City of Covington v. Pullman Co.

• Decision Date: 17 October 1905
• Citation: City of Covington v. Pullman Co., 121 Ky. 218, 89 S.W. 116 (Ky. Ct. App. 1905)
• Parties: CITY OF COVINGTON v. PULLMAN CO.
• Court: Kentucky Court of Appeals

89 S.W. 116

121 Ky. 218

CITY OF COVINGTON v. PULLMAN CO.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

October 17, 1905

Appeal from Circuit Court, Kenton County.

"To be officially reported."

Action by the Pullman Company against the city of Covington. From a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. Reversed.

Hall &amp McLean and F. J. Hanlon, for appellant.

Martin W. Durrett, J. H. Hazelrigg, N.W. Gore Speed Guffy, and R. L Greene, for appellee.

HOBSON C.J.

The Pullman Company, which is an Illinois corporation, with its home office in Chicago, brought this suit to enjoin the city of Covington from collecting a tax amounting to $810 upon three sleeping cars, assessed for municipal taxation as of September 15 1902, at a valuation of $45,000; it being alleged by the company that the cars were employed for the purpose of transporting passengers over the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad lines to and from the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, through the city of Covington, to and from points in the state of Kentucky and outside of the state. The city by its answer alleged that the cars in question were on September 15, 1902, located in the yards of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Company, in Covington, for the purpose of being cleaned and repaired and made ready for train service; that they were a part of the trains regularly employed in passenger service between Cincinnati and points east, making regular trips, and that after each trip they were placed in the yard, cleaned and repaired; that for years past there had been a daily average of three cars located in the yards, and that these cars had a situs in the city of Covington for city taxation. The answer was made a counterclaim. The plaintiff demurred to the answer and counterclaim. The demurrer was sustained, and, the city declining to plead further, judgment was entered as prayed in the petition.

While the personal property of a resident of this state must be given in for taxation by the owner in the county of his residence, the personal property of a nonresident of the state must be assessed in the county where it is situated--where it has a situs in the state. Johnson v Bradley-Watkins Tie Company, 85 S.W. 726, 27 Ky. Law Rep. 540; Ayer & Lord Tie Company v. Keown (this day decided) 89 S.W. 116. The charter of the city of Covington authorizes the city to tax all real and personal property within the corporate limits of the city which is subject to taxation for state purposes. Ky. St. 1903, § 3174. Since personal property belonging to a nonresident having a situs in this state may be taxed for state purposes in the county where it is situated, under section 4020, Ky. St. 1903, as was held in the cases above cited, it follows that the cars in question may be taxed by the city of Covington if they have a situs within the city. The taxation of cars used on railroads and moving continually from point to point is a subject of no little difficulty. No three particular cars have a permanent situs in the city of Covington; but there are all the time in the yards there three cars, which are being made ready to go out on their trips. This property enjoys the protection of the municipal government and should justly...