State Ex Rel. Horton v. Fidelity & Deposit Co.

1937 OK 133, 66 P.2d 85, 179 Okla. 437, 1937 Okla. LEXIS 296
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedFebruary 23, 1937
DocketNo. 27104.
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 1937 OK 133 (State Ex Rel. Horton v. Fidelity & Deposit Co.) 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
State Ex Rel. Horton v. Fidelity & Deposit Co., 1937 OK 133, 66 P.2d 85, 179 Okla. 437, 1937 Okla. LEXIS 296 (Okla. 1937).

Opinion

WELCH, J.

The trial court sustained a general demurrer to plaintiff’s petition and rendered judgment for the defendants.

The question here is whether the petition states facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action against the defendants.

The petition contained allegations that heretofore the defendant, Wilson, appealed to this court from the judgment of the county court of Payne county in a tax ferret proceeding wherein it was ordered that certain of such defendants’ personal property be assessed as omitted property; that such judgment of the county court was superseded by a $250 bond required by the trial court, and a $2,5'00 additional super-sedeas bond required by this court upon such appeal.

That upon such appeal that judgment of the county court was affirmed. Wilson v. State, 169 Okla. 149, 36 P. (2d) 292. Whereupon the property was spread upon the tax rolls and tax warrant issued and returned no property found, and that the taxing officials were unable to enforce the collection of such taxes for the reason that the taxpayer had removed all of his property from the state.

Plaintiff herein sought to recover the amount of taxes and penalty in the total sum of $2,661.68, with interest, due upon such tax assessment.

We quote certain portions of the judgment of the county • court from which the former appeal was taken as follows:

“It is, therefore, considered, ordered, adjudged and decreed 'by the court that the said John W. Wilson, as trustee of the said Smith Engineering Company, a corporation, is liable for the taxes on 100,000 barrels of reduced crude oil of the value of $70,000 for the year 1930.”

There followed appropriate directions to carry the judgment in effect and collect the amount of the taxes due on the omitted property.

The supersedeas bond required by the trial court contains the following provisions:

“The consideration of the foregoing obligation is such that, whereas, on the 30th day of April, 1931, judgment was rendered in favor of said obligee, plaintiff in said cause, and against John W. Wilson, trustee of Smith Engineering Company, a corporation, principal obligor, defendant in said cause, finding and adjudging that the said defendant on the 1st day of January, 1989, owned 100,000 barrels of reduced crude oil of the fair value of $70,000 and which was omitted from the tax rolls for said year; and further ordering and adjudging that the county treasurer place all said property on the tax rolls in the sum of $70,000 for the year 1930.
“Whereas, said defendant has taken an appeal from said judgment to the Supreme Court of the state of Oklahoma;
“Now, therefore, if said principal obligor herein shall pay to the said obligee the condemnation money and costs in case judgment or final order shall be adjudged against it or affirmed in whole or in xiart, then this obligation to be void, otherwise to remain in full force and effect.”

The additional supersedeas bond furnished pursuant to requirement by this court provides in part as follows:

“The condition of the foregoing obligation *439 is such that, whereas, on the 20th day of April, 1931, judgment was rendered in favor of said obligee, plaintiff in said cause, and against John W. Wilson, trustee of Smith Engineering Company, a corporation, principal obligor, defendant in said cause, finding and adjudging that the said defendant on the 1st day of January, 1930, owned 100,000 barrels of reduced crude oil of the fair cash value of $70,000, and which was omitted from the tax rolls for said year; and further ordering and adjudging that the county treasurer place all of said property on the tax rolls in the sum of $70,000 for the year 1930; and
“Whereas, said defendant has taken an appeal from said judgment to the Supreme Court of the state of Oklahoma.
“Now, therefore, if said principal obligor herein shall do and perform all of the acts adjudged by the court in this case to be done and performed and pay the costs of this action in case judgment or final order shall be adjudged against it or affirmed, then this obligation to be void; otherwise, to remain in full force and effect.”

Suggestion is made that the statutes of the state do not require the making of a super-sedeas bond to stay the judgment in cases of this nature, and it seems to be urged that such a judgment of the county court may be superseded merely by appeal and without any supersedeas bond. No authority is cited sustaining that view, and we cannot agree with it. No judgment may be stayed in this state except as provided by statute or by some authorized order of court. Stay of execution of a judgment is authorized by statute as a matter of right in certain cases (section 543, O. S. 1931), and may he granted by the court in all other cases by virtue of section 548, O. S. 1931. See In re Epley, 10 Okla. 631, 64 P. 18; New Amsterdam Casualty Co. v. Scott, 106 Okla. 268, 234 P. 181.

The action of the county court in allowing supersedeas in the first instance finds authority in those sections and is supported by those decisions, and this court has long followed the practice of allowing or requiring amendments to supersedeas bond or additional supersedeas bond under the authority of section 251, O. S. 1931, as was done in this case. See Venator v. Edwards, 126 Okla. 296, 259 P. 596; Kirk v. Leeman, 165 Okla. 261, 18 P. (2d) 1088; Inter-Ocean Oil Co. v. Marshall, 164 Okla. 134, 23 P. (2d) 151.

Under section 12348, O. S. 1931, appeal from the county court to the Supreme Court in this character of eases is taken “as other appeals are taken,” and we conclude that all statutory provisions in reference to appeals are applicable as in other cases, and that the general statutes as to supersedeas fully apply, since there is no specific provision or special rule applying to supersedeas in appeal from the county court in such a cause.

It is urged that the judgment rendered in the county court was not a money judgment, and strictly speaking, that may be correct, but the county court judgment definitely fixed the liability, and had it not been superseded, the result would have been that immediately the property would have been assessed upon the tax rolls and the correct amount of tax thereon would have been due and collectible by tax warrant issued and served “the same las upon execution.” (Section 12730, O. S. 1931.) This execution of the judgment was effectively stayed by the supersedeas. No reason is shown why such a judgment could not be stayed by super-sedeas bond, and if there is any authority against it, we are not favored with the citation.

With full knowledge of the effect and extent of that county court judgment, the taxpayer obtained the fixing of the amount of supersedeas by the county court and the present defendant, the Fidelity & Deposit Company, of Maryland, voluntarily joined him as surety and entered into this contract of indemnity or bond; the deliberate and intended purpose and effect thereof being to procure the stay, and thereafter when this court required the additional supersedeas bond in the sum of $2,500, this same defendant voluntarily entered into the other contract of indemnity or bond in that amount.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Kahre v. Kahre
916 P.2d 1355 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1995)
Wilks v. Wilks
1981 OK 91 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1981)
Mapco, Inc. v. Means
1975 OK 109 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1975)
Oklahoma Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. v. Buller
1957 OK 255 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1957)
Aycock v. Harriman
1939 OK 421 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1939)
Fidelity & Deposit Co. of Maryland v. State Ex Rel. Horton
1939 OK 229 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1939)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1937 OK 133, 66 P.2d 85, 179 Okla. 437, 1937 Okla. LEXIS 296, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-horton-v-fidelity-deposit-co-okla-1937.