Symns v. Graves

• Decision Date: 08 November 1902
• Docket Number: 12,663
• Citation: 65 Kan. 628,70 P. 591
• Parties: JOSEPH A. SYMNS v. ALBERT R. GRAVES, as County Treasurer, etc., et al
• Court: Kansas Supreme Court

70 P. 591

65 Kan. 628

JOSEPH A. SYMNS v. ALBERT R. GRAVES, as County Treasurer, etc., et al

No. 12,663

Supreme Court of Kansas

November 8, 1902

Decided July, 1902.

Error from Doniphan district court; W. I. STUART, judge.

STATEMENT.

ON September 2, 1899, the plaintiff in error, Joseph A. Symns commenced an action in the district court of Doniphan county against Albert R. Graves, as county treasurer, and the board of county commissioners of Doniphan county to restrain the collection of certain taxes for the years 1898 and 1899 on real estate belonging to him. On the trial of the action the court made findings of fact and conclusions of law, such portions of which as are material to the decision of the questions involved being as follows:

"The township assessor of said Wayne township, in March, 1898, and as of March 1 in said year, assessed the real property of plaintiff for taxation for the years 1898 and 1899, of the description and at the assessed valuation as follows, to wit 'The northwest quarter of section 26, township 4, range 20, reduced from a former assessment of $ 4000 and assessed at the value of $ 2400; the northeast quarter of section 26 township 4, range 20, reduced from a former valuation of $ 2500 and assessed at the valuation of $ 1840.' Such assessment was by such assessor duly returned to the county clerk of said Doniphan county. . . .

"Fourth. That the taxable property in said Doniphan county for the years 1898 and 1899 was not assessed at its full actual value in cash, but at much less than its actual value, and the different kinds of property, after the attempted change by equalization by the board of equalization, as stated in finding eighth hereof, were assessed for said years at the following proportionate parts of the actual cash value thereof, to wit: 'Personal property other than money, notes, bonds, mortgages, and securities, at one-third of such value. . . . Money, notes, bonds, mortgages, and securities, at one-half the actual value thereof. . . . Railroads, at the full actual value thereof. . . . Real estate, at one-fourth, of the actual value thereof.' . . .

"Fifth. . . . That considering all said different classes of taxable property in said Doniphan county at the actual cash value thereof and the assessed value thereof and averaging the same, all the said property was assessed for the year 1898 at an average assessed value of thirty-one per cent. of actual value.

"Sixth. . . . That considering all said different classes of taxable property in said Doniphan county at the actual cash value thereof and the assessed value thereof and averaging the same, all the said property was assessed for the year 1899 at an average assessed of thirty-one per cent. of actual value.

"Seventh. That on March 1, 1898, said real property of plaintiff with improvements thereon was of actual, value in cash, as follows: Said northwest quarter of section 26, $ 11,000; said northeast quarter of section 26, $ 8500.

"Eighth. After the return of the assessment rolls of said township assessor to the county clerk, and on the first Monday in June, 1898, the said board of county commissioners met as a board of equalization and caused a record of their proceedings to be kept, and the same was entered in the record on journal of the proceedings of said board as follows, to wit: 'Troy, Doniphan county, Kansas, June 6, 1898.--The board of commissioners of Doniphan county met as a board of equalization and to transact other business. Present: Hon. Chas. E. Miller, A. L. Perry, Hon. W. F. Kiehnhoff, commissioners; W. H. Forncrook, county clerk; J. J. Baker, county attorney, and R. H. Larzelere, sheriff.'

"And thereon said board made eight orders, neither of which related to the equalization of property, and which could only be made by the board as county commissioners, and adjourned, the following being the order of adjournment:

"'The board then adjourned to meet June 7, 1898.'

"'Troy, Doniphan county, Kansas, June 7, 1898.--The board met pursuant to adjournment; all members present.'

"And on such day one order was made by the said board which was not of a nature that could be made by the board of equalization and did not relate to the equalization of property.

"'The board then adjourned to meet June 13, 1898.'

"'Troy, Doniphan county, Kansas, June 13, 1898.--The board met pursuant to adjournment; all members present.'

"And on such day there were nine orders made by said board, neither of which could be made by it as a board of equalization and neither of which related to the equalization of property, and then adjourned, by order, of which the following is a copy:

"'The board of commissioners then adjourned to meet June 14, 1898.'

"'Troy, Doniphan county, Kansas, June 14, 1898.--The board met pursuant to adjournment; all members present.'

"And thereon and on said day there were fifty orders made by the board which related to equalization of property and which could only be made by the board of equalization. Among the orders so made were the following:

"'The assessed valuation of the following described real estate was corrected: . . . N. E. 1/4 section 26, town. 4, range 20, from $ 1840 to $ 2500; N.W. 1/4 section 26, town. 4, range 20, from $ 2400 to $ 4000. . . .

"'The board then adjourned.

W. H. FORNCROOK, County Clerk.

MARGARET SCHLETZBAUM, Deputy.'

"Ninth. Notice of the meeting of said board of county commissioners as a board of equalization was duly published, but the plaintiff had no notice or knowledge of the purpose or intention of said board to raise or equalize the valuation of plaintiff's said real estate, and plaintiff was not present at such meeting. One of the members of said board had never seen and had no personal knowledge of such real estate and the improvements thereon or the value thereof, but had heard that the improvements on said northwest quarter were of the value of eight thousand dollars, and that said northwest quarter was of the actual value of from fourteen to fifteen thousand dollars, and had heard that the improvements on said north-east quarter was of the value of twenty-five hundred to three thousand dollars, and said north-east quarter with such improvements was of the actual value of ten thousand dollars. Two members of said board had passed by and seen such two quarters, northwest and northeast, and believed that the improvements of said northwest quarter were of the value of from eight to ten thousand dollars, and that said quarter-section was of the actual value of from fifteen to sixteen thousand dollars; and that the improvements upon said north-east quarter were of the value of from twenty-five hundred to three thousand dollars, and that said quarter was of the actual value of from nine to ten thousand dollars; and one of these last two members of said board was familiar and knew the value of said real estate and of real estate generally in said Wayne township; and said board, in making the order raising the value on said two quarters intended to raise the same to about the same proportion of what they believed to be the actual cash value thereof as that at which other lands in said county were assessed for said years of 1898 and 1899.

"Tenth. That if said real estate had been assessed in the same proportion to its actual value as in finding seventh that all other property in said county was assessed, said northwest quarter should have been assessed at the value of $ 3410 and said north-east quarter at the value of $ 2635."

"Twenty-first. The said board made such raise of valuation as stated in finding eighth hereof without hearing any evidence as to the actual value of said land, but used their own knowledge thereof, as set out in finding nine, together with their knowledge obtained at the time from examination of tax-rolls and former assessments."

"Twenty-fourth. No separate record was kept of the proceedings of the board of county commissioners when transacting business as a board of equalization, but the proceedings of the board of equalization were kept and entered in the same record or journal as and in connection with the proceedings of such board when acting as a board of county commissioners.

"Twenty-fifth. That if said real property of said plaintiff had been assessed at twenty-five per cent. of its actual value, as found in finding seventh, for the years 1898 and 1899, said northwest quarter would have been assessed at $ 2750, and said northeast quarter would have been assessed at $ 2125."

"CONCLUSIONS OF LAW.

"First. Said plaintiff is not entitled to have the injunction herein made perpetual.

"Second. The temporary injunction heretofore issued in this case should be dissolved.

"Third. The defendants herein are entitled to recover their costs of this action."

The court rendered judgment in accordance with the conclusions of law, and the case was brought to this court for review.

Judgment affirmed.

SYLLABUS

SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.

1. TAXATION -- Board...