O'Connor v. Board of County Commissioners

• Decision Date: 17 June 1895
• Docket Number: Nos. 9428 - (306).,s. 9428 - (306).
• Citation: 61 Minn. 370
• Parties: R. T. O'CONNOR v. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF RAMSEY COUNTY.<SMALL><SUP>1</SUP></SMALL>
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

Page 370

61 Minn. 370

R. T. O'CONNOR v. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF RAMSEY COUNTY.¹

Nos. 9428 - (306).

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

June 17, 1895.

Appeal by defendant from a judgment of the district court for Ramsey county, entered pursuant to an order for judgment by Willis, J. Affirmed.

Pierce Butler, for appellant.

C. D. & T. D. O'Brien, for respondent.

START, C. J.

Laws 1885, c. 2, § 5 (G. S. 1894, § 1567), changed the previous method of enforcing the payment of delinquent personal property taxes by providing that the county treasurer shall in April of each year certify to the clerk of the district court of his county a list of such delinquent taxes. Thereupon the clerk is required to issue his warrants to the sheriff of the county directing him to collect the amount of such delinquent taxes, together with 25 cents from each delinquent, as compensation to the clerk, "provided that in case the sheriff shall fail to collect the tax, such sum of twenty-five cents, as compensation, shall be paid by the county." The respondent, during all the times mentioned in the complaint in this action, was clerk of the district court of Ramsey county, and, as such, issued a large number of delinquent personal tax warrants as required by this statute, which the sheriff failed to collect. For this service he claimed from the county 25 cents for each of such warrants, which the county refused to pay, and he instituted this action to recover the same; and from a judgment awarding him therefor the sum of $3,148.75, with interest thereon, the county of Ramsey appealed.

The only question involved in this appeal is whether or not the respondent, as such clerk, was entitled to charge and receive from the county a fee of 25 cents for each delinquent tax warrant issued by him which the sheriff failed to collect. This act of 1885 imposed a new duty and service upon the clerks of the district courts of the state, fixed their compensation therefor, and made its payment a charge upon the counties of the state. The respondent, as one of such clerks, is undoubtedly entitled to this compensation for this new service, unless he is excepted from this general law by reason of special legislation regulating the fees of the clerk of the court of Ramsey county.

Sp. Laws 1883, c. 286, § 1, provides "that the salary, fees, and compensation of the officers named in this act for the county of Ramsey, for all services now or hereafter to be required by law to be by every one of them performed, shall be as hereinafter specified, and no other or greater compensation shall be allowed or paid, either as additional compensation or for deputies, clerk hire or otherwise." The clerk of the court is one of the officers whose fees are specified and fixed by this act, which provides as to such clerk for a scale of fees for each item of service as specified in the act. This scale of fees is materially less than that provided by the...