Wallace v. Gassaway

1931 OK 210, 298 P. 867, 148 Okla. 265, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 885
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedApril 28, 1931
Docket22164
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 1931 OK 210 (Wallace v. Gassaway) 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
Wallace v. Gassaway, 1931 OK 210, 298 P. 867, 148 Okla. 265, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 885 (Okla. 1931).

Opinion

SWINDALL, J.

This is an original proceeding commenced in this court by J. P. Wallace, as county treasurer of Atoka county, Okla., and the Indian Citizen Democrat, a weekly newspaper published at Atoka, Okla., and Atoka County Jeffersonian, a weekly newspaper published at Atoka,, Okla., as plaintiffs, against P. L. Gassaway, as district judge of the Twenty-Sixth judicial district of the state of Oklahoma, for writ of prohibition to prohibit the defendant from enjoining J. P. Wallace, as county treasurer of Atoka county, Okla., from advertising certain real estate in Atoka county for tax resale for the year 1931.

The plaintiffs allege, in substance, that J. P. Wallace, the duly elected and acting county treasurer of Atoka county, Okla., has delivered to the publisher of the Indian Citizen *266 Democrat, a weekly newspaper published at Atoka and of general circulation in Atoka county, notice of tax resale, for the year 1931; and that the said paper has been designated by the board of county commissioners as the paper in which the county treasurer is to publish notice of tax resale for said year; and that the defendant,, P. L. Gassaway, as district judge, has granted a restraining order against the county treasurer and the publisher of said paper restraining the publication of said notice; and that a hearing on the petition for injunction has been set for Wednesday, March 18, 1931; and that the notice is prepared for publication on March 19, 1931; and that it is necessary to publish said notice on said date in order for the. county treasurer to commence the tax resale for the year 1931 at the. time provided by law for commencing and holding said «ale, .and that under the law the resale date is fixed to commence on the 20th day of April, 1931. Plaintiffs further show that if said injunction is granted by the defendant the tax resale cannot be held for the year 1931; and that the defendant will grant said injunction unless prohibited by this court; and that the plaintiffs have no adequate remedy at law; and that remedy by appeal or by any other method except by prohibition in this court is inadequate and insufficient; and that the same would deprive plaintiffs of having this cause of action speedily determined in a court having jurisdiction thereof, and for the further reason that the said defendant assumes to assert power not granted by law and is attempting to make an unauthorized application of judicial force. Attached to the plaintiffs’ petition is a certified copy of the petition of Joe H. McOlendon et al. against J. P. Wallace, as county treasurer of Atoka county, Okla., and the two newspapers above mentioned. The petition in that case appears to have been filed in the office of the court clerk of Atoka county on March 10, 1931, and on that date the defendant, as district judge of the Twenty-Sixth judicial district of Oklahoma, granted a restraining order restraining the. county treasurer from publishing any notice for the resale of lands in Atoka county and restrained the two newspapers above mentioned from publishing said notice until the further order of the court. It is further ordered by the trial court that the application of the plaintiffs for a temporary injunction be set for hearing in the district court at Atoka, Okla.. on the 18th day of March, 1931, no hour for the hearing being fixed in the notice; it is further ordered that a copy of said order be served upon J. P. Wallace, as county treasurer of Atoka county, and the Indian Citizen Democrat, and the Atoka County Jeffersonian. In the petition in the district court of Atoka county the plaintiffs in that .action allege in substance that J. P. Wallace is the duly qualified and acting county treasurer of Atoka county, Okla., and that the Indian Citizen Democrat, a weekly newspaper published at Atoka, Okla., and the Atoka County Jeffersonian, a weekly newspaper published at Atoka, Okla., are threatening to publish notice of resale of the property of the plaintiffs in that action and of others similarly situated, and said plaintiffs are informed and believe that the said defendant, J. P. Wallace, has delivered to the Indian Citizen Democrat and to the Atoka County Jeffersonian what purports to be a notice of tax resale in Atoka county, Okla., and that same includes the property of said plaintiffs and the plaintiffs in that action state that unless restrained said Indian Citizen Democrat and the Atoka County Jeffersonian will publish said notices and that it will cast a cloud on the title on all the lands of said plaintiffs involved in said notice and of other persons owning land in Atoka county similarly situated, and that the said J. P. Wallace will cause said publication to be made unless restrained from doing so.

Plaintiffs therein state, that the said J. P. Wallace is threatening to sell, and unless restrained will sell, at resale the lands belonging to these plaintiffs described in said notices and other lands belonging to other persons similarly situated.

The plaintiffs therein further state that said notice is illegal and void and that the notice to be published by the Indian Citizen Democrat, a corporation, and the Atoka County Jeffersonian, a corporation, will be void, but will cast a cloud on the title of these plaintiffs and all others similarly situated.

Plaintiffs therein state that said district court has from time to time adjudged that the act of the Legislature purporting to authorize such a resale is unconstitutional and void, and that injunctions have been granted from time to time by said district court enjoining such resale under said act.

Plaintiffs therein state that said act of the Legislature numbered as chapter 282, page 408, of Session Laws 1929, is void and in violation of the Constitution of the state in the following respects, to wit; (1) It provides for the distribution of the money that may be collected from said sale contrary to the. constitutional provisions. (2) *267 .The act was passed at a special session of the Oklahoma Legislature, at which time and at which session said Legislature had no authority to act on the purported legislation, as disclosed by the title to said act are. entirely different subject-matters as contained therein, and that said bill, while attempting to be a revenue measure, originated in the Senate in violation of the constitutional pro-, visions of this state, and that said Senate ■bill, as amended, was sent to the House and was there amended and later enrolled and filed as a law with said amendments included therein and without said amendments having ever been passed, adopted, or approved by the. Senate in any manner.

Said plaintiffs therein state that if said notice of sale is published and said sale is made, it will cause a multiplicity of suits and all the deeds executed at such sale will be void.

Eva A. Ralls, one. of the plaintiffs therein, states that she is the owner of lots 8 and 4, and the west 75 feet of lot 2; block 26, and lots 1 and 2, block S4, together with other lots that will be affected if sold at such sale. Said plaintiffs state that they have no legal remedy at law, and that a court of equity is a proper court to grant such relief as should be granted.

Plaintiffs therein further state that said notices would be void for the reason that the county commissioners have not designated any newspaper as an official newspaper for publication, nor have they designated the Indian Citizen Democrat or the Atoka County Jeffersonian for the publication of the above-mentioned notice.

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

Related

Opinion of the Justices to the House of Representatives
32 N.E.3d 287 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 2015)
State ex rel. Macy v. Bragg
2000 OK CR 21 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 2000)
Calvey v. Daxon
2000 OK 17 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 2000)
Adams v. Fry
1951 OK 127 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1951)
Smith Engineering Works v. Custer
1944 OK 211 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1944)
Payne, County Treas. v. Jones
1944 OK 86 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1944)
State Ex Rel. Oklahoma State Highway Commission v. Horn
1940 OK 319 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1940)
Pawnee County, Excise Board v. Kurn
1940 OK 202 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1940)
Phelps v. Asplund
1938 OK 420 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1938)
Excise Bd. of Ottawa County v. St. Louis-S. F. R.
1936 OK 360 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1936)
State Ex Rel. Read, Ins. v. Midwest Mutual Burial Ass'n
1936 OK 220 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1936)
Gilmer v. Hunt
1934 OK 28 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1934)
State Ex Rel. Osage County Savings & Loan Ass'n v. Worten
1933 OK 545 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1933)
Meek v. State
1933 OK CR 30 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1933)
Settle v. Frakes
1932 OK 132 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1932)
Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Co. v. Blake
1932 OK 18 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1932)
Harjo v. Wood
1931 OK 181 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1931)
Caesar v. Harris
1931 OK 175 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1931)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1931 OK 210, 298 P. 867, 148 Okla. 265, 1931 Okla. LEXIS 885, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wallace-v-gassaway-okla-1931.