Hargrave v. Weber

• Decision Date: 05 May 1887
• Citation: 32 N.W. 921,66 Mich. 59
• Court: Michigan Supreme Court
• Parties: HARGRAVE and another v. WEBER.

32 N.W. 921

66 Mich. 59

HARGRAVE and another v. WEBER.

Supreme Court of Michigan

May 5, 1887

Error to Bay.

J.C. Weadock, for plaintiffs.

C.E Pierce, for defendant and appellant.

SHERWOOD J.

This suit is an action of replevin. In the month of April, 1886 the defendant was treasurer of West Bay City, in the county of Bay, and in that capacity he levied upon the property of the plaintiffs described in the writ, by virtue of a warrant attached to the delinquent personal tax-roll of said city for the taxes of 1885; the plaintiffs' names being upon said roll as delinquent, and the property levied upon being liable to be taken for taxes. As soon as the property was seized by the defendant under his warrant, the plaintiffs brought this suit, and replevied the same. A trial of the case was had in the Bay circuit, and the plaintiffs prevailed. The cause was tried by the court without a jury, and the same was submitted to the court upon a stipulation of the attorneys containing all the facts, the substance of which is as follows:

"That Bay City was organized by act of the legislature, March 21, 1865, and West Bay City May 2, 1877; that, prior to the organization of West Bay City, the territory therein comprised the villages of Banks, Winona, and Salzburg; that Bay City lies on the east bank of the Saginaw river, and West Bay City on the west side, directly opposite; that between said two cities, and in the Saginaw river, there is situated an island of considerable extent, known as 'The Middle Ground;' that upon this island for many years last past there have been situated two large steam saw-mills; that the owners of said mills have kept upon said island continually, for use in and about their said business, a large quantity of personal property; that there are also, and have been for many years, dwelling-houses constructed upon said island, in which people engaged in carrying on said business connected with said mills, and their families, have, during all of said time resided; that many of the persons residing upon said island were and are duly-qualified electors; the main channel of the river is between the middle ground and Bay City; that the westerly boundary line of Bay City, as established by the act organizing said city, and the acts amendatory thereto, passes through the center of said island, and said line also constituted the eastern boundary line of the city of West Bay City, and prior to the organization of said city, the village of Salzburg; that the city of Bay City, from the time of its organization, assumed jurisdiction over that portion of said island lying east of said dividing line, and assessed and collected the taxes from the taxable property upon that portion of said island; that the said two mills, and the large number of residences upon said island, were and are east of the said boundary line, and in the city of Bay City.

"That this state of facts continued to exist until the passage of an act entitled 'An act to revise and amend the charter of West Bay City, and to repeal all acts and parts of acts in conflict therewith,' approved April 1, 1885, which said act assumed to establish the eastern boundary of the city of West Bay City along the center of the main channel of the Saginaw river, thereby assuming to include the whole of said island within the corporate limits of the city of West Bay City; that on the second Monday in May, in the year 1885, the plaintiffs were the owners of, and had in their possession upon said island, a large number of houses, and a quantity of lumber and other personal property kept by them upon said island throughout the year; that said personal property of said plaintiffs, and the whole of it, was kept and situate upon that portion of the island lying east of said boundary line between Bay City and West Bay City; that the city of West Bay City, after the passage of act No. 307, claimed and assumed that said portions of said island had been detached from said city of Bay City, and had become and was embraced within the corporate limits of said city of West Bay City, and the comptroller of said

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