Du Bois v. The Board of Commissioners of Lake County

• Court: Indiana Appellate Court
• Writing for the Court: BLACK, J.
• Citation: Du Bois v. The Board of Commissioners of Lake County, 30 N.E. 206, 4 Ind.App. 138 (Ind. App. 1892)
• Decision Date: 17 February 1892
• Docket Number: 518
• Parties: DU BOIS v. THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF LAKE COUNTY

30 N.E. 206

4 Ind.App. 138

DU BOIS v. THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF LAKE COUNTY

No. 518

Court of Appeals of Indiana

February 17, 1892

From the Lake Circuit Court.

Judgment reversed, and cause remanded for a new trial.

J Kopelke, for appellant.

J. W Youche, for appellee.

OPINION

BLACK, J.

The appellee disallowed a claim presented by the appellant for a refunding of taxes. Upon appeal to the court below a jury returned a verdict in favor of the appellee. The overruling of the appellant's motion for a new trial is assigned as error.

In each year from 1881 to 1889, inclusive, the appellant had made his verified returns for taxation to the assessor, upon the blank schedules provided for by the statute. Section 6336, R. S 1881. In each of said schedules, in the column headed "Valuation by Party," and opposite the second item in the description of the property, being "All moneys loaned by me, either on time or on call," was an entry of a certain amount. In each schedule the column headed "Valuation by Assessor" was left blank, except that in the schedule for one year a smaller amount was written in this column as the valuation by the assessor, opposite said second item of description, than the amount so entered in said schedule, opposite the same item, as the valuation by the appellant. All other entries of valuations in each of said schedules were opposite descriptions of tangible property--that is, there were no assessments of credits other than those entered under the item relating to "moneys loaned."

The valuation entered in the column headed "Valuation by Party" is to be regarded as having been adopted by the assessor, except so far as a different valuation was entered in the column headed "Valuation by Assessor." Section 6330, R. S. 1881.

The appellant had paid regularly the taxes assessed against him from year to year, from 1881 to 1889, inclusive, upon the returns so made by him to the assessor.

In May 1890, it having been found, by examining the mortgage records, that the appellant, in said several years, held demands against other parties, whose face values exceeded the valuations which had been so returned upon said schedules, and the valuation for taxation so shown by the schedule for each of said years opposite the second item of description of property therein having been subtracted from the amount of the face values of the demands so held by the appellant in such year,...