School Dist. No. 34, Carter County v. Joint School Dist. No. 34, Love and Carter Counties
| Decision Date | 22 March 1932 |
| Docket Number | 20676. |
| Citation | 9 P.2d 771,156 Okla. 5,1932 OK 228 |
| Parties | SCHOOL DIST. NO. 34, CARTER COUNTY, v. JOINT SCHOOL DIST. NO. 34, LOVE AND CARTER COUNTIES. |
| Court | Oklahoma Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court.
1. Public policy requires prompt action on the part of a school district of a county seeking to correct errors made by a county treasurer in erroneously placing funds belonging to such school district to the credit of another school district, instead of apportioning it to said school district rightfully entitled thereto, and where such school district fails to act therein within three years from the date of such erroneous transfer, an action for recovery of the funds is barred by the statute of limitations of three years.
2. Where a school district brings action against another school district of the state involving purely fiscal accounting between them, the complaining school district will not be permitted to invoke the doctrine of governmental sovereignty in order to defeat the plea of the statute of limitations.
Appeal from District Court, Carter County; Asa E. Walden, Judge.
Action by the Joint School District No. 34, lying in Love and Carter Counties, against School District No. 34, of Carter County. Judgment in favor of the plaintiff, and the defendant appeals.
Reversed with directions.
Bass & Hardy, of Ardmore, for plaintiff in error.
Sigler & Jackson, of Ardmore, for defendant in error.
This is an action commenced in the district court of Carter county by defendant in error herein against plaintiff in error herein to recover $2,182.32, that was by the county treasurer of Carter county erroneously credited and apportioned to plaintiff in error herein during the years 1916 to 1924, both inclusive, when the same should have been credited and apportioned to defendant in error herein. The suit was filed January 16, 1929. The plaintiff in error herein, defendant below, pleaded that the action of plaintiff below, defendant in error herein, if any, was barred by the two-year and the three-year statute of limitations.
Upon the trial of said cause a jury was waived, and the case was tried on agreed statement of facts, judgment was rendered for the plaintiff below, defendant in error herein, and the defendant below brings the cause here for review.
The parties will be referred to as they appeared in the trial court.
The agreed statement of facts showed in substance that the plaintiff is a joint school district, lying partly in Love county and partly in Carter county, and that the defendant is a common school district lying wholly within Carter county. That the money sued for was collected by the county treasurer of Carter county from taxes due or owing on real estate and personal property lying and situated in joint school district No. 34, during the years 1916 to 1924, both inclusive, which money so collected for joint school district No. 34 was apportioned and disbursed by mistake of the county treasurer of Carter county to school district No. 34; and the said school district No. 34 drew warrants against said funds and spent said sums of money prior to January 1, 1925.
It was further agreed that the wrongful apportionment and disbursement of said sum was by mistake of the county treasurer and done solely through his neglect and carelessness.
There is but one proposition presented on this appeal; that is does the statute of limitations apply to the plaintiff's claim?
Section 185, C. O. S. 1921, provides:
"Civil actions, other than for the recovery of real property, can only be brought within the following periods, after the cause of action shall have accrued, and not afterwards:
First. Within five years: An action upon any contract, agreement or promise in writing.
Second. Within three years: An action upon a contract express or implied, not in writing; an action upon a...
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