Graham v. Township of St. Joseph
| Decision Date | 05 January 1888 |
| Court | Michigan Supreme Court |
| Parties | GRAHAM v. TOWNSHIP OF ST. JOSEPH. |
Case made from circuit court, Berrien county; A.J. SMITH, Judge.
John H Graham sued the township of St. Joseph to recover a tax alleged to have been improperly levied. Judgment for the plaintiff, and case made.
L.C. Fyfe, for plaintiff.
N.A Hamilton, for defendant.
The plaintiff in this case is a resident of the township of St Joseph in the county of Berrien, and in 1886 was a stockholder in the Graham & Morton Transportation Company, a corporation organized under the laws of the state of Illinois. His stock was assessed in the township where he resided that year, and he paid the taxes levied against him under such assessment, protesting against the same, and he brings this suit to recover the taxes he thus paid. The testimony was by stipulation, and in substance is as follows: (1) All the stock of the corporation is owned by Andrew Crawford, who resides in Chicago, Illinois; J.H. Graham, who resides in St. Joseph; and J.S. Morton, whose residence is at Benton Harbor, Michigan. (2) J.H. Graham has resided in St. Joseph more than a year last past; and that there was assessed against him upon his stock, for 1886, taxes to the amount of $171.55, and that the same was paid by him, under protest and involuntarily, to the township treasurer for the township; and that this suit was instituted in time under the statute to recover them. (3) The property of the corporation was assessed to it, and taxes paid thereon in the township of Benton, in which Benton Harbor is situated, for 1886. The corporation owns no real estate, and in its business uses the docks and warehouses owned by Crawford and the plaintiff, and it has no docks, warehouses, or office elsewhere. At the time of the assessment of the plaintiff's stock, none of the company's property was elsewhere than at Benton Harbor, and its books and bank-account were also kept there. (4) A portion of the company's property consists of two steam-boats; Benton Harbor being their winter port. When the assessment of the plaintiff's stock was made by the supervisor of St. Joseph, the plaintiff protested against being assessed for his stock, and informed the officer that all of the company's property was assessable in Benton, and was so assessed; but the supervisor insisted upon making the assessment, which resulted in the plaintiff being obliged to pay the amount stated. It is conceded by the stipulation that, if the plaintiff's stock was properly assessable in St. Joseph, then the tax was legal, but, if not, then it should be repaid to the plaintiff. Upon the statement of facts, of which the foregoing is the substance, the circuit judge found that the stock of plaintiff was not properly assessable in the township of St. Joseph, and judgment was rendered accordingly.
The question in this case depends upon the proper construction of the provisions of the tax law of 1885, at page 175. Under this statute, real estate, for the purposes of taxation See section 2. Section 4 of the act provides that Section 2 also provides: Under the second subdivision of section 13, "each person is required to set forth in his statement of his property, for taxation, to the supervisor, all...
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