Beadles v. Smyser
| Decision Date | 06 April 1908 |
| Docket Number | No. 150,150 |
| Citation | 52 L.Ed. 849,209 U.S. 393,28 S.Ct. 522 |
| Parties | J. B. BEADLES, Plff. in Err. and Appt., v. A. E. SMYSER, Mayor, G. R. Byers et al., City Councilmen, and W. R. Fry, City Treasurer, of the City of Perry, Noble County, Oklahoma |
| Court | U.S. Supreme Court |
Messrs. A. G. C. Bierer, S. H. Harris, and Frank Dale for plaintiff in error and appellant.
No appearance for defendants in error and appellees.
[Argument of Counsel from pages 393-396 intentionally omitted] Mr. Justice Day delivered the opinion of the court:
This is a proceeding to review the judgment of the supreme court of the territory of Oklahoma, affirming the judgment of the district court of Noble county, in that territory, denying a peremptory writ of mandamus to the plaintiff in error, also plaintiff below, seeking to compel the recognition of certain judgments and the levy of taxes by the city officers of the city of Perry, a city of the first class, in Noble county. The action was begun March 12, 1906, in the district court, upon a petition which set forth the ownership in the plaintiff of judgments against the city of Perry, rendered, with two exceptions, in the year 1898; the other two rendered in January and March, 1899, and aggregating the sum of $16,304.51, including interest and costs.
The petition avers that these judgments were rendered on warrants issued by the city of Perry upon the general fund of the city; that, no funds having been provided for the payment of plaintiff's and certain other judgments, on December 3, 1901, the judgment creditors of the city entered into an agreement with the city treasurer of the city by signing a certain paper writing, to wit:
'I, the undersigned, judgment creditor, holding judgment against the city of Perry, Noble county, Oklahoma territory, hereby ask that the city treasurer pay all judgments against the city of Perry in order of rendition, hereby waiving right to payment pro rata, if such right exists, and this waiver shall apply to all grantees and assigns. Said judgments are in amounts and dates as follows:' [Here follows a list of the judgments.]
At that time the outstanding unpaid judgment indebtedness of the city of Perry amounted to $22,000, all of the owners of which, excepting the sum of $4,000, signed the agreement; that the waivers thus signed were presented to the city council of the city, which adopted the following resolution:
'Whereas, the judgment creditors holding judgments against the city of Perry have practically all signed written waivers of the right, if such right exists, to payment of said judgments pro rata, and therein consent to the payment of said judgments in the order of their rendition against said city:
'Therefore, be it resolved, that the city treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to pay the said judgments existing against the city of Perry, in the order of their rendition, out of the funds now on hand, and as they shall accrue in the judgment fund.'
That thereafter the city treasurer followed the plan thus outlined of paying judgments up to the early part of the year 1905, and the judgments prior to those sued upon by the plaintiff were paid off in that way. And it is averred that under the laws of the territory of Oklahoma a judgment fund must be created to satisfy a judgment against a municipality, and a judgment of that kind can be paid in no other way. And that under the laws of Oklahoma no execution can be levied upon a judgment against the municipality, and that during the time since the rendition of the judgments the city of Perry has had no property subject to levy upon execution, and that the judgments of the plaintiff could not have been paid, and taxes levied for that purpose, because there had not been sufficient money in the judgment fund of the city of Perry to pay the judgments or any part thereof. That under the agreement of December 3, 1901, payments of judgments against the city have been made, but, in the order of rendition, the fund has been paid upon judgments prior to the plaintiff's. That under the law of the territory, during the life of the said judgments, at least since the year 1899, it has been the duty of the city of Perry to levy annually a tax not to exceed 5 mills on the dollar on all the property of the said city, to create a judgment fund; and that said city has made said levy annually, and paid judgments down to the early part of 1905, since which time the city treasurer of the city of Perry, under the direction of the mayor and city council, has declined to pay the plaintiff's judgments or any proportion of the same, and that there has accumulated in the hands of the city treasurer $2,286.96, the judgment fund of said city. And that at all times down to the beginning of the year 1905 the city of Perry has recognized the binding force and validity of said judgments; that mayor and council and treasurer of said city decline and refused to recognize the validity of the plaintiff's judgments or pay any part thereof, and deny any liability thereon, solely on the ground that the same have become dormant and barred by the statute of limitations of the territory of Oklahoma. And other averments are made as to the inability of the plaintiff to otherwise collect his money upon the judgments than by payment by a levy at 5 mills on the dollar of the taxable property of the city. And the plaintiff prayed a writ of mandamus against the mayor, city council, and treasurer of said city, commanding them to recognize the said judgments and to continue to make the 5-mill levy allowed by the law for the judgment fund for the payment of said judgments against the city, as provided by law.
An alternate writ of mandamus was issued, reciting the allegations of the petition, to which the defendants filed an amended answer, in which they set up that each and all of the judgments set out in the alternate writ of mandamus have become dormant because no execution was issued on any of said judgments, and no proceeding begun for the revival of any of them, and the same were barred by the statute of limitations of the territory.
The plaintiff filed a motion for judgment upon the amended answer, and prayed the issuance of a peremptory writ of mandamus upon the ground that the amended answer failed to state any legal reason why said peremptory writ should not be issued. The defendants moved the court for judgment on the pleadings, on the ground that all the judgments were barred by the statute of limitations. The court sustained the motion of the defendants, and entered final judgment in the defendants' favor, upon the ground that all the judgments set out in the alternate writ of mandamus have become domant and are barred by the statute of limitations.
Upon proceedings in error in the supreme court of the territory of Oklahoma this judgment was affirmed on the authority of Beadles v. Fry, 15 Okla. 428, 2 L.R.A.(N.S.) 855, 82 Pac. 1041. The present case is reported, 17 Okla. 162, 87 Pac. 292.
The question is first made as to the jurisdiction of this court, because it is averred that the sum of $5,000 is not involved; but we are of the opinion that the issue made and decided involved the validity of the $16,000 and upwards, of judgments described in the petition and amended writ. The prayer of the petitioner was for a continuous levy of taxes for the amount permitted by law, to be applied in payment of the judgments. The answer set up that all the judgments were barred by the statute of limitations, and the district court of Noble county determined that the judgments and each and all of them set out in the petition and alternate writ of mandamus had become dormant and were barred by the statute of limitations. This judgment was affirmed by the supreme court of Oklahoma.
Appeals and writs of error are allowed from the supreme court of Oklahoma to this court where the value of the property or the amount in controversy, to be ascertained by the affidavit of either party or other competent witness, exceeds $5,000. 1 U. S. Rev. Stat. Supp. 724.
We think the judgment in this case involves the validity of all the plaintiff's...
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