Inhabitants of Bucksport v. Buck

• Decision Date: 10 August 1896
• Parties: INHABITANTS OF BUCKSPORT v. BUCK.
• Court: Maine Supreme Court

36 A. 456

89 Me. 320

INHABITANTS OF BUCKSPORT

v. BUCK.

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

Aug. 10, 1896.

(Official.)

Exceptions from supreme judicial court, Hancock county.

This was an action of debt, brought in the name of the inhabitants of Bucksport against the defendant, Joseph L. Buck, to recover the sum of $259.57 for taxes assessed against the defendant upon his poll, personal property, and real estate in the town of Bucksport for the year 1888. At the April term, 1894, the case was referred to Hon. William P. Whitehouse, with right to except regarding matters of law.

At the April term, 1895, the final award of the referee was filed, and at the same term the defendant filed objections to the acceptance of said award, and reasons therefor in writing; but the presiding justice overruled the objections, and, on motion of the plaintiffs' counsel, ordered the award accepted, to which ruling the defendant seasonably excepted.

The writ and declaration, account in offset, report of referee made at April term, 1895, with copies of all records made part thereof, the objections to acceptance of said report, and reasons therefor, were all made a part of the bill of exceptions.

Report of referee: "By virtue of the foregoing rule of reference, I, the undersigned referee, gave due notice to the parties named therein to meet at Bucksport on the 4th day of September, A. D. 1894, at which time and place I met the parties, and, having heard their several pleas, proofs, and allegations, and duly considered the same, do hereby make this my final award and determination in the premises, to wit:

"That the said inhabitants of Bucksport recover of the said Joseph L. Buck the sum of one hundred and twenty-seven dollars and seventy cents, debt or damage, and costs of reference, taxed at three dollars and seventy-two cents, together with costs of court to be taxed by the court.

"And I further find that all of the items in the account in set-off, filed by the defendant, were barred by the statute of limitations prior to the commencement of the plaintiff's action, and prior to the assessment of the tax therein described.

"At the hearing, the plaintiffs offered as evidence in support of their action the warrant for the annual meeting of the town of Bucksport for the year 1888 with the officer's return thereon; records of said meeting; record of the qualification of selectmen and assessors for said year; record and appointment and qualification of collector of taxes for said year, with assessors' lists of taxes assessed for said year and warrant and commitment to the collector of taxes; also, said collector's written authority to bring suit for collection of said taxes.

"I find that said tax had been duly demanded of said defendant, and I rule that these records are legally sufficient, and accordingly find that, upon them, the plaintiffs are entitled to recover of defendant the unpaid portion of the tax sued for in this action, to wit, the sum of one hundred and twenty-seven dollars and seventy cents.

"Copies of so much of said record as may pertain to the cause are to be filed herewith and made a part of this report.

"Dated at Augusta, this 18th day of October, A. D. 1894.

"William P. Whitehouse, Referee."

Objections to acceptance of referee's report: "And now the said defendant comes and objects to the acceptance of the award of the referee in the above-entitled case filed at the present term, and states the following as his objections thereto:

"(1) Because said referee found that the account in set-off, seasonably filed in the case by defendant, was barred by the statute of limitations, and refused to allow the same.

"(2) Because said referee found that the records introduced by plaintiffs to sustain their said action, and made part of said referee's report, were legally sufficient, and that upon them the plaintiffs were entitled to recover of defendant the unpaid portion of the tax sued for in said action, to wit, the sum of one hundred and twenty-seven dollars and seventy cents."

Exceptions overruled.

O. F. Fellows and O. P. Cunningham, for plaintiffs.

H. E. Hamlin, for defendant.

WALTON, J. This action is before the law court on exceptions to the acceptance of the award of a referee. It is an action commenced by the inhabitants of the town of Bucksport against Joseph L. Buck to recover a town tax assessed against him in 1888. The action was referred to Mr. Justice Whitehouse, with the right to except regarding matters of law. Mr. Justice Whitehouse has made an award in favor of the town, therein stating that he found an account filed by the defendant in set-off barred by the statute of limitations. He also states that, at the hearing before him, the plaintiffs offered in evidence, in support of their action, certain records of the town of Bucksport, which he ruled were legally sufficient. But his award is in form absolute. It contains no conditions, and submits no questions either of law or fact to the determination or revision of the court. So far as appears, no objections to his rulings were made at the time of the trial before him, and no exceptions were then taken or reserved; but when his award was presented for acceptance in the court below, the defendant filed objections to its acceptance. He objected in general terms to the finding of the referee that his account filed in set-off was barred by the statute of limitations, and to the ruling of the referee that the town records were legally sufficient. But he did not set forth the grounds of his objections, as required by rule 21 of this court. Rule 21 declares that objections to any report offered to the court for acceptance shall be made in writing, and filed with the clerk, and shall set forth "specifically" the grounds...