Crowninshield v. Bd. of Sup'rs Cayuga Cnty.

• Decision Date: 14 April 1891
• Citation: 27 N.E. 242,124 N.Y. 583
• Parties: CROWNINSHIELD, Supervisor, v. BOARD OF SUP'RS CAYUGA COUNTY.
• Court: New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals

124 N.Y. 583

27 N.E. 242

CROWNINSHIELD, Supervisor,

v.BOARD OF SUP'RS CAYUGA COUNTY.

Court of Appeals of New York, Second Division.

April 14, 1891.

Cross-appeals from a judgment of the general term, fifth department, awarding judgment to the plaintiff, under a submission made pursuant to section 1279 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Laws N. Y. 1869, c. 907, § 4, as amended by Laws N. Y. 1871, c. 283, provides that all taxes collected in the next 30 years, or as much thereof as may be necessary, in any town, on the assessed valuation of any railroad, to aid in the construction of which said town has issued or shall issue bonds, shall be paid over to the treasurer of the county in which the town lies, and that it shall be the duty of said treasurer, with the money so arising, to purchase the bonds of said town, issued to aid in the construction of any railroad, when the same can be purchased at or below par, the bonds so purchased to be canceled. In case the bonds cannot be purchased at or below the par value thereof, then it shall be the duty of said treasurer, and he is hereby directed, to invest the money so paid to him, with the interest, in the bonds of the state, or of any city, county, town, or village thereof, the bonds so purchased to be held by the treasurer as a sinking fund, for the redemption and payment of the bounds issued, or to be issued, by said town, in aid of the construction of said railroad.

A. P. Rich, for plaintiff.

William B. Woodin, for defendant.

HAIGHT, J.

On the 1st day of March, 1871, the town of Ira, pursuant to the provisions of chapter 433 of the Laws of 1866, and the several acts amendatory thereof, issued its bonds to the amount of $40,000 in aid of the construction of the Southern Central Railroad; that subsequently, and from time to time thereafter, payments were made by the town upon such bounded indebtedness until the 1st day of March, 1888, at which time such indebtedness was fully paid, and the bonds were surrendered and canceled; that the moneys with which such payments were made were raised by a general tax on real and personal property liable to taxation in the town of Ira, including the real and personal property therein owned by the Southern Central Railroad Company; that the state and county taxes, exclusive of school and road taxes, collected from the said Southern Central Railroad Company upon the assessed valuation of its real and personal property in the town of Ira, in the years 1872 to 1887, inclusive, were in amount as follows: State taxes, $934.24: county taxes, $977.81; town taxes, $3,572.90; that the state and county taxes in each year were paid over to the treasurer of the county by the town collector, and the same was used by him in the payment of the state taxes, and the ordinary expenses and obligations of the county; that the town taxes so collected were by the collector paid over to the supervisor of the town, and were by him used and expended in payment of the ordinary and current expenses of the town; that no money was ever set apart by the treasurer of the county as a sinking fund with which to pay off and retire the bonds so issued by the town of Ira, as required by chapter 907 of the Laws of 1869, and the several acts amendatory thereof. The plaintiff seeks to recover the amount of state and county taxes collected from such railroad company in the town of Ira during the years named, which were paid over to the treasurer of the county, and used by him as aforesaid. The general...