Meyering Land Co. v. Spencer, s. 119

• Decision Date: 10 December 1935
• Docket Number: 120.,Nos. 119,s. 119
• Citation: 263 N.W. 777,273 Mich. 703
• Parties: MEYERING LAND CO. et al. v. SPENCER et al. OAKLAND HILLS COUNTRY CLUB v. STACK et al.
• Court: Michigan Supreme Court

273 Mich. 703

263 N.W. 777

MEYERING LAND CO. et al.

v.SPENCER et al.

OAKLAND HILLS COUNTRY CLUB

v.STACK et al.

Nos. 119, 120.

Supreme Court of Michigan.

Dec. 10, 1935.

Suits by the Meyering Land Company and the International Realty, Inc., against A. W. Spencer and others, and by the Oakland Hills Country Club against John K. Stack, state auditor general, and others. From a decree for defendants, plaintiffs International Realty, Inc., and the Oakland Hills Country Club appeal.

Reversed and decree for plaintiffs granted.Appeal from Circuit Court, Oakland County, in Chancery; Frank L. Doty, Frank L. Covert, and Glenn C. Gillespie, Judges.

Argued before the Entire Bench.

Frank C. Cook and John P. O'Hara, of Detroit, for appellant Oakland Hills Country Club.

Clark, Klein, Ferris & Cook, of Detroit, for appellant International Realty, Inc.

Harry S. Toy, Atty. Gen., and David Pence, Pros. Atty., and Donald C. Porritt, Asst. Pros. Atty., and A. Floyd Blakeslee, all of Pontiac (Goodenough, Voorhies, Long & Ryan, of Detroit, of counsel), for appellees.

POTTER, Chief Justice.

Plaintiffs filed their bills of complaint herein on their own behalf and on behalf of all other landowners in the Bloomfield village drain district, in Oakland county, to set aside and declare fraudulent certain drain proceedings taken for the purpose of laying out and establishing the drainage districts and drains constructed, as they allege, to serve the drainage district with sewerage, and to restrain and enjoin the collection of taxes levied and assessed against their property, and for other purposes. From a decree for defendants, plaintiffs appeal.

May 28, 1925, application was made to lay out and designate a drainage district under Act No. 316, Pub. Acts 1923. July 13, 1925, the drain commissioner laid out and designated a drainage district known as the Bloomfield village drain district. This order described the course of the drain and four branches thereof and estimated the cost of the proposed drain as $327,321. Most of this drain was laid out with reference to existing streets in subdivided property, and in size varied from a 96-inch sewer by various stages to a 48-inch sewer. The size of the branches ranged from 42-inch sewer to 21-inch sewer.

July 20, 1925, an application for establishing and constructing a drain was filed with the drain commissioner, apparently based upon the establishment of the drainage district which had been laid out and established by the drain commissioner in pursuance of the proceedings above mentioned.

November 20, 1925, a final order of determination establishing the drainage district and describing the course and character of the proposed drain was made. The contract was let, bonds in the amount of $525,000 were subsequently authorized, the assessment levied against the property of the Meyering Land Company consisting of 154 acres was $43,453.50, and the assessment levied against the Oakland Hills Country Club $70,658.72.

The total number of acres in the village of Bloomfield drain was 2,161.35; the total length of the drain 5.7 miles, or approximately 30,270 feet. Approximately 15,000 feet of the drain was laid out in the property of Judson Bradway, Bloomfield village, comprising about 500 acres of land. The first four branches of the drain are in this property.

All of the drain north of Maple road was through subdivided property and laid out in streets. Of the portion of the drain south of Maple road, all but 2,600 feet through a portion of the Meyering property and 700 feet of open drain at the outlet was through subdivided property and followed the streets. The balance of the property north of Maple road known as the Judson Bradway Bloomfield village was served by a supplemental sanitary sewer connected with the Bloomfield village drain. All of that portion of the drain contains 6-inch Y's for house connections at every lot along the course of the drain.

May 14, 1926, application for laying out and designating a drainage district was made. It was subsequently known as Bloomfield storm sewer drain No. 1. This drainage district as laid out consisted of 870 acres, the length of the drain 37,842 feet, the maximum size of the drain 66 inches and its minimum size 12 inches, its maximum depth 37.1 feet and its minimum depth 4.1 feet. The construction was entirely of underground precast concrete pipe with the exception of 1,300 feet of monolithic concrete construction. The total cost of this drain was $285,000, of which $72,062.35 was assessed against the property of the Oakland Hills Country Club, plaintiff.

No. 1 drain empties into the Bloomfield village drain and serves subdivided property. The branches are so laid out that they reach and serve every single lot in the subdivisions adjoining and in part surrounding the Oakland Hills golf course. The general construction of this drain is similar to that of the Bloomfield village drain, and 6-inch Y's were provided for...