Warrick v. Spry

97 N.E. 361, 49 Ind. App. 327, 1912 Ind. App. LEXIS 182
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 1, 1912
DocketNo. 7,821
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 97 N.E. 361 (Warrick v. Spry) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Warrick v. Spry, 97 N.E. 361, 49 Ind. App. 327, 1912 Ind. App. LEXIS 182 (Ind. Ct. App. 1912).

Opinion

Adams, J.

The original complaint in this action was filed December 28,1907, by appellee, against appellants Harry G. Warrick, assessor, and George W. Cann, auditor, of Cass county, Indiana, to enjoin them from placing on the tax duplicate of Cass county, Indiana, certain alleged void and illegal assessments of taxes against appellee. While the action was pending, said assessments were placed on the current tax duplicate of 1907, and delivered to the treasurer of said county for collection. On May 25, 1908, after said taxes had become delinquent, appellee filed an amended and supplemental complaint, making appellant Matthew Moroney, treasurer of said county, a party defendant, alleging that said valuations and assessments had been placed on the tax duplicate, which had been delivered to said treasurer, and that said treasurer was threatening to collect the taxes. Appellee prayed for an injunction against such collection, and that said taxes be ordered canceled of record. Appellant Moroney filed a demurrer and answers to said amended and supplemental complaint. On September 28, 1908, ap[329]*329pellee filed twelve additional paragraphs of amended and supplemental complaint against appellant Moroney, each stating the same facts, except .as to date and amount, and each paragraph relating to the additional taxes alleged to have been unlawfully assessed against appellee, and for each year from 1896 to 1907, inclusive.

The first paragraph of the amended and supplemental complaint was dismissed; and the other paragraphs were put at issue by an answer in denial. Upon request the court made a special finding of facts and stated conclusions of law thereon. Upon the conclusions of law the court rendered judgment in favor of appellants on the second, third, fourth, eighth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth paragraphs of the amended and supplemental complaint, and in favor of appellee on the fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth paragraphs of said complaint.

The judgment on the fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth paragraphs was only against appellant Moroney, and enjoined Mm from collecting or attempting to collect the tax in question for the years 1899, 1900, 1901 and 1903, and ordered Mm to cancel the taxes and assessments for said years.

On June 26, 1909, the court, after overruling appellants’ motion for a new trial, and after the entry of judgment, on its own motion, set aside the judgment and the ruling on the motion for a new trial. This action was taken by the court on the last day of the term at which the judgment was rendered, and was taken for the reason that an error had been discovered in the eighth finding of fact. At the September term following, the court of its own motion amended the eighth finding and the conclusion of law thereon. The effect of this amendment was that in rendering judgment on the conclusions of law, judgment was rendered in favor of appellants on the seventh paragraph of complaint, instead of for appellee, as in the former judgment.

[330]*3301. [329]*329The judgment appealed from is only against appellant Moroney, treasurer, and is upon the fifth, sixth and ninth [330]*330paragraphs of the amended and supplemental complaint, enjoining said treasurer from collecting or attempting to collect the unlawful taxes assessed for the years -1899, 1900 and 1903. There was no judgment rendered against either Warrick, assessor, or Cann, auditor, and they are not necessary parties to this appeal.

Errors relied upon for reversal, and not waived, are (1) overruling the separate demurrers to each paragraph of complaint; (2) overruling the motion for a new trial; (3) error of the court in amending its finding and conclusions; (4) overruling appellants’ separate motions for judgment on the fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth paragraphs of complaint; (5) overruling the motion to modify the judgment rendered on the amended conclusions of law; (6) error of the court in stating each of its conclusions of law; and (7) error of the court in stating each of its amended conclusions of law.

2. The error assigned on the overruling of the separate demurrers to each paragraph of complaint may he passed, as the court made a special finding of facts and stated conclusions of law thereon, to each of which conclusions appellants excepted. Where the exceptions to the conclusions of law present the same question as a demurrer to the complaint, as in this ease, the determination of one question determines the other. Timmonds v. Taylor (1911), 48 Ind. App. 531.

3. 4. It is well settled that an exception to conclusions of" law admits for the purposes of the exception that the facts are not only fully found, but are correctly found. This admission, however, does not go to the extent of supplying a material fact, which the court has omitted to find; and appellant Moroney insists that in this case the court failed to find that he was threatening to levy upon and sell the property of appellee, the finding being that the duplicate “containing said valuations of property was delivered by said auditor to defendant Matthew [331]*331Moroney, treasurer of said county, who now has it in his possession.”

In passing on the sufficiency of this finding, it must be borne in mind that this is not an action ,by one individual, seeking an injunction against another, to restrain some threatened trespass, but is an action against a county treasurer, whose duties are prescribed and whose powers are limited by law. If a private right is invaded by a public officer in the performance of a public duty, a threat by the public officer that he is going to do that which the law requires him to do is an absurdity. A county treasurer is bound to collect the taxes extended on the duplicate as they come to him from the auditor, and to this end he is not only authorized, but required, to .levy and sell the property of the delinquent. Of this the courts of this State will take judicial notice, and facts which the courts judicially know need not be expressly found. Elwood State Bank v. Mock (1907), 40 Ind. App. 685.

5. Complaint is also made that after the motion for a new trial had been overruled, and judgment had been rendered on the conclusions of law, the court amended its finding and conclusions. That such a right is inherent in the court is the express holding in Thompson v. Connecticut Mut. Life Ins. Co. (1894), 139 Ind. 325, 356, in which the court said: “The correction of an inadvertent mistake, however, either on motion of a party or by the court on its own motion, so as, in the opinion of the court, to make the finding conform to the facts proved, is quite another thing. "We are, therefore, of opinion that the trial judge should, in all cases, be permitted to amend his special findings and conclusions of law, at any time before final judgment and during the period within which a bill of exceptions containing the evidence may be filed.”

[332]*3326. [331]*331There was no available error in the action of the court, for another and stronger reason. The amendment was in the eighth finding, and the conclusion of law stated thereon, [332]

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Bluebook (online)
97 N.E. 361, 49 Ind. App. 327, 1912 Ind. App. LEXIS 182, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/warrick-v-spry-indctapp-1912.