Breiholz v. Board of Sup Rs of Pocahontas County, Iowa

• Decision Date: 07 November 1921
• Docket Number: No. 23,23
• Citation: 42 S.Ct. 13,257 U.S. 118,66 L.Ed. 159
• Parties: BREIHOLZ et al. v. BOARD OF SUP'RS OF POCAHONTAS COUNTY, IOWA, et al
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

257 U.S. 118

42 S.Ct. 13

66 L.Ed. 159

BREIHOLZ et al.

v BOARD OF SUP'RS OF POCAHONTAS COUNTY, IOWA, et al.

No. 23.

Argued Oct. 7, 1921.

Decided Nov. 7, 1921.

Mr. Denis M. Kelleher, of Ft. Dodge, Iowa, for plaintiffs in error.

Messrs. F. C. Gilchrist, of Laurens, Iowa, and Robert Healy, of Ft. Dodge, Iowa, for defendants in error.

[Argument of Counsel from page 119-120 intentionally omitted] Mr. Justice CLARKE delivered the opinion of the Court.

Conformably to the statutes of the state, drainage district No. 29 was organized in Pocahontas county, Iowa, in 1907, and a system of drainage, regularly planned, adopted and constructed, was completed in 1909. An assessment to pay for this improvement was imposed upon the lands within the district in proportion to the benefits which each tract would derive from it.

Two years later, in 1911, parts of the ditches having become so filled up as to impair the usefulness of the system, the county board of supervisors adopted a resolution declaring that it was expedient that the drainage IMPROVEMENT SHOULD BE 'REOPENED, CLEANEd and otherwise repaired' for the better service of the land tributary to it, and to that end a contract was let to 'deepen, clean, reopen and repair' the ditches in the parts and in a manner specified. An assessment to pay for this reopening, cleaning and repairing was made upon the lands in the district in the same proportion to benefits as that made to pay for the original construction, and the controversy in this case is as to the constitutionality of the statute under which this assessment was levied upon the lands of the plaintiffs in error.

The state statutes (Supplement to the Code of Iowa 1913, c. 2a) committed to the board of supervisors of the county, the power to establish drainage districts, to adopt systems of drainage, to determine the extent of any damage which might be caused to lands thereby, and to make assessment on the lands in the district, in proportion to benefits, to pay for the improvement.

Elaborate provision is made for notice to all owners of land within a proposed drainage district, of the application for the establishment of it, of the time for hearing claims for damages likely to be caused by the construction of the drainage system, and of the time when objections may be made to the assessment in proportion to benefits. From the determination of the board with respect to each of these a right of appeal to the state district court is given

It is admitted that all of the requisite action was taken to establish the system of drainage involved and for making the assessment upon the benefited lands, including those of the plaintiffs in error, to pay for the original work done, and that sufficient notice thereof to satisfy all constitutional requirements was given to all concerned.

The action in this case was taken under section 1989a21 of the Iowa Code (Supplement 1913) which provides that after any drainage district shall have been established and the improvement constructed (as in this case):

'* * * The same shall at all times be under the control and supervision of the board of supervisors, and it shall be the duty of the board to keep the same in repair and for that purpose they may cause the same to be enlarged, reopened, deepened, widened, strightened or lengthened for a better outlet. * * * The cost of such repairs or change shall be paid by the board from the drainage fund of said * * * drainage district, or by assessing and levying the cost of such change or repair upon the lands in the same proportion that the original expenses and cost of construction were levied and assessed, except where additional right of way is required or additional lands affected thereby, in either of which cases the board shall proceed' giving notice and hearing as is otherwise provided.

It will be noted that the section thus quoted does not require that notice shall be given to landowners of such intended enlarging, reopening, etc., of the drainage system as is provided for therein, and that no provision is made for a hearing with respect thereto, at which objections may be made either to the doing of the work or to the assessment to pay for it, and the contention of the plaintiffs in error is that the failure to provide for such notice and hearing renders the section unconstitutional for the reason that if enforced it would deprive them of their property without due process of law.

To this contention of invalidity it is replied that the section...