Sears v. Vary

• Citation: 94 N.E. 467,208 Mass. 208
• Parties: SEARS et al. v. VARY et al., Town Assessors (two cases).
• Decision Date: 02 March 1911
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts

208 Mass. 208
94 N.E. 467

SEARS et al.
v.
VARY et al., Town Assessors (two cases).

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Essex.

March 2, 1911.

Petition for mandamus and certiorari by Frederick R. Sears and others against Charles D. Vary and others. Petition dismissed.

C. H. Tyler, [208 Mass. 209]O. D. Young, B. E. Eames, and W. C. Rice, for petitioners.

hudson & Nichols, for respondents.

KNOWLTON, C. J.

These are two petitions, one for a writ of mandamus and the other for a writ of certiorari, against the respondents, who are assessors of the town of Nahant. The purpose of the petitions is to correct an alleged error of the respondents in assessing personal property to the petitioners as executors of the will of Frederick R. Sears. The petition for a writ of mandamus is for a process commanding the respondents as assessors to abate the tax. To this a demurrer was filed. The petition shows that the respondents, who are a quasi judicial board, heard the application of the petitioners for an abatement of the tax and denied it. There is no reason to doubt that they decided the questions raised by the application in accordance with their view of the law and facts before them. This court has no right to command them to decide otherwise. Gibbs v. Hampden County Commissioners, 19 Pick. 298;Chase v. Blackstone Canal Company, 10 Pick. 244;In re Morse, 18 Pick. 443;United States v. Lawrence, 3 Dall. 42, 1 L. Ed. 502. This is so because it is their right and duty to decide according to their own best judgment.

Besides, the court will not issue a writ of mandamus where there is another remedy provided by statute. Perry v. Hull, 180 Mass. 547, 62 N. E. 962;Selectmen of Gardner v. Templeton Street Railway Company, 184 Mass. 294-297, 68 N. E. 340;Finlay v. Boston, 196 Mass. 267, 82 N. E. 5. The demurrer was rightly sustained.

The petition for a writ of certiorari is founded upon the same facts. They are set out in Sears v. Assessors of Nahant, 205 Mass. 558, 91 N. E. 913, as well as in the petition. The petition shows that a petition for an abatement of the tax in question was denied by the assessors, and that then the petitioners filed their appeal to the superior court under R. L. c. 12, § 78, and that that [208 Mass. 210]court dismissed the appeal and reported the case to this court, which ordered a judgment to be entered upon the finding in favor of the respondents.

These petitioners now seek to have this court issue a writ of certiorari to the assessors, for the purpose...