State ex rel. Kimberly-Clark Co. v. Williams

• Decision Date: 04 May 1915
• Parties: STATE EX REL. KIMBERLY-CLARK CO. v. WILLIAMS, CITY CLERK.
• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court

160 Wis. 648

152 N.W. 450

STATE EX REL. KIMBERLY-CLARK CO.

v.WILLIAMS, CITY CLERK.

Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

May 4, 1915.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Outagamie County; John Goodland, Judge.

Certiorari by the State, on relation of the Kimberly-Clark Company, against E. L. Williams, City Clerk. From a judgment affirming the action of a board of review and dismissing the writ, the relator appeals. Reversed and remanded.

The relator is the owner of certain parcels of real estate situated in the city of Appleton. One of these was known as the Telulah Paper Company mill plant. The land on which the mill stood, exclusive of improvements, was assessed at $57,900 in the year 1914, and the improvements were assessed at $275,000, making the total assessment on the property $332,900. Another property owned by the relator is referred to as the Vulcan property. The land and power were assessed at $102,000, and the improvements at $70,000. A third property was known as the Atlas mill; the land and power being assessed at $60,000, and the mill at $60,000. The relator challenged the correctness of the valuation placed upon the buildings and improvements; such challenge reciting that the Telulah mill was not worth to exceed $186,000; that the Vulcan power house was not worth to exceed $51,000; and that the Atlas mill was not worth to exceed $30,000. No objection was made to the value placed upon the land and water power connected with any of these mills.

Pursuant to this challenge, the relator appeared before the board of review and offered the testimony of three witnesses tending to show that the mills were not worth to exceed the amounts set forth in the challenge. No evidence to the contrary was offered. The board of review reduced the assessment on the Atlas mill from $60,000 to $45,000, but made no other change in the valuations. The relator sued out a writ of certiorari to review the proceeding of the board of review, alleging that it acted in excess of its jurisdiction and in total disregard of the uncontradicted evidence before it. The board of review alleged in its return to the writ that, after hearing the evidence presented by the Kimberly-Clark Company, it visited each of the several properties and mills involved, making careful, full, and complete examination of the buildings and machinery connected therewith to ascertain and determine the assessable value of said several properties at the full value which could ordinarily be obtained therefor at private sale, and determined and fixed the assessable values at the amounts hereinbefore stated. The return sets forth the proceedings had before the board of review, including the testimony taken before it. The relator demurred to the return. On the issues thus made up, the court entered judgment affirming the action of the board of review and overruling the demurrer and quashing and dismissing the writ, and awarding respondent $50 for costs and disbursements of the action. From this judgment the relator appeals.Hooper & Hooper, of Oshkosh, for appellant.

Henry D. Ryan, of Appleton, for respondent.

BARNES, J. (after stating the facts as above).

Pursuant to section 1052, Stats., the assessor entered in one column of his roll the valuation placed on the land and water power, and in a second column the value fixed on improvements, and in a third column the aggregate value of these two items as to all three properties involved. The relator found no fault with the valuations placed upon the lands and water power, but did claim that the improvements were grossly overvalued. In support of this claim it produced three competent witnesses who testified before the board of review on the value of these improvements. There was not much variance between the evidence of these witnesses. The Telulah mill had been assessed at $275,000. The evidence offered was to the effect that its value was $186,000. The Vulcan power house had been assessed at $70,000. The evidence offered showed its value to be $51,000. The Atlas mill was assessed at $60,000. The evidence showed that it was not worth to exceed $30,000. No other evidence was offered. The board of review made a personal inspection of the properties, and concluded to reduce the assessment on the Atlas mill $15,000, but did not change the assessor's valuation on the other properties.

[1] The assessment of the relator's property made by the assessor was prima facie correct, and was binding on the board of review in the absence of evidence showing it to be incorrect. State v. Klein, 157 Wis. 308, 147 N. W. 373, and cases cited; State v. Miller, 151 Wis. 184, 138 N. W. 628, and cases cited.

[2] A board of review is not an assessing body, but is a quasi judicial body whose duty it is to hear evidence tending to show errors in the assessment roll, and to decide on such evidence whether or not the assessor's valuation is correct....