Smith v. Addiego

129 P.2d 953, 54 Cal. App. 2d 230, 1942 Cal. App. LEXIS 344
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 31, 1942
DocketCiv. 11887
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 129 P.2d 953 (Smith v. Addiego) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Smith v. Addiego, 129 P.2d 953, 54 Cal. App. 2d 230, 1942 Cal. App. LEXIS 344 (Cal. Ct. App. 1942).

Opinion

GOODELL, J. pro tem.

This appeal was taken from a judgment and decree quieting respondent’s title to four lots in El Cerrito.

On November 9, 1928, the lots were owned by Realty Syndicate Company and, under the act of 1911 (Stats. 1911, p. 730), the street improvement bonds here in question were a lien upon those lots. After several transfers, the bonds found their way into the hands of Guy E. Smith, the husband of respondent, who, on or about February 23, 1934, filed suit to foreclose them, and by a decree of foreclosure entered on November 2, 1935, the sale of the lots was ordered. On November 30, 1935, a certificate of sale was issued showing that the lots had been sold to Laura Smith, executrix of the will of Guy E. Smith; on January 2, 1938, a commissioner’s *232 deed issued to her as such executrix and she later succeeded to her deceased husband’s rights in the lots, and now claims title under such deed.

The appellants assert title under tax deeds. General taxes for 1929-1930 went delinquent and the lots in question were sold to the state on June 26, 1930. There having been no redemption, a deed to the state was made on June 29, 1935. On January 27, 1938, a sale was had at which the appellants or their predecessors purchased the lots, and on February 4, 1938, deeds were made to them by the tax collector, as agent for the state. Under these deeds the appellants claim absolute title to the lots, free and clear of any claim, lien or title based upon the street improvement bonds.

It is admitted by the appellants that the lien of the bonds attached as of November 9, 1928, several months before the lien for 1929-1930 taxes attached (on the first Monday of March, 1929). It is a fact, also, that the commissioner’s deed was made a month before the tax deeds issued to appellants. Notwithstanding these priorities in point of time the appellants contend that their tax title is paramount because of the provisions of sections 3897 and 3898, Political Code, as those sections read when they purchased the tax title and got their deeds on February 4, 1938. They also invoke the rule laid down in Woodill & Hulse Elec. Co. v. Young, 180 Cal. 667 [182 Pac. 422, 5 A. L. R 1296].

The respondent relies upon a group of cases (presently to be discussed) which held that liens for taxes, on the one hand, and certain other liens and special assessments, on the other, are of equal rank, such reliance being based upon the fact that section 3787, Political Code (see §§ 3518-3520, Rev. & Tax. Code), so declared at the time when the lots were sold to the state in 1935, from which premise it is argued that the title having thus become vested in the state, this equivalence of rank remained constant and undisturbed until and including the time when the commissioner’s deed issued. Consistently with this position the respondent concedes that if she prevails herein her title should be quieted “subject to all county and city taxes . . . outstanding” when judgment is entered.

At the time when the lien of the street improvement bonds attached in 1928, and at the time when the deed to the state was made in 1935 (at which time the lien of the bonds had not been foreclosed), section 3787, Political Code, *233 declared the effect of such deed in the following language: “. . . Such deed conveys to the state the absolute title to the property described therein, free of all encumbrances, except any lien for taxes levied for municipal, or for irrigation, reclamation, protection, flood control, public utility or other district purposes, ...” In Neary v. Peterson, 1 Cal. (2d) 703 [37 P. (2d) 82], the plaintiff sued to foreclose the lien of a street improvement bond issued under the same act of 1911. The defendant Brown set up the claim of ownership in himself by virtue of a tax deed from the state based upon a lien for 1923 general taxes. The trial court adjudged that Brown’s tax title was paramount, which judgment was reversed. The Supreme Court in its opinion states the question to be decided as follows (p. 705): “Did the lien for taxes due the state destroy the lien of the improvement bond?” and then says: “This question, for all practical purposes, was answered by the recent case of La Mesa etc. Irr. Dist. v. Hornbeck, 216 Cal. 730 [17 P. (2d) 143], where it was held that by section 3787 of the Political Code the former priority of liens for general taxes was subordinated and they were placed on a parity with certain enumerated liens for special assessments.” The court concluded (p. 706) : “The liens are therefore on a parity, made so by statute, and the lien for the subsequent street improvement remained intact notwithstanding the sale” for taxes.

The La Mesa case, supra, reviews the history and evolution of section 3787 in the following interesting discussion (p. 736):

“In the light of these propositions we pause to ascertain whether or not the legislature of California has spoken upon the question of the relative priority of general taxes and special assessment liens. We note that under section 3788 of the Political Code as originally enacted in 1872 there was no mention made of liens or special assessments and a deed to the state at that time would no doubt have been construed as extinguishing liens for special assessments. Later, however, section 3788 became section 3787 and in the year 1913 (Stats. 1913, p. 559) this section was redrafted so as to except from its operation a lien of taxes levied for municipal purposes. Later, and in 1917, this section was again amended so as to except not only a lien for municipal purposes but for irrigation district purposes as well. Later, and in 1927 (Stats. 1927, p. 1666) the section was again amended so as to spe *234 daily except a lien for reclamation, protection, flood control, public utility and other district purposes. This section has been construed by our own appellate court and by the Supreme Court of at least one other state which has enacted it into their law, from which it is concluded that the legislative intent is to place all taxes, both for county, municipal and other governmental agency purposes and taxes in the form of assessments in favor of special agencies of the state upon an equal footing before the law. (Bolton v. Terra Bella Irr. Dist., 106 Cal. App. 313 [289 Pac. 678]; State v. Board of Commrs., supra, [89 Mont. 37 (296 Pac. 1)].

“Prom the above authority and upon our construction of the section we may now safely conclude that under our system of taxation liens in favor of county and municipal corporations and special assessments, under the authority of state agencies for public purposes, are all on an equality. By this is meant that in case of delinquency a deed to any one of these agencies for such taxes will not obliterate the existing liens on the property in favor of any or all of the others unless, indeed, said section 3804a compels a different conclusion.” The Bolton case, supra, was the first of this group of “parity” cases. The La Mesa case, supra, as we have seen, was followed in the Neary case, supra. Other somewhat similar cases relied upon by the respondent are Conley v.

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Bluebook (online)
129 P.2d 953, 54 Cal. App. 2d 230, 1942 Cal. App. LEXIS 344, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/smith-v-addiego-calctapp-1942.