People v. City of Buffalo

93 Misc. 275, 157 N.Y.S. 938
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 15, 1916
StatusPublished

This text of 93 Misc. 275 (People v. City of Buffalo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. City of Buffalo, 93 Misc. 275, 157 N.Y.S. 938 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1916).

Opinion

Chester, J.

By this action the plaintiff Seeks to recover from the defendant the fines and penalties which have been collected since August 1, 1910, in the City Court of Buffalo for violation of the provisions [277]*277of article 11 of the Highway Law, known as the Motor Vehicle Law (Laws of 1909, chap. 30, as amd. by Laws of 1910, chap. 374), and also the fines and penalties collected in snch court for the violation of various ordinances of the city of Buffalo and of the board of park commissioners of such city so far as they regulate the use of motor vehicles in such city.

Subdivision 2 of section 291 of article 11 of such Highway Law provides that “ all fines, penalties or forfeitures collected for violations of any of the provisions of this article or of any act in relation to the use of the public highways by motor vehicles now in force or hereafter enacted * * * shall be paid over * * * to the treasurer of the state.”

The proof shows that the defendant has collected during the time covered by the complaint the sum of $3,335.50 in fines and penalties for the violation of the provisions of article 11 of the Highway Law which it has not paid to the state treasurer and the defendant has conceded upon this trial that it is liable for that amount. The proof also shows that the defendant has collected during such time, for violations of the park and traffic ordinances relating to the use of public highways by motor vehicles in the city, fines and penalties amounting to $17,832 which it has not paid to the state treasurer. The defendant insists that it owns these last named moneys and that the provisions of section 291 of the Highway Law do not require the payment of the same to the state treasurer.

The city of Buffalo was given power by subdivision 9, section 17 of its charter (Laws of 1891, chap. 105), to enact ordinances: “ To prevent * * *' the incumbering óf the streets, alleys, etc. * * to regulate the use of them, and to declare in what manner and for what purpose they shall not be used,” and by subdivision 11 thereof to enact such ordinances, not [278]*278inconsistent with the laws of the state, “ as shall he deemed expedient for the good government of the city, the protection of its property, the preservation of peace and good order.” Pursuant to such power various traffic ordinances regulating the use of the streets and public places and parks by motor and other vehicles have been enacted, which authorize the imposition of certain lines and penalties for the violation thereof.

There can be no question that by virtue of the provisions of section 11 of the Buffalo City Court Act (Laws of 1909, chap. 570), section 322 of title XI of the Buffalo city charter (Laws of 1891, chap. 105), and section 9 of chapter 3 of the ordinances of the city of Buffalo', unless the same have been repealed by the Motor Vehicle Law, such fines are the property of the defendant and are properly deposited with the city treasurer.

The question presented here, therefore, is whether the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Law have been effective to repeal or modify these local acts and ordinances so- far-as to require the payment of fines collected for the violation thereof to the state.

The law is well settled that special statutes which are local in their application are not deemed repealed by general legislation, except upon the clearest manifestation of an intent by the legislature to effect such repeal, and such repeal cannot ordinarily be accomplished by implication. Grimmer v. Tenement House Department, 204 N. Y. 370; Buffalo Cemetery Association v. City of Buffalo, 118 id. .61; People v. Quigg, 59 id. 83.

The Motor Vehicle Law (Laws of 1910, chap. 374) contains the usual general repealing clause which provides that all acts or parts of acts inconsistent with such act or contrary thereto are expressly repealed. [279]*279There is no mention whatever of any specific local acts or ordinances being repealed, so that the repeal, if any, is by implication. It becomes necessary, therefore, to examine the statute itself with care to see if we can gather therefrom whether or not there is shown any intent on the part of the legislature in the passage of the Motor Vehicle Law to repeal the local statutes- and ordinances, and to.determine the meaning of the provision that ‘ all fines, penalties or forfeitures collected for violations of any of the provisions of -this article or of any act in relation to the use of public highways by motor vehicles now in force or hereafter enacted,” shall be paid to the treasurer of the state. The claim of the plaintiff is that the insertion of the words “or of any act in relation to the use of the public highways by motor vehicles,” following the words ‘ ‘ for violatibns of the provisions of this'article, ’ ’ shows a legislative intent to bring within the purview of the law. fines collected under local laws or ordinances anywhere and, therefore, that the defendant is liable for fines so collected in Buffalo. The defendant, on the other hand, insists that the fair meaning of the wards quoted-is that fines collected for violations of any of the provisions of article 11 or of any public act of the legislature in relation to the use of the highways of the state by motor vehicles shall be paid to the state treasurer and that the language is not broad enough or sufficient to cover fines collected for violations of local statutes or ordinances.

The usual rule of statutory construction requires that words and phrases used in statutes are to be given their ordinary and popular meaning. It cannot be doubted that the word ‘' act ’ ’ is the appropriate and usual one used in defining a bill after it has been enacted by the legislature, in fact that is the term used as the name for all legislative enactments. On the [280]*280other hand, an ordinance, While it is given the force and effect of a statute, is a rule, by-law or regulation adopted by a municipal corporation, and is confined in its operation to the particular locality where it is adopted. No citation of authorities is necessary in-support of these elementary principles. It seems quite clear, therefore, that the legislature used the term ‘ act ’ ’ in this statute with reference to acts of its own making and not having in mind ordinances or regulations made by the local authorities, nor even statutes having only a local application. If the legislature had desired to have the act broad enough to require the payment to the state treasurer of fines recovered for the violation of local ordinances it would have been easy to have inserted words in the law to cover that intent and it would not have stopped with the use of the word ‘ act ’ ’ alone. '

The general words any act,” following as they do tiie particular word article,” under another rule of statutory construction known as the doctrine of ejusdem generis, that is of the same kind or class, show quite clearly that the legislature intended thereby to mean a statute- passed by itself. Lewis’ Suth. S-tat. Const., 422-448.

That this is the correct construction of -the law is made quite clear by later pro-visions of the same subdivision of such section 291. For instance, a judge, magistrate -or clerk of a court having jurisdiction ‘ ‘ of the violation of any of the provisions- -o-f -this article

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Related

Grimmer v. . Tenement House Department
97 N.E. 884 (New York Court of Appeals, 1912)

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Bluebook (online)
93 Misc. 275, 157 N.Y.S. 938, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-city-of-buffalo-nysupct-1916.