Municipal Securities Corp v. Kansas City
| Decision Date | 04 March 1918 |
| Docket Number | No. 56,56 |
| Citation | 246 U.S. 63,62 L.Ed. 579,38 S.Ct. 224 |
| Parties | MUNICIPAL SECURITIES CORP. v. KANSAS CITY |
| Court | U.S. Supreme Court |
Mr. W. C. Scarritt, of Kansas City, Mo., for plaintiff in error.
Mr. A. F. Smith, of Kansas City, Mo., for defendant in error.
The plaintiff in error brought suit in the circuit court of Jackson county, Missouri, to recover on certain tax bills issued to one Michael Walsh, its assignor, for the construction of a sewer in Kansas City, Missouri. The case was tried on an amended petition and answer. The amended petition was filed on May 20, 1909, but it is said the suit was begun on May 29, 1906. The amended petition set out that by an ordinance approved January 24, 1901, Kansas City provided a sewer district, and let a contract for the construction of the sewer to Walsh. That Walsh constructed the sewer, and was paid for the work by special tax bills against sewer district number 146 in Kansas City. That lot 1, block 1, C. H. Pratt's Vine Street addition, is located in said sewer district, and that at the time the work was done and the tax bills issued the owner of said property held the same subject to certain proceedings to condemn said lot for a public parkway in the South Park district of Kansas City established by an ordinance approved October 3, 1899; that said parkway ordinance ordered that said lot 1, block 1 and other property should be condemned for the urpose of a public parkway, and proceedings were begun in the circuit court of Jackson county, Missouri, for the condemnation of the lot for that purpose; that the condemnation proceedings were carried to judgment in the circuit court of Jackson county, Missouri, wherein a verdict had been rendered for the value of the property on June 4, 1901, that the verdict was duly affirmed, and judgment rendered on September 14, 1901, in the circuit court. Upon appeal to the Supreme Court of Missouri said judgment was suspended until affirmed by the Supreme Court, June 4, 1902, and that after that date the city paid for and took possession of said lot 1, block 1, Pratt's Vine Street addition, and now is holding the same for a public park. Plaintiff further alleges that, while the condemnation proceedings were pending in the Supreme Court, Walsh completed the work, and that tax bills therefor were issued to him on March 15, 1902, chargeable in payment of the appropriate share of the cost of the sewer upon the lot above described. The plaintiff alleges that Walsh sold and assigned the certificates or special tax bills to it; that by reason of the condemnation proceedings and the judgment therein the tax bill never became a lien upon the lot, above described, and that upon a final determination of said condemnation case Kansas City was liable to pay the amount of said tax bill with interest, and that the city cannot by an act of itself, not consented to by the plaintiff, either by judicial proceedings in the nature of condemnation or otherwise destroy plaintiff's right to collect the cost of the said work in accordance with the contract mentioned; the plaintiff invokes the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States guaranteeing the protection of its property by due process of law as against the acts of states. Plaintiff alleges that before the beginning of the suit it offered to surrender to the Board of Public Works of Kansas City the tax bills issued as aforesaid, and to accept a certificate as provided in the city charter in lieu thereof, if the board should hold that the said certificates or tax bills were not certificates conformable to the provisions of the charter of Kansas City, but the board refused to accept the same or to issue a new certificate, and denied all liability for the said charge.
The city answered the amended petition, and stated therein that on March 15, 1902, it did issue special tax bills to Michael Walsh as set out in the petition; and that Walsh on March 15, 1902, executed and delivered to Kansas City a full and complete release on account of any claim arising on said tax bills as provided in section 16, article 9 of the charter of Kansas City. The answer further sets up that the charter of Kansas City provides a method by which the city shall pay its share of any public improvement on land owned in fee by it; that no certificate was issued by the city on the lot in question or any other lots described in the petition; and that it was not found that the lots mentioned in the petition were owned in fee sim- ple by the city; that there was no compliance with the charter of the city, and no obligation created thereunder.
At the trial the tax bills sued upon were introduced, indorsed as follows:
The record does not disclose when this assignment was made, and it bears no date.
Upon trial in the circuit court the court held as a matter of law that Kansas City was an agency of the state of Missouri, and had by its official acts, ordinances and conduct appropriated to the public use the property and property...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Miller v. Maryland Casualty Co.
...31, 25 L. Ed. 531; Wilson v. Everett, 139 U. S. 616, 11 S. Ct. 664, 35 L. Ed. 286; Lincoln v. Power, 151 U. S. 436, 438, 14 S. Ct. 387, 38 S. Ct. 224), and, of these, Wilson v. Everett was an extreme case, much stronger than that at bar. So far as we can find there is no exception to the do......
-
United States v. Burke
...adequate non-federal grounds. Klinger v. Missouri, 1871, 13 Wall. 257, 80 U.S. 257, 20 L.Ed. 635; Municipal Securities Corp. v. Kansas City, 1918, 246 U.S. 63, 69, 38 S.Ct. 224, 62 L.Ed. 579; Young v. Regan, supra, 337 U.S. at page 238, 69 S.Ct. 1073. When it is not evident whether the fede......