Williams v. City of Norman

1921 OK 337, 205 P. 144, 85 Okla. 230, 1921 Okla. LEXIS 70
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedSeptember 27, 1921
Docket12143
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 1921 OK 337 (Williams v. City of Norman) 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
Williams v. City of Norman, 1921 OK 337, 205 P. 144, 85 Okla. 230, 1921 Okla. LEXIS 70 (Okla. 1921).

Opinion

JOHNSON, J.

This action was commenced in the district court, of Cleveland county by the plaintiff, Ben P. Williams, against the defendants, city of Norman, J. W. Harbour, R. W. Hutto, M. C. Runyan, Joe Vincent, Key Boyd, W. B. Gater, Minnie Herring, and Ñola Kohn«. for the purpose of securing from the said district court an injunction against the defendants and each of them, enjoining and restraining them from selling or disposing of certain bonds purporting to have been authorized by the qualified tax-paying voters of the city of Norman at an election on January 2, 1920, in said city. The relief asked by plaintiff was that said bonds be declared illegal and void of any effect whatsoever, and that defendant officers of said city be ordered, directed, and required to cancel said bonds and to make proper entry upon tjie records of said city pursuant to the injunction prayed for, and for all other proper relief.

The defendants in due time filed their answer, and thereafter the cause was submitted to the court upon an agreed statement of facts, whereupon judgment was rendered by the court denying plaintiff the relief sought and awarding judgment against him for costs.

The agreed statement of facts is as follows :

“(1) It is agreed that the plaintiff, Ben P. Williams, is a resident and taxpayer of the city of Norman, Oklahoma.
“(2) That the defendant city of Norman, Oklahoma, is a municipal corporation, and a city of the first class, organized and operating under the Constitution and the laws of the state of Oklahoma, having a charter form of government, which charter was adopted and approved by the qualified voters of said city by the Governor of the state of Oklahoma; and that subsequent to the adoption of such charter and its approval by the Governor, copies of such charter, certified by the chief executive officer and authenticated by the seal of said city, setting forth submission of such charter to the electors and its ratification by them, were made in duplicate and deposited, one in "the office of the Secretary of State, and the other, after being recorded in the office of the county deck of Cleveland county, Oklahoma, deposited in the archives of the city of Norman ; and that such copies and duplicates were so deposited after the second day of January, 1920.
“(3) That defendants Harbour, Hutto, Runyan, Vincent, Boyd, Gater, Herring and Helms, were at the time of said election, to wit, the second day of January, 1920, the acting city officials as alleged in plaintiff’s petition.
“(4) That on the second day of January, 1920, the said city, through its acting officers, held an election for the purpose of voting and issuing municipal bonds of said city in the sum of $125,000.00 for the purchasing or constructing a public utility, r.o wit, an electric light and power plant to be owned exclusively by said city.
“(5) That at said election there were 441 votes cast, 225 being cast in favor of the issuance of said bonds, and 215 votes being cast in opposition to the issuance of said bonds, and one ballot mutilated; that ■at the said election all duly qualified property tax-paying voters of said city of Norman who offered to do so were permitted to vote, and no others.
“(6) That at the time of said election, to wit, January second, 1920, the total valuation of the property in the city of Norman for taxation purposes was $2,891,000.00 and the total bonded indebtedness of said city at that time was $278,600.00 and upon $27,000.00 of this total indebtedness there had been issued bonds drawing 5 per cent. *232 interest .per annum, and upon $251,600.00 of this indebtedness there had been issued bonds drawing. 6 per cent: interest per an-num.
“(7) That at the time of said election the voters who cast 225 votes in favor of the issuance of said bonds were not a majority of all the qualified property tax-paying 'voters residing in such city or town and qualified to vote at such election, but were a majority of the qualified property taxpaying voters of such city who voted at said election,.
“(8) That at the time of holding said election the bonded indebtedness then existing against' the city was the full amount authorized under section 26, art. 10, of the Constitution, and an amount so as to require an annual levy of more than ten mills "for the purpose of paying the interest on said bonded indebtedness and of creating a sinking fund to pay such bonded indebtedness when due.
"‘(0) That at the time of holding such election, the bonded indebtedness of said city was in excess of .5 per cent, of the valuation of the taxable property therein as ascertained from the last assessment for state and county purposes.
“(10) That unless restrained and enjoined by the court, the defendant city of Norman will sell and dispose of said bonds and use the proceeds for the purpose for which they were voted.”

The trial court made no separate findings of fact and conclusions of law, but made a general finding, which is recited in the journal entry, that the court finds the issues in favor of the defendants and against the plaintiff, and that plaintiff is not entitled to an injunction as prayed in his amended petition, to widen finding and conclusion (he plainliff made his exceptions, which were allowed.

The plaintiff's assignments of error are:

“(1) Said court erred in overruling the motion of plaintiff in error for a new trial.
“(2) The judgment of the trial court in denying his prayer for injunction is contrary to law.
“(3) The judgment of the trial court is contrary to the evidence.
“(4) The judgment of the court is contrary to both the law and the evidence.
“(5) The judgment of the trial court in denying the application for injunction is clearly against the weig.it of the evidence as same appears from the agreed statement of facts filed herein.
“(6) The court erred in not rendering judgment for plaintiff and granting prayer for injunction upon the facts as they appear from the agreed statements of facts filed herein.
“(7) The court erred in rendering judgment against plaintiff and in favor of defendants.”

Concerning which counsel for plaintiff say in their brief:

“The above assignments of error all relate to two general propositions of law, and we will therefore not discuss them separately, but the same will be covered by our presentation of the following propositions of law:
“1st. The: purported bond issue is invalid foi the reason' that the number of votes cf,st in favor of the issuance of said bonds was not a majority of the qualified property tax-paying voters of the city of Norman, as required by article 10, section 27, of the Constitution and chapter 169 of the Session Laws of 1913.
“2nd.

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Bluebook (online)
1921 OK 337, 205 P. 144, 85 Okla. 230, 1921 Okla. LEXIS 70, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-city-of-norman-okla-1921.