Alabama & Vicksburg Railway Co. v. Brennan

• Decision Date: 30 November 1891
• Citation: 69 Miss. 103,10 So. 451
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court
• Parties: ALABAMA AND VICKSBURG RAILWAY COMPANY v. J. M.A. BRENNAN

10 So. 451

69 Miss. 103

ALABAMA AND VICKSBURG RAILWAY COMPANY v. J. M.A. BRENNAN

Supreme Court of Mississippi

November 30, 1891

FROM the chancery court of Warren county, HON. CLAUDE PINTARD Chancellor.

The amended charter of the city of Vicksburg (Laws 1884, page 422) contains the following provisions in reference to the assessment of property for taxation:

"SECTION 30. Be it further enacted, That all assessments of the values of real and personal property subject to taxation in the city shall be made by the city assessor and collector by application to the property owner for a sworn statement of the values thereof; and said assessor and collector is hereby authorized to administer oaths for that purpose. Should the owner of any property be not found on reasonable inquiry by the assessor and collector, he shall assess the property at a fair valuation, and list it as the property of "unknown owners." Should any property holder render a valuation of his property at a sum less than the assessor believes it to be worth, he shall report the property owner and the assessment as given to the board of mayor and aldermen, at a time to be prescribed by them, with his statement of what he believes to be the reasonable taxable value of said property. The reports of the assessor and collector shall be received and considered by the board at such time and upon such notice to the owners of the property as the board may fix; and the board of mayor and aldermen shall have the power of finally determining the taxable value of all property.

"SECTION 33. Be it further enacted, That the city assessor and collector shall make an annual assessment of all property subject to taxation for corporate purposes under the provisions of this charter, said assessments to conform to such time and method as may be prescribed therefor by ordinance of the board of mayor and aldermen."

In 1890 the proper officer of the Alabama & Vicksburg Railway Company rendered to the assessor of the city of Vicksburg a list of the real and personal property of said company subject to taxation by said city, together with the valuation of the same, using therefor blank forms furnished by the assessor. When the said officer had completed his assessment, which was based on the lists and valuation thus furnished; he notified the board of mayor and aldermen thereof, and returned his assessment-roll, together with the lists so filled up by property holders. Afterward the board of mayor and aldermen raised the assessment of the Alabama & Vicksburg Railway Company; and when the taxcollector of said city demanded the payment of taxes upon the increased valuation, the said company refused to pay, but tendered the taxes based upon the original valuation and assessment, which were refused; and when the real property of said company was advertised to be sold for taxes, and the collector was about to levy on the personal property, the said Alabama & Vicksburg Railway Company filed this bill, praying that the tax-collector be restrained and enjoined from selling said real estate, or seizing as delinquent the personal property of complainant and that the injunction be made perpetual upon the payment by complainant of the taxes actually due according to the original assessment, which taxes were tendered in the bill.

The bill of complaint alleges that the action of the board of mayor and aldermen in raising the assessment of complainant's property was unauthorized and void, because the assessor failed to comply with the requirements of section thirty of the charter aforesaid, in that he did not report the property owner and the assessment as given to the board of mayor and aldermen with his statement of what he believed was the reasonable taxable value of the property and because no precedent notice of such action by the board of mayor and aldermen was given to complainant.

A demurrer to the bill was overruled and an answer filed, and the case was submitted upon an agreed statement, the substantial matters of fact contained in it being as follows:

In Compliance with section thirty-three of the charter, the board of mayor and aldermen had, soon after the adoption of the charter in 1884, passed an ordinance regulating the assessment of property in said city. Said ordinance specified the manner in which said assessor should proceed in making assessments, and the time at which he should complete the lists; and further ordained that after completion of the assessment-roll, notice should be published once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper in said city, notifying property owners and tax-payers that the lists had been revised, and that all objections and exceptions must be filed within twenty days from the first publication. In making the assessment for 1890, the assessor acted under said ordinance which was then in force, and notice to the public was given as required by it, but no personal notice of any change in the valuation was given to complainant. No report was made...