Ledegar v. Bockoven

• Decision Date: 02 December 1919
• Docket Number: 11047.
• Citation: 185 P. 1097,77 Okla. 58,1919 OK 353
• Parties: LEDEGAR v. BOCKOVEN, County Treasurer.
• Court: Oklahoma Supreme Court

185 P. 1097

77 Okla. 58, 1919 OK 353

LEDEGAR v. BOCKOVEN, County Treasurer.

No. 11047.

Supreme Court of Oklahoma

December 2, 1919

Syllabus by the Court.

In construing a statute to ascertain if the same be in violation of the Constitution, if the proper construction is doubtful this doubt must be resolved in favor of the law, though such construction may not be the more natural interpretation of the language used.

A court will disregard punctuation of a statute or repunctuate it, if need be, to give effect to what otherwise appears to be its purpose and true meaning.

Where an act is susceptible of two constructions one of which will uphold the constitutionality of the act, a court must adopt that construction which will uphold the law, and this the court must do if it be in doubt as to which construction to follow.

If there is a doubt or ambiguity in a statute, it is the duty of a court in interpreting the same to give to it the most reasonable and just interpretation as the legislative intent rather than an interpretation unreasonable, unjust, or one that will lead to an absurdity.

Section 5 of chapter 130 of the Session Laws of 1919 construed, and held that the proviso therein, "that in no event shall the county be liable to the state or any taxing district thereof or to any special assessment lienholder for any part of the amount for which any such property may be sold," refers to the private sale to be made by the county treasurer to be approved by the board of county commissioners as provided in said section, and not to the sale at public auction to the highest bidder provided therein.

It is within the sovereign power of a state to subject all the property situated therein and not otherwise exempt to taxation. The state is obligated to exercise the utmost good faith to collect the taxes on property necessary to liquidate the securities of its municipalities. When, however, the tax charge against property is in excess of its value, a state may within the exercise of its sovereign power, after the exercise of good faith to collect the delinquent taxes due thereon, cancel or set aside such delinquent taxes or any portion of same and place the property upon the tax rolls and thus make it help bear the burdens of government.

Section 5 construed, and held that the county treasurer must commence the sale between the hours mentioned therein, but the sale may be continued from day to day between the same hours until the sale is completed.

Section 6 construed, and held that a tax deed issued as provided therein cancels and sets aside all taxes which includes ad valorem and paving taxes delinquent at the time the sale was made at which the property was bid off by the county treasurer in the name of the county, and referred to in the first part of section 3 of chapter 130, supra amending section 7409 of the Revised Laws of 1910.

Error from District Court, Oklahoma County; Geo. W. Clark, Judge.

Action for injunction by H. J. Ledegar against A. E. Bockoven County Treasurer of Oklahoma County, Okl. Judgment for defendant, and plaintiff brings error. Affirmed.

D. M. Tibbetts and Fred W. Green, both of Guthrie, for plaintiff in error.

S. P. Freeling, Atty. Gen., and Robert Burns, Co. Atty., of Oklahoma City, for defendant in error.

HIGGINS J.

The parties to this suit hold the same relative position in this court as in the lower court and will be referred to in this opinion as plaintiff and defendant.

The plaintiff, the owner of certain paving bonds, instituted this suit to restrain the defendant, the county treasurer of Oklahoma county, from selling certain property covered by his bonds at a tax sale. The lower court refused the injunction, and the plaintiff appeals to this court.

The plaintiff contends that the law, under which the defendant is seeking to sell the property covered by his paving bonds, is unconstitutional for the reason that it seeks to impair the obligation of a contract in violation of section 10 of article 1 of the federal Constitution, and that the time fixed for the sale is so short a period of time that a sale of the property advertised within such a time would be practically a confiscation of the lien reserved to plaintiff's paving bonds.

The particular statutes under which this sale is advertised to be made by the county treasurer are sections 4 and 5 of chapter 130 of the Session Laws of 1919, and are as follows:

"Sec. 4. That section 7410, of chapter 72, of article 9, of the Revised Laws of the State of Oklahoma, 1910, be and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:

'Section 7410. The treasurer shall give notice of the sale of such real estate by the publication thereof once each week for four consecutive weeks preceding the sale, in some newspaper in the county, and if there be no paper published in the county, he shall give notice by written or printed notice posted on the door of the courthouse or building in which courts are commonly held, or at the usual place of meeting of the county commissioners. Such notice shall contain a description of the real estate to be sold, the name of the last record owner of said real estate as shown by the records in the office of county clerk, the time and place of sale, and a statement of the date on which said real estate was sold to the county for delinquent taxes, or the year or years for which taxes have been assessed and said lands have not been advertised or sold, and that the same has not been redeemed for the period of two (2) years from the date of such sale, and the amount of taxes, costs, penalties and interest accrued on the same, and that such real estate will be sold to the highest bidder for cash; provided, that sales provided for in this act shall be held on the fourth Monday of November of each year in each county.'

Sec. 5. That section 7411, of chapter 72, of article 9, of the Revised Laws of the State of Oklahoma, 1910, be and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:

'Section 7411. On the day said real estate is advertised for resale the county treasurer shall, between the hours of one o'clock and four o'clock p. m. at his office, where, by law, the taxes are made payable, sell at public auction to the highest bidder for cash each tract or lot of land so advertised, and then in case there be no other bidder for any real estate so offered for sale, the county treasurer shall bid off the same in the name of the county for the amount of taxes, penalty and costs due thereon and shall issue deed therefor in the name of the chairman of the board of county commissioners and his successors in office for the use and benefit of the county, and thereafter said property shall be exempt from assessment for ad valorem taxes so long as title is held for the county; provided that in no event shall the county be liable to the state or any taxing district thereof or to any special assessment lienholder for any part of the amount for which any such property may be sold. Any property acquired by the county under the provisions of this section may be sold by the treasurer at such price as may after notice by publication be approved by the board of county commissioners. Said notice of publication shall be given by the treasurer in the official county paper and shall embrace a description of the property, the price and to whom proposed to be sold, and stating that he will on a given date to be stated in the notice apply to the board of county commissioners for its approval of said sale and for an order directing that deed for said property be executed by the chairman of said board. The proceeds of sale of any property acquired by the county under the provisions hereof shall accrue to the common school fund of the county."'

The history of the paving bonds owned by plaintiff is as follows: In July, 1909, the city of Oklahoma City adopted an ordinance creating "improvement district No. 74," and under this ordinance the streets of that district were paved and bonds in the sum of $75,260.80 were issued in payment thereof. The law in force at the time this ordinance was adopted defining the rights of the holders of these bonds is set forth in section 634 of the Revised Laws of 1910, and is as follows:

"634. Assessments a Lien.-Such special assessments and each installment thereof and the interest thereon are hereby declared to be a lien against the lots and tracts of land so assessed from the date of the ordinance levying the same, coequal with the lien of other taxes, and prior and superior to all other liens against such lots or tracts; and such lien shall continue as to unpaid installments and interest until such assessments and interest thereon shall be fully paid, but unmatured installments shall not be deemed to be within the terms of any general covenant or warranty."

Default was made in payment of the taxes by the owners of certain lots in this improvement district upon which a lien exists to pay the paving bonds in question. These lots have heretofore been sold at a tax sale as provided by sections 7397, 7398 and 7399, and in default of bidders the county bid the same in as provided by section 7406. The county held the property for two years, during which time the owner failed to redeem the same as provided in section 7407, and no one offered to purchase the interest of the county as provided in...