate in such municipal corporation greater in number than the number of petitioners, with the municipal body or officer with whom the petition or petitions were filed, which remonstrance is likewise duly verified and certified, praying that no such obligation be issued, then no such obligation shall be issued.”

The section then provides that if the remonstrance prevails, no further petition for the issuance of such obligations shall be filed within a period of one (1) year after the filing of the remonstrance.

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Related

Hooten v. Alt
191 N.E.2d 13 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1963)
PETERCHEFF v. City of Indianapolis
178 N.E.2d 746 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1961)
Jones v. Nay
163 N.E.2d 119 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1960)
Parker v. Seward School Township
159 N.E.2d 576 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1959)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
159 N.E.2d 576, 240 Ind. 1, 1959 Ind. LEXIS 243, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parker-v-seward-school-township-ind-1959.