Great Northern Ry. Co. v. Snohomish County

• Decision Date: 13 February 1908
• Citation: 93 P. 924,48 Wash. 478
• Parties: GREAT NORTHERN RY. CO. et al. v. SNOHOMISH COUNTY et al.
• Court: Washington Supreme Court

93 P. 924

48 Wash. 478

GREAT NORTHERN RY. CO. et al. v. SNOHOMISH COUNTY et al.

Supreme Court of Washington

February 13, 1908

Appeal from Superior Court, Snohomish County; W. W. Black, Judge.

Suit by the Great Northern Railway Company and other corporations against Snohomish county and William R. Booth, as treasurer to enjoin defendants from collecting an alleged excess assessment. From a judgment on demurrer dismissing the complaint, plaintiffs appeal. Reversed, and demurrer directed to be overruled.

L. C Gilman, B. O. Graham, and R. C. Saunders, for appellants.

G. D Eveland and Cooley & Horan, for respondents.

RUDKIN J.

The complaint in this action alleges substantially the following facts: That the plaintiff the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the state of Minnesota, and is duly authorized to do business in the state of Washington; that said plaintiff is the owner of a line of railway extending from St. Paul, in the state of Minnesota, to the city of Everett, in Snohomish county, in the state of Washington; that of said line of railway there lies within said Snohomish county 43.92 miles of main track and 14.17 of side track; that the plaintiff Seattle & Montana Railway Company is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the state of Washington; that said plaintiff is the owner of a line of railway extending from the city of Seattle to the city of Blaine, in the state of Washington; that of said line of railway there lies in Snohomish county 43.04 miles of main track and 15.48 miles of side track; that all of said lines of railway belonging to the plaintiffs the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company and the Seattle & Montana Railway Company are used, occupied, and operated by the plaintiff Great Northern Railway Company, a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the state of Minnesota, as a part of its general system of railway lines extending from the cities of St. Paul and Duluth, in the state of Minnesota, to the cities of Seattle and Blaine, in the state of Washington, under contracts and arrangements requiring said last-named company to pay the taxes assessed against said properties; that in the exercise of the power conferred upon it by law the state board of tax commissioners of the state of Washington, for the purposes of assessment and taxation for the year 1906, classified the different railroad properties owned and operated within the state, and by said classification the railroads above described were classified as follows: Main line tracks of the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company as 'First Class'; main line tracks of the Seattle & Montana Railway Company from its connection with the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company near Everett Junction south to the county line of Snohomish county as 'First Class'; main line tracks of the same company from Everett Junction north to the county line as 'First Class B'--that said state board of tax commissioners fixed the assessment for said year for the purposes of taxation on railroad tracks of the first class at the sum of $14,520 per mile, on rolling stock of railroads of the first class at $3,168 per mile, on railroads of the first class B at $10,560 per mile, and on the rolling stock thereon at $2,640 per mile; that said valuation above mentioned was so fixed by said state board of tax commissioners in relation to and based upon the comparative value of all other lines of railway throughout the state, and proper directions and instructions were by said board made and given to the various county assessors in counties through which plaintiffs' said lines of railway extended in the state of Washington, including the assessor of said Snohomish county, so as to procure and secure equality and uniformity of assessment and taxation in the various counties of the state through which said lines of railroad extend, and to secure equality and uniformity in the valuation for assessment of the various lines of railroad throughout the respective counties of the state; that, in conformity with and in obedience to the directions and instructions of the state board of tax commissioners, the county assessors of all counties along the lines of said railroads, except the assessor of Snohomish county, assessed the property of the plaintiffs on the classification and rate per mile thus fixed by the state board of tax commissioners; that the assessor of Snohomish county wrongfully and unlawfully assessed the tracks designated as first class at $25,900 per mile, the rolling stock thereon at $3,960 per mile, the tracks designated as 'First Class B' at $19,000 per mile, the rolling stock thereon at $3,300 per mile, and therefore plaintiffs' said properties have been assessed for taxation for the year 1906 at a valuation disproportionate to all other railroad property in the state, and that a valuation relatively greater than the other railroad property in the state has been assessed for said year; that the board of equalization of Snohomish county wrongfully refused to reduce said assessment; that the taxes on said properties for the year 1906 on the valuation fixed by the assessor and board of equalization are $26,108.32 in excess of the taxes based on the valuation of the state board of tax commissioners; that the plaintiffs have tendered and stand willing to pay all taxes and assessments against said property, less said excess of $26,108.32, and that the treasurer of Snohomish county refuses to accept the same. The prayer of the complaint is for an injunction against the collection of such excess and for general relief. A demurrer to this complaint was sustained, and, the plaintiffs electing to stand on their pleading and refusing to plead further, a judgment of dismissal was entered from which this appeal is prosecuted.

Section 2 of article 7 of the Constitution provides that 'the Legislature shall provide by law a uniform and equal rate of assessment and taxation on all property in the state, according to its value in money, and...