State Ex Rel. Parish v. Young

38 S.W.2d 1021, 327 Mo. 909, 1931 Mo. LEXIS 645
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedMay 21, 1931
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 38 S.W.2d 1021 (State Ex Rel. Parish v. Young) 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
State Ex Rel. Parish v. Young, 38 S.W.2d 1021, 327 Mo. 909, 1931 Mo. LEXIS 645 (Mo. 1931).

Opinion

ATWOOD, J.

— This is a proceeding by the State at the relation and to the use of the Collector of the Revenue of Camden County against Wallace W. and Amanda Young to enforce lien for taxes for the year 1925 against certain land owned by defendants. The tax bill sued on was attached to the petition, made a part thereof, and offered in evidence at the trial. The space on the tax bill reserved for designation of the school distriet for the benefit of which the tax was assessed was marked “C-2,” which was explained at the trial to mean Consolidated School District No. 2 of Camden and Laclede Counties, the formation, of which district was the subject of litigation in this court in State ex rel. v. Lee, 315 Mo. 817, 284 S. W. 129, and State ex rel. v. Sullivan, 320 Mo. 362, 8 S. W. (2d) 616.

Defendants’ answer contained a general denial, a plea that defendants had tendered all taxes legally due before the filing of this suit, being all taxes due the State and county, and a specific denial that any other taxes were due from defendants to plaintiff. In their answer defendants also averred that they, had paid all taxes except -school taxes and that if any school taxes were due from defendants they were due Common School District No. 82, Camden County; that the school taxes sued for were levied and assessed as the school taxes of and for Consolidated School District No. 2, Camden and Laclede Counties; that there was no such consolidated school district legally formed, organized or chartered; that said purported consolidated school district was not functioning as such; that the common school districts composing said purported consolidated distriet were functioning as common school .districts; and that the taxes sued .for.'were illegally levied, assessed and demanded.

*912 'At the close of all the evidence the trial court made the following finding of facts and declaration of law:

■ “The court finds that the estimate returned by the school officials of what is known as Common School District No. 82 prior to May 15¡, 1925, making an estimate of levy of 45c on the one hundred dollars’ valuation was valid and may be taken as the basis of the levy of taxes upon property within that territory for the ensuing year; and that the defendant’s property was subject to at least that amount of school tax.”

Thereupon the following judgment was entered:

“And thereupon, a jury being waived, this cause is tried by the court, and the court, after hearing the evidence adduced by the parties plaintiff and defendant, respectively, doth find the issues for the plaintiff for school tax at 45e levy and penalty $13.79, and for other taxes with penalty to date of tender on June 7, 1927, to-wit, $19.48, total $33.27.
“Wherefore, it is considered, ordered and adjudged that the plaintiff have and recover of and from the defendants the sum of $33.27 and that execution issue therefor.”

Defendants were allowed to pay all the taxes sued for except the school tax, in accordance with their tender made before suit was brought. The only sum now in dispute is the amount of school taxes for the year 1925, with interest and penalty. We have jurisdiction because the case is one “involving the construction of the revenue laws of this State,” within the meaning of Article VI, Section 12, Constitution of Missouri. [State ex rel. v. Johnson, 316 Mo. 21, 296 S. W. 806; State ex rel. v. Shuck, 273 Mo. 50, 54, 56, 199 S. W. 975; State ex rel. v. Oliver, 273 Mo. 537, 201 S. W. 868; State ex rel. v. Adkins, 221 Mo. 112, 119 S. W. 1091; Lamar v. Lamar, 261 Mo. 171, 169 S. W. 12, Ann. Cas. 1916D, 740; State ex rel. v. Frazer et al., 182 Mo. App. 277, 168 S. W. 669; 15 C. J. 1079, n. 51.]

The first assignment of error urged in appellants’ behalf is that the court erred in rendering a purely personal judgment against defendants. We have not been favored with either brief or oral argument for respondent. However, it is well settled that a personal judgment against defendant with award of general execution is not authorized in a suit to enforce the State’s lien for taxes. [Land & Imp. Co. v. Kansas City, 293 Mo. 674, 678, 239 S. W. 864; State ex rel. v. Clements, 281 Mo. 195, 200, 219 S. W. 900; Stewart v. Allison, 150 Mo. 343, 346, 51 S. W. 712; State ex rel. v. Sargeant, 76 Mo. 557, 560; Sec. 12946, R. S. 1919.]

Counsel for appellants also present questions going to the. correctness of the judgment rendered and the validity of the school tax sued for which they say “ought to be decided in view of the fact that there are a number of other similar suits now. pending *913 involving the same questions.” Appellants’ other assignments of error are as follows:

“2. The court erred in holding that plaintiff; county collector, could collect for the benefit of Consolidated District No. 2 of Camden and Laclede Counties an amount of school taxes equal to and based on the rate fixed by the vote of, and the estimate filed by, Common School District No. 82, later merged into such Consolidated District No. 2.
“3. The trial court erred and exceeded its powers in making a new levy, of school taxes for the benefit of Consolidated School District No. 2 different in amount and rate from that shown by the collector’s tax books and the tax bill sued on in this case.
“4. The court erred in holding that Consolidated District No. 2 of Camden County could avail itself of and was entitled to receive and collect the taxes based on the rates, levies and estimates of the several individual common school districts, made prior to the consolidation, which school districts entered into and were absorbed by said consolidated district.
“5. This is a suit on a tax bill made and certified by the county collector and based on his records and which was filed with and made part of the petition, and the court erred in that the judgment rendered is not based on such tax bill or collector’s record, but is a new levy of taxes made by the court based on a different rate, a different assessment, and a different estimate made by and for a different school district.
“6. The finding and judgment'of the trial court is contrary to and not supported by either the pleadings or the evidence, and under the pleadings and evidence the finding and judgment should be for the defendant.”

It appears from the evidence that the tax book of the county collector for 1925, from which the tax bill sued on was made, showed that defendants’ tract number 1, described in the petition and tax bill, had an assessed value of $1,000 for that year, and tract number 2 had an assessed value of $1300 for that year, and each tract was taxed for school purposes at the rate of 65 cents on the $100 valuation. This tax book also showed that the school taxes on this land were originally levied for School District No. 82 in ink and at sometime and by some one not shown in the record this number was erased by a line drawn through it and the symbol “C-2” written in pencil, which symbol, as above stated, was treated at the trial as an abbreviation of Consolidated District No. 2 of Camden and Laclede Counties..

The evidence further showed that Consolidated School District No.

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

Related

Opinion No. 30-77 (1977)
Missouri Attorney General Reports, 1977
State ex rel. Fort Osage School District v. Conley
485 S.W.2d 469 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1972)
Lewis County C-I School District v. Normile
431 S.W.2d 118 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1968)
United States v. Certain Land
51 F. Supp. 80 (E.D. Missouri, 1943)
State Ex Rel. Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Markway
110 S.W.2d 1118 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1937)
State Ex Rel. Hibbs v. McGee
44 S.W.2d 36 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1931)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
38 S.W.2d 1021, 327 Mo. 909, 1931 Mo. LEXIS 645, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-parish-v-young-mo-1931.