Sullivan v. Blakesley

• Decision Date: 15 June 1926
• Docket Number: 1392,1397
• Citation: 35 Wyo. 73,246 P. 918
• Parties: SULLIVAN v. BLAKESLEY, County Treasurer, et al. [*] ; SAME v. GREYBULL VALLEY IRR. DIST. et al
• Court: Wyoming Supreme Court

246 P. 918

35 Wyo. 73

SULLIVAN v. BLAKESLEY, County Treasurer, et al. ^[*] ;

SAME v. GREYBULL VALLEY IRR. DIST. et al

Nos. 1392, 1397

Supreme Court of Wyoming

June 15, 1926

[Copyrighted Material Omitted]

RESERVED CASE from District Court, Big Horn County; PERCY W METZ, Judge.

Action by E. J. Sullivan, for himself and others having a common interest, against Lou Blakesley, Tax Collector of Big Horn County, and others, and by the same plaintiff against the Greybull Valley Irrigation District and others. Briefs filed in case 1392 were used in both cases.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

Plaintiff E. J. Sullivan, brings this action on behalf of himself and others similarly situated, against Lou Blakesley, County Treasurer of Big Horn County, and the Commissioners of the Greybull Valley Irrigation District. The petition alleges the due organization of said irrigation district under the laws of this state; that an assessment against the lands in said district was made in 1925, to meet the expenses of the district for the current year; that plaintiff is the owner of lands affected by such assessment, and that the county treasurer of said county threatens to sell such land for the non-payment of such assessment; that the commissioners of said irrigation district threaten to issue and sell the bonds of said district, said bonds to be paid by assessments levied against the property of plaintiff and others similarly situated; that the irrigation district law of this state is unconstitutional for various specified reasons, and plaintiff accordingly seeks an injunction against the collection of said tax and the issuance of the bonds aforesaid. The case comes to this court upon reserved constitutional questions, and we are asked to answer whether or not the irrigation district law of this state is in conflict with the following provisions of the constitution of this state, namely:

(1) Section 37, Article 3, reading as follows:

"The legislature shall not delegate to any special commissioner, private corporation or association, any power to make, supervise or interfere with any municipal improvements, moneys, property or effects, whether held in trust or otherwise, to levy taxes, or to perform any municipal functions whatever."

(2) Section 2, Article 13, reading as follows:

"No municipal corporation shall be organized without the consent of the majority of the electors residing within the district proposed to be so incorporated, such consent to be ascertained in the manner and under such regulations as may be prescribed by law."

(3) Section 11, Article 15, reading as follows:

"All property, except as in this constitution otherwise provided, shall be uniformly assessed for taxation, and the legislature shall prescribe such regulations as shall secure a just valuation for taxation of all property, real and personal."

(4) Section 28, Article 1, reading as follows:

"No tax shall be imposed without the consent of the people or their authorized representatives. All taxation shall be equal and uniform."

(5) Section 2, Article 16, reading as follows:

"No debt in excess of the taxes for the current year, shall in any manner be created in the state of Wyoming, unless the proposition to create such debt shall have been submitted to a vote of the people and by them approved; except to suppress insurrection or to provide for the public defense."

(6) Section 4, Article 16, reading as follows:

"No debt in excess of the taxes for the current year shall, in any manner, be created by any county or subdivision thereof, or any city, town or village, or any subdivision thereof in the state of Wyoming, unless the proposition to create such debt shall have been submitted to a vote of the people thereof and by them approved. "

(7) Section 27, Article 3, reading as follows:

"The legislature shall not pass local or special laws in any of the following enumerated cases, that is to say; * * * for the assessment or collection of taxes. * * * In all other cases where a general law can be made applicable no special law shall be enacted."

(8) Section 33, Article 1, reading as follows:

"Private property shall not be taken or damaged for public or private use without just compensation."

(9) Section 13, Article 15, reading as follows:

"No tax shall be levied, except in pursuance of law, and every law imposing a tax shall state distinctly the object of the same, to which only it shall be applied."

The irrigation district law referred to is contained in chapter 75, W. C. S. 1920, being sections 951 to 956 inclusive, first passed by the legislature of this state in 1920. Some amendments to this law were made in 1921, as shown by chapters 54 and 121 of the Session Laws of that year, and in 1923, as shown by chapters 14 and 91 of the Session Laws of that year, and in 1925, as shown by chapters 52 and 53 of the Session Laws of that year. For the purposes of this case, it will be sufficient to state the following provisions of the law: A certain number of owners or holders of land in the district may sign and present to the district court a petition, stating therein the name of the proposed district, the necessity of the proposed work, the object and purpose thereof, a general description of the lands proposed to be included in the district, the names of the free-holders owning lands therein, and a prayer for the organization of the district. A preliminary engineering report on the feasibility of the project must accompany the petition. Section 951, W. C. S. 1920. The court or the judge thereof must cause notice to be given of the presentation of the petition, fixing the date for the hearing thereon. Sections 953 to 955. Upon the hearing, the district court may approve and confirm the petition, define the boundaries of the district and establish it as a corporation by the name proposed with powers to sue and be sued, adopt a corporate seal, have perpetual succession, exercise the power of eminent domain, and generally carry out the purposes of the organization. Section 960, as amended by c. 53, Sess. L. 1925. Commissioners are appointed by the court, who are required to organize, who constitute the corporate authority of the district, who are declared to be public officers, and for whom successors are provided by election. Sections 987 and 960, 963, 992, as amended. Other lands may subsequently be included in the district, and lands originally embraced therein may be excluded therefrom. Section 964, as amended, and section 966. Immediately after the organization of the district, the commissioners thereof are required to cause surveys, a map, plans and specifications to be made of the proposed work, and determine, as near as may be, the cost of said work. They must assess against the lands embraced within the district the total amounts of benefits, such benefits to constitute the basis of all assessments; apportion and assess the cost of construction, with certain exceptions which need not be noted here, against the several benefited tracts in the irrigation district, in proportion to the benefits which have been assessed against the same, and apportion the water right, expected to be acquired by the proposed work, to each tract of land assessed. A report of such action must be made to the court. Section 964, as amended. Notice of the hearing thereon must be given to all parties interested. Upon such hearing, the court may confirm the report of the commissioners and the assessments made as aforesaid, which assessments may be made payable in installments, as fixed by the court. Sections 967, 970, and section 973, as amended. Additional assessments may be made subsequently, to be confirmed by the court upon due notice given to the interested parties. Section 979, as amended by chapter 14, Sess. L. 1923. The assessments become a lien upon the various tracts assessed and may be enforced in the same manner as a judgment, or may be assessed and collected as taxes. Sections 977, 985, and sec. 975, as amended, and sec. 976, as amended. The commissioners may borrow money and issue the bonds of the district therefor, and such bonds are declared to be a lien upon the assessments for the repayment of the principal and interest thereof. Section 981, as amended by chapter 14, Sess. L. 1923. More specific provisions as to some of these matters will be set forth in the opinion.

L. A. Bowman, for plaintiff.

An irrigation district is a private corporation; Chapter 75, Wyo. C. S. 1920 is unconstitutional in delegating power to private corporations, powers forbidden by Article 3, Section 37 Const. The Act is in conflict with other provisions of the State Constitution, viz: Art. 13, Sec. 2, prohibiting the organization of municipal corporations without the consent of the electors residing within the district.

Art. 15, Sec. 11, requiring uniform taxation.

Art. 1, Sec. 28, prohibiting the imposition of taxes without the consent of the people or their representatives.

Art. 1, Sec. 33, prohibiting the taking of private property for public or private use without just compensation.

Art. 16, Sec. 4, prohibiting debts in excess of current annual taxes.

Art. 3, Sec. 27, prohibiting the enactment of special laws for the assessment of taxes.

Districts provided for by the Act are private corporations; Board v. Houston, 71 Ill. 318; Ten Eyck v. Canal Co., 37 Am. Dec. 233; Interstate Co. v. Irr. Dist., 66 Colo. 219; Kinnie v. Bare, (Mich.) 56 N.W. 672. If districts organized under Chapter 75, C. S. are public or quasi public corporations that are void under the provisions of the Constitution, particularly Article 13, Section 2, some of the cases support the doctrine that they are public corporations; Pioneer Dist. v. Walker, 20 Idaho 805; Brown Bros. v. Dist., (Wash.) 144 P. 74; Peters...