Hills v. Exchange Bank
| Decision Date | 01 October 1881 |
| Parties | HILLS v. EXCHANGE BANK |
| Court | U.S. Supreme Court |
APPEAL from the Circuit Court of the United States for the Northern District of New York.
The facts are stated in the opinion of the court.
Mr. Rufus W. Peckham and Mr. Wheeler H. Peckham for the appellants.
Mr. Wager Swayne and Mr. Julien T. Davies for the appellee.
This appeal presents very much the same questions that were decided in Supervisors v. Stanley, supra, p. 305. That was a common-law action to recover for taxes unlawfully exacted for years prior to 1879 on shares of the National Albany Exchange Bank. The present suit to enjoin the appellants from collecting a similar tax assessed any yet unpaid for that year, was brought by that bank, suing in right of and as representing all the stockholders. The Circuit Count made a decree perpetually enjoining the collection of all taxes on shares of the bank. Several questions are raised, or rather suggested, which we think have heretofore been decided by this court, such as the right of the bank to maintain a suit on behalf of its shareholders. This was established by the cases of Cummings v. National Bank, 101 U. S. 153; Pelton v. National Bank, id 143. There is, also, an attempt to show that there was a settled rule or purpose on the part of the assessors to value the shares of the appellee bank higher in proportion to their real value than in the cast of other banks, bankers, and moneyed corporations. We think the proof fails to establish this in a manner to justify the interference of a court of equity. National Bank v. Kimball, 103 id. 732.
The bill, however, in its main feature, asserts the right to an injunction, on the ground that the act of 1866, under which the bank shares were assessed, is absolutely void because it makes no provision for deduction from the assessed value of these shares, of the debts honestly owing by the shareholders. And the court, proceeding upon the idea that both the statute and the assessment made under it are absolutely void, decreed relief accordingly. Under the ruling just made on that subject this decree must of course be reversed, because as to the larger number of the shareholders whose taxes are enjoined there is no evidence that they owed any debts whatever at the time the assessment was made.
The allegations of the bill on this subject are: First, That one shareholder owning five hundred and thirty-two shares of the stock made affidavit that the value of personal estate owned by him, including said bank shares, after deducting his just debts and other investments not taxable, did not exceed one dollar, and presented said affidavit to the board of assessors, with a demand that they should reduce the assessment of his shares accordingly, which was refused. The evidence shows this to have been Chauncey P. Williams. Second, That other shareholders were indebted to an amount equal to or in excess of the personal property owned by them, including their bank shares, but omitted to make affidavit and demand the proper reduction, because they knew such demand would...
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