Canyon County v. Ada County

• Decision Date: 23 December 1897
• Citation: 51 P. 748,5 Idaho 686
• Parties: CANYON COUNTY v. ADA COUNTY
• Court: Idaho Supreme Court

51 P. 748

5 Idaho 686

CANYON COUNTY v. ADA COUNTY

Supreme Court of Idaho

December 23, 1897

ADJUSTMENT OF MATTERS GROWING OUT OF ORGANIZATION OF A NEW COUNTY.-When boards of county commissioners have made adjustment and settlement of matters growing out of the organization of a new county, such settlement and adjustment will not be disturbed in the absence of a showing of fraud or mistakes.

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS-SUBSECTION 1 OF SECTION 4054 CONSTRUED.-Under the provision of subdivision 1, section 4054 of the Revised Statutes, an action to recover liability created by statute other than a penalty of forfeiture must be commenced within three years.

(Syllabus by the court.)

APPEAL from District Court, Ada County.

Affirmed, with costs.

Charles H. Reed, for Appellant, cites no authorities upon the points decided by the court.

Hawley & Puckett, for Respondent.

Section 3 of article 18 of the constitution of Idaho provides "Where any part of a county is stricken off and attached to another county, the part stricken off shall be held to pay its ratable proportion of all the existing liabilities of the county from which it is taken." The common-law rule that new counties are not allowed or entitled to any part of the surplus of the old county, or any interest in rights of actions, is not changed by our constitution, but is changed so far as the surplus on hand is concerned, by section 6 of the act above referred to. The rule is that the old municipal or quasi municipal corporations, when there has been a division of their territory, owns all of the property within its new limits and is responsible for all debts contracted before their separation, with claim for contribution. (Commissioners of Laramie Co. v. Commissioners etc., 92 U.S. 307.) The new county would not be entitled to its share of the money without the act of separation so provided. (Board of County Commrs. v. Board of County Commrs., 15 Colo. 320, 25 P. 509; Washington Co. v. Weld Co., 12 Colo. 152, 20 P. 273.) The only way the settlement could be attacked would be on account of fraud, inadvertence or mistake. This is not alleged, and could not be consistently with other allegations of the complaint. And if it could be alleged, it would be too late now to avail the plaintiff who for nearly five years, has slept upon its rights. We contend that the claim is barred by sections 4053 and 4054 of Revised Statutes. The action must be commenced within three years of the cause of action accruing, not within three years after the liability of the principal is decided to exist. (Ada Co. v. Ellis, ante, p. 333, 48 P. 1071.)

SULLIVAN, C. J. Huston and Quarles, JJ., concur.

OPINION

SULLIVAN, C. J.

This suit was brought by Canyon county against Ada county to recover certain sums of money claimed to be due to the former county under and by virtue of an act which created said Canyon county out of a portion of Ada county. The following allegations, among others, are contained in the complaint:

That, as provided by said act, accountants were appointed by said counties to adjust the indebtedness of Ada county between the respective counties. Said accountants were unable to agree upon the value of the courthouse and poor farm of Ada county, and their value was determined as prescribed in said act. That thereafter said accountants ascertained the total indebtedness of Ada county, as required by law, but were unable to agree upon certain matters set forth in their report, which it is not necessary to set forth in this opinion. That thereafter the board of county commissioners of Ada authorized Edgar Wilson, Esq., to act on its behalf in the adjustment of said differences, and the board of commissioners of Canyon county authorized Charles H. Reed, Esq., to act for and on behalf of Canyon county in an adjustment of said differences. That thereafter said agents did effect an adjustment thereof, and filed their written report with their respective boards, and that said report was adopted by the respective boards.

The following resolutions, recommended by the authorized agents of said counties, were adopted, to wit:

"Whereas it is essential to the best interests of said counties, and in order that the credit of each of said counties may not be impaired and the obligations thereof may be properly discharged, that all matters in dispute between said counties may be settled and adjusted as speedily as possible, without the tedious delays which necessarily follow litigation of such matters: Now, therefore, we may each of us, for and in behalf of our respective counties, respectively recommend that the county commissioners of each of said counties at their April, 1894, meeting, adopt the following resolutions, and that the recitals herein be made a part thereof:

"Resolved that those certain matters, concerning which the accountants for said counties were unable to agree, and the said sum of $ 12,922.34, due to Ada county from Canyon county, as aforesaid, be, and the same are hereby, declared to offset one another, and said accounts are balanced; and it is hereby declared that said Ada county is not further indebted to said Canyon county on account of said matters, and that Canyon county is not further indebted to Ada county on account of said matters. Be it further resolved, that, as one of the conditions of said settlement and part of the...