Le Roy v. Elizabeth City
| Decision Date | 30 May 1914 |
| Docket Number | 29. |
| Citation | 81 S.E. 1072,166 N.C. 93 |
| Parties | LE ROY v. ELIZABETH CITY. |
| Court | North Carolina Supreme Court |
Appeal from Superior Court, Pasquotank County; Ferguson, Judge.
Action by J. H. Le Roy against Elizabeth City. From an order dissolving an injunction against the issue and sale of bonds plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.
The Legislature of 1907 passed an act known as chapter 117 of the Private Laws of 1907, which act was amended, first, by chapter 319 of the Private Laws of 1909, and again by chapter 487 of the Private Laws of 1913.
Said original act reads as follows:
"The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:
Section 1. That the board of aldermen of the corporation of Elizabeth City is hereby authorized and empowered to establish and erect a market house, town hall, auditorium and mayor's office, and shall equip the said building in such a manner as to meet the needs and necessities of the people and the corporation of Elizabeth City, and shall also establish and erect suitable buildings for the fire department and apparatus.
Sec. 2. That the board of aldermen of Elizabeth City is hereby authorized and empowered and shall issue bonds in the name of the corporation of Elizabeth City, in the denomination of five hundred dollars each, with coupons and in such form as may be determined by the said board, to an amount not exceeding forty thousand dollars, payable in 20 years from the issuing thereof, and at such a time and place as the board of aldermen may prescribe. The said bonds shall bear interest at a rate of not exceeding five per cent. per annum payable semiannually. The said bonds shall mature as follows One thousand dollars per annum for the first five years; two thousand dollars per annum for the next ten years; and three thousand dollars per annum for the next five years.
Sec. 3. The said building as set out above is to be placed on the property now owned by the town of Elizabeth City, on the northeast corner of Matthews and Pool streets.
Sec. 4. That the said bonds shall not be sold for less than par, and the proceeds arising therefrom shall be held by the treasurer of the corporation of Elizabeth City for the purpose set out above.
Sec. 5. That the said building shall be erected by contract with the board of aldermen of Elizabeth City and the board of permanent improvements, and no contract for the erection of said building shall be made by the board of aldermen of Elizabeth City without first having the approval of the board of permanent improvements."
The amendment by the act of 1909 provides that, if the sum of $40,000 shall be insufficient to carry out the purposes of the act of 1907, that additional bonds in the sum of $10,000 may be issued, after submitting to a vote of the people the question of issuing such additional bonds, and authorizes the defendant to buy additional property adjacent to the lot referred to in section 3 of the act of 1907, if necessary.
The act of 1913 eliminates all of the buildings in section 1 of the act of 1907, except the market house, and repeals section 3 of the original act. The act of 1913 was not passed in accordance with the formalities required by article 2, § 14, of the Constitution.
Acting under the authority of these acts, the board of aldermen of Elizabeth City, by a majority vote, with the approval of the board of permanent improvements, has contracted to sell bonds in the sum of $30,000 at par for the purpose of building a market house.
The plaintiff contends:
"That said proposed issue of said bonds is wrongful and unlawful, and said proposed bonds illegal and void:
(a) For that the proceeds of said bonds are not for the necessary expenses of said town and there has been no ratification by a majority of the qualified voters.
(b) For that chapter 487 of Private Laws of 1913, which materially amended chapter 117, Private Laws of 1907, was not passed as required by article 2,§ 14, of the Constitution of North Carolina.
(c) For that the board is expressly prohibited by the Legislature from building said market house on any property except the lot on the corner of Pool and Matthews streets.
(d) For that the sale which has been negotiated...
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