North St. Louis Gymnastic Soc'y v. Hudson

• Decision Date: 06 June 1882
• Parties: NORTH ST. LOUIS GYMNASTIC SOCIETY, Respondent, v. N. C. HUDSON, Appellant
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

12 Mo.App. 342

NORTH ST. LOUIS GYMNASTIC SOCIETY, Respondent,

v.N. C. HUDSON, Appellant

St. Louis Court of Appeals, Missouri.

Jun. 6, 1882.

1. Injunction is the proper remedy to prevent the sale of real estate for illegal taxes whereby a cloud would be cast upon the title.

2. A school building exempted from taxation “so long as it is used only for the purposes of education” is not made taxable by the renting of a room therein for other purposes, where the proceeds thereof are used exclusively for the benefit of the school.

APPEAL from the St. Louis Circuit Court, THAYER, J.

Affirmed.

LEVERETT BELL, for the appellant: The petition does not state a cause of action. Its purpose is to restrain the tax collector from enforcing a tax-bill against real estate, on the alleged ground that the taxes included in the bill were illegally assessed. These averments furnish no ground for the interposition of a court of equity, and do not entitle plaintiff to relief by injunction.-- Dorris v. Rosenblatt, 6 Mo. App. 601. The charter of plaintiff exempts its property to the extent of $50,000 from taxation, “as long as said property is used only for purposes of education.” The fact that plaintiff leases one part of the building destroys the claim to exemption; and the result is not changed by the further fact that the rents are applied to the support of the institution.-- Wyman v. St. Louis, 17 Mo. 335; College v. The State, 19 Ohio, 110; Chapel v. Boston, 120 Mass. 212.COLLIER & MUENCH, for the respondent: Injunction is the proper remedy in all cases of illegal taxation upon real estate, as in the present instance.--See Mechanics' Bank v. City of Kansas, 73 Mo. 559, and cases there cited. The property exempted is used for the purposes of education.-- The State ex rel. v. Powers, 10 Mo. App. 263; s. c. 74 Mo. 476

BAKEWELL, J., delivered the opinion of the court.

This is a proceeding to enjoin the collection of taxes for 1881, levied upon real estate described in the petition. The court made a decree in accordance with the prayer of the petition.

There is no dispute about the facts, which are as follows:

Plaintiff is incorporated under a special act of the legislature, approved February 12, 1864, for the purpose of educating children in gymnastics and the elementary branches of education, and the act provides that personal and real property of the institute shall be exempt from taxation, “as long as said property is used only for the purposes of education,” provided the value thereof does not exceed $50,000. The tax-bill in question is for $197.86, and is for state, city, and school taxes for 1881, and is levied upon the real and personal property of plaintiff, worth less than $50,000, on southeast corner of Fourteenth and Salisbury Streets, St. Louis, where plaintiff carries on a gymnastic school, according to its charter. The personal property owned by plaintiff is devoted wholly to the conduct and purposes of said school. Upon the real estate in question, plaintiff has erected a two-story brick building, paying for about one-half thereof out of sums realized on shares of stock issued pursuant to its charter, as also some other means, and the other half then remaining as a debt of the society. The entire second floor, and a large part of the first floor of the building, are used and occupied in the conduct of the school, and two corner rooms on the first floor are let by plaintiffs at a monthly rental paid to it, for a saloon and store respectively. This monthly rental is used by plaintiff in defraying the legitimate expenses of conducting the school, paying the salaries of teachers (so far as this expense is not met by the voluntary contributions of the members), keeping the building in repair, and in discharging the indebtedness incurred by the association in erecting the building. Of this indebtedness $6,000 remains unpaid, and is...