Sidey v. City of Marceline, Mo.

• Decision Date: 20 October 1916
• Docket Number: 4648.
• Citation: 237 F. 168
• Parties: SIDEY v. CITY OF MARCELINE, MO. [1]
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

237 F. 168

SIDEY v. CITY OF MARCELINE, MO. ^[1]

No. 4648.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

October 20, 1916

W. D Tatlow, of Springfield, Mo. (John H. Overall, of St. Louis Mo., on the brief), for plaintiff in error.

H. J West, of Brookfield, Mo. (John C. Crawley, of Marceline, Mo on the brief), for defendant in error.

Before SMITH and CARLAND, Circuit Judges, and AMIDON, District Judge.

AMIDON District Judge.

This is a suit to recover on municipal bonds amounting to $6,000, issued by the city of Marceline, Mo., for the purpose of building an electric light plant. The city was organized in 1888. The election for the issuance of bonds was held in June, 1890. The bonds were dated in July, and were actually sold in August, 1890. The Constitution of Missouri (article 10, Sec. 12) limits the amount of indebtedness of the city to 'five per cent. of the value of the taxable property therein, to be ascertained by the assessment next before the last assessment for state and county purposes, previous to the incurring of such indebtedness. ' Under the revenue laws of Missouri the assessor has six months, from June 1st of one year to January 1st of the following year, within which to make the assessment. The assessment roll then goes into the custody of other officials, such as boards of equalization, and may not be completed until late in the year following the June 1st upon which it is commenced. Property is assessed at its value on June 1st, and, although the assessment may not be completed until a year or more after June 1st, it speaks as of that date. There was no assessment of property by the city of Marceline for the year 1888, because the city was organized that year. The first assessment occurred in 1889. The assessment for 1890, the year in which the bonds were issued, had only started at the time the bonds were sold, and was not completed until months afterward. The trial court held that the assessment limiting the bonds here in question was for the year 1888. It held that the 'last assessment' for city and county purposes previous to the issuance of the bonds was 1889. The property which was finally embraced in Marceline was part of a school township in 1888, and was taxed under township authority. The total assessed value of the property in the entire township for that year was $89,945. That would support a bond issue of only $4,497.25. For that reason the trial court held that the $6,000 issue involved in this suit was in excess of the constitutional limitation and void. The case was tried before court and jury upon the pleadings and agreed statement of facts. Both parties moved for a directed verdict. The court denied plaintiff's motion, and granted defendant's, to which ruling plaintiff excepted. Upon the verdict thus directed, judgment was entered dismissing the complaint upon the merits. Plaintiff brings error.

Plaintiff's first contention is based upon the fact that the assessment for 1890 had commenced before the bonds were sold, and that assessment, when afterwards completed, fixed the value of property in Marceline on the 1st day of June, 1890. For this reason it is contended that the assessment for 1890 was the 'last assessment for state and county purposes previous to the incurring of the indebtedness,' and that the 'assessment next before' was for the year 1889. The valuation for that year would sustain the bond issue. There are two reasons why the trial court properly refused to sustain this position of plaintiff: First, the object of the constitutional provision of Missouri defining the assessment that should fix the value of the property for bonding purposes was to select an assessment sufficiently remote from the bond issue, so that property could not have been assessed for the purpose of laying a foundation for incurring the debt. To sustain plaintiff's position would defeat this object of the Constitution and make it possible to base a bond issue upon an assessment so near that it could be manipulated for the very purpose of evading the Constitution. Second, the Supreme Court of Missouri, in State ex rel. Dexter v. Gordon, 251 Mo. 303, 158 S.W. 683, had this provision of the Constitution before it, and decided as the unanimous opinion of the court that to meet the requirements of this section the assessment must be completed at the time the...