Knight v. Thomas

Decision Date11 January 1900
Citation45 A. 499,93 Me. 494
PartiesKNIGHT et al. v. THOMAS et al.
CourtMaine Supreme Court

(Official.)

Exceptions from supreme judicial court, Sagadahoc county.

Petition of Samuel Knight and others for a writ of mandamus against Eugene Thomas and others. Rule discharged, and exceptions by plaintiffs. Exceptions overruled.

This was a petition of Samuel Knight, and 14 other taxpayers and residents of Topsham for a writ of mandamus against the assessors of taxes in that town. The petition was filed April 21, 1899, and alleged as follows:

"That the Pejepscot Paper Company is a corporation duly organized by law, having a place of business at said Topsham, and on said 1st day of said April was the owner and possessor of property situated in said Topsham, subject to taxation as aforesaid.

"That the inhabitants of said town of Topsham, at a meeting called for that purpose, and held on the 29th day of October, 1892, passed the following vote:

"'Voted, that the selectmen and assessors be, and are hereby, instructed not to place a valuation for taxation exceeding thirty thousand dollars during the ten years next ensuing on the lands and erections that may be made thereon during the same ten years, and water power and rights on Androscoggin river, being the privilege which Eliphalet M. Dennison, deceased, owned, but this shall not apply to dwellings or tenement houses or the lots on which they may be.

"That the assessors of said town of Topsham in each year since said 1892 have made the assessment of said taxes upon the property of said company situated in said Topsham and described in said vote, in accordance therewith, although the just value of said property has been in each of said years, and especially on the 1st day of April aforesaid was, far in excess of the sum of thirty thousand dollars, namely, the sum of four hundred thousand dollars, as your petitioners are informed and believe.

"That the Sagadahoc Agricultural & Horticultural Society is a corporation duly established by law, having a place of business in said Topsham, and on said 1st day of April was the owner and possessor of certain property situated in said Topsham subject to taxation for the purposes aforesaid, and that said town of Topsham has voted to exempt said property from taxation.

"That the assessors for said town of Topsham for the current municipal year are Eugene Thomas, Joseph P. Whitney, Alden Q. Goud.

"That your petitioners are informed and believe that said assessors do not intend to value the property of said corporations as aforesaid for purposes of taxation for state, county, and town taxes for the current year at its just value on said 1st day of April, but have avowed their intention to be governed as to the valuation and exemption thereof by the votes aforesaid.

"Wherefore your petitioners pray that a writ of mandamus may be issued to said assessors, commanding them to apportion and assess said state, county, and town taxes for the current municipal year upon said property according to the just value thereof on said 1st day of April, 1899."

The petition was duly signed and sworn to by the subscribers. A summons to the respondents was ordered on May 3d to issue, and made returnable at judge's chambers in Auburn May 10th, where a hearing took place. Thomas and the other assessors filed a motion to discharge the rule to show cause, as also did the Pejepscot Paper Company. These motions were sustained, and, exceptions having been allowed, the cause was, by agreement of the parties, entered at the May law term, Middle district.

The principal grounds set forth in the motion to dismiss were as follows:

"(6) That said petitioners are all private and unofficial persons, having no interest in the subject-matter of the petition other than their interests therein in common with the public at large, and that a writ of mandamus issued on said petition would subserve public rights only.

"(7) That said petition contains no averment of any default or intended default on the part of the respondents...

To continue reading

Request your trial
18 cases
  • Bell v. Town of Wells
    • United States
    • Maine Supreme Court
    • March 30, 1989
    ... ...         James E. Tierney, Atty. Gen, Paul Stern (orally), Asst. Atty. Gen., Thomas D. Warren, Deputy Atty. Gen., Philip F.W. Ahrens, III, Deputy Atty. Gen., Augusta, for State Bureau of Public Lands ...         Michael T ... ...
  • Rawlings v. Ladner
    • United States
    • Mississippi Supreme Court
    • February 3, 1936
    ... ... colored, the learned and the unlearned, taxpayers and those ... who do not pay taxes ... Knight ... v. Thomas, 45 A. 499; Black's Law Dictionary, page 1459, ... "public." ... Members ... of the public other than taxpayers legally ... ...
  • Rio Vista Hotel & Imp. Co. v. Belle Mead Development Corp.
    • United States
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • December 22, 1937
    ...maintained after the assessment has been placed in the hands of the collector, Gaither v. Green, 40 La.Ann. 362, 4 So. 210; Knight v. Thomas, 93 Me. 494, 45 A. 499; Colonial Life Assurance Co. v. New York County, Barb., N.Y., 166, but even where mandamus would otherwise be available, it may......
  • Harter v. Johnson
    • United States
    • South Carolina Supreme Court
    • November 14, 1922
    ... ... "public" denotes the whole body politic, or the ... aggregate of the citizens of a state, district, or ... municipality. Knight v. Thomas, 93 Me. 494, 45 A ... 499; State v. Luce, 9 Houst. (Del.) 396, 32 A. 1076; ... Wyatt v. Irrigation Co., 1 Colo. App. 480, 29 P. 906." ... ...
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT