T. J. Moss Tie Co. v. Allen

• Decision Date: 20 July 1928
• Docket Number: No. 4459.,4459.
• Citation: 8 S.W.2d 1038
• Parties: T. J. MOSS TIE CO. v. ALLEN, Collector of Revenue.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

8 S.W.2d 1038

T. J. MOSS TIE CO. v. ALLEN, Collector of Revenue.

No. 4459.

Springfield Court of Appeals. Missouri.

July 20, 1928.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Howell County; E. P. Dorris, Judge.

Action by the T. J. Moss Tie Company against Haston Allen, Collector of Revenue of Oregon County, Missouri. Judgment for defendant, and plaintiff appealed to the Supreme Court, which transferred the case to the Court of Appeals. Reversed and remanded, with directions.

See, also, 300 S. W. 486.

W. J. Orr, of Springfield, and Will H. D. Green, of West Plains, for appellant.

Bryan, Williams & Cave, of St. Louis, for respondent.

COX, P. J.

This is an action in equity to enjoin the collection of a part of the taxes levied upon the land of plaintiff for the year 1925, on the ground that a value of $5 per acre placed upon the land by the assessor is void as to all that part of the valuation above $1.45 per acre. The land lies in Oregon County, and the suit was begun in that county. A change of venue was awarded to Howell county, and upon trial in that county the judgment went for defendant, and plaintiff appealed to the Supreme Court. That court held it was without jurisdiction, and transferred the case to this court.

The petition alleges that plaintiff is a corporation; that defendant is the collector of revenue in and for Oregon county, Missouri; that plaintiff owns about 57,784.02 acres of wild unimproved land in Oregon county; that said land is valuable only for the small amount of tie timber left thereon; that all the merchantable timber was cut from said land long before plaintiff purchased it in 1923; that on December 18, 1924, the plaintiff filed with the assessor of said county its assessment list, including all of said lands, and fixed a value thereof at $1.45 per acre, that being the price plaintiff had paid for the land, and it also being the full value of said lands; that the assessor of the county refused to accept the value as given by plaintiff in its assessment list, but wrongfully, intentionally, and arbitrarily assessed said lands at $5 per acre, the same being many times their true value; that said valuation, as arbitrarily and intentionally fixed by the county assessor, is discriminatory, confiscatory, and not uniform with the value of other real estate so fixed by him in said county, and is in violation of certain sections of the state and federal Constitutions; that plaintiff appealed from said assessment to the Oregon county board of equalization; that said board of equalization arbitrarily refused to hear any proof in support of plaintiff's appeal, but then and there arbitrarily announced through its chairman that the assessment made by the assessor would be confirmed, and it was confirmed; that the taxes were extended on the tax books against the lands of plaintiff on the valuation of $5 per acre, and the county collector is attempting to collect said taxes; that plaintiff has tendered all taxes due on its lands at a valuation of $1.45 per acre. This is followed by a list of plaintiffs' lands by tracts, all lands in the same section being listed as a separate tract. These lists show 126 tracts, totaling 57,784.02 acres, with each tract showing a valuation placed thereon by plaintiff of approximately $1.45 per acre. This is followed by an offer to pay into court all taxes due for 1925 on a valuation of $1.45 per acre on all of plaintiff's lands, and a prayer that the collection of all taxes above that amount be enjoined, and plaintiff's lands be declared free from all liens for same, and for all other and further relief.

A demurrer to this petition was filed and overruled, and defendant then filed an answer, in which it was admitted that plaintiff is a corporation and owner of the lands described in plaintiff's petition; admits that plaintiff filed a list of its lands with the assessor and attempted to place the value of $1.45 per acre thereon, and that the assessor raised the value to $5 per acre, and that the same had been extended on the tax books, and that plaintiff duly appealed to the Oregon county board of equalization. It then alleges that said board, after hearing all the testimony offered, and considering it in connection with their own knowledge of said lands and of the average valuation of all the real estate in the county, rendered a verdict and judgment confirming the assessment made by the assessor; further answering, it is admitted that Haston Allen is collector, and is attempting to collect the taxes assessed against plaintiff's lands; alleges that there is no land in Oregon county assessed at less than $5 per acre, and that all lands owned by other parties that are of the same class as is plaintiff's lands are assessed at $5 per acre or more, and that none of plaintiff's lands are assessed at more than their true value, but that thousands of acres of plaintiff's lands should be assessed at $12 to $15 per acre.

No reply was filed to this answer. The court made no finding of facts, but found the issues for defendant, and also found that the total tax involved was $3,838.96, and the penalty then due was $115.17, and then rendered judgment against plaintiff for that amount and declared it a lien on the land described in the petition.

At the beginning of the trial a number of admissions of facts were made, which covers the facts admitted by the pleadings, and both the petition and answer were put in evidence. Mr. J. H. Hahn, who had been in charge of these lands for the former owner, the Ozark Land & Timber Company, for years, and who sold it to plaintiff, testified that the Ozark Land & Lumber Company cut over 144,000 acres of timber land in Shannon, Carter, and Oregon counties, and removed and manufactured into lumber practically all the pine and some oak. The cutting was completed in 1912, and these cut-over lands were then put on the market. In May, 1923, 103,259 acres, of which about 57,800 acres were located in Oregon county, were sold to plaintiff. The average price paid was $1.45 per acre. After the timber was cut from these lands, it was advertised for sale for about 12 years, and the only bona fide offer for the lands received in that time was the bid of the plaintiff at $1.45 per acre, which was accepted and the lands sold in 1923 for that price. There was no market value on such land, as there was no sale for it. The north boundary of the Oregon county land is 11 miles from a railroad, and the distance increases to the south to about 23 miles. The entire tract is very rough, and it is not adjacent to any improved highway. There are few settlements in the vicinity of this land. At one time since the timber was cut off, the Ozark Land & Lumber Company leased 7,000 acres to Dr. Davis, presiding judge of the present Oregon county court, and associates, for a term of five years at an annual rental of 10 cents per acre. The owner furnished the wire to fence it and the lessees put up the fence. The lease was in force for two years, but in the third year the lessees paid $500 to secure a cancellation of the lease. Several years later the same land and 5,000 acres additional was leased to another party. This lease was also surrendered after an attempt to use the land for pasture. The land covered by these leases was the best watered in the whole tract of 57,800 acres and the best suited for pasture. While the land owned by other people in the vicinity of this land is rough in spots, it is by no means all so. Probably 20 per cent. of this land in Oregon county is smooth enough for farming, but such soil as there is, is very thin and unsuitable for farming. Further, the cost of clearing such land would run from $5 to $15 per acre before the land would be ready to cultivate, and what could be produced from the land would not justify the expense of clearing it. He did not know how the land could be profitably utilized.

There was a great deal of other evidence of witnesses as to the location and topography of plaintiff's lands—timber on it, character of soil, etc., all for the purpose of trying to show the actual value of the land. There was a wide difference in the testimony of witnesses as to the value of this land for pasture, the production of mast, the amount of tie timber on it, the percentage of it that could be cultivated and what it would produce; plaintiff's witnesses usually placing the value of the entire body of land at about $1.45 per acre, the amount at which plaintiff listed it in the assessment list filed by it, and defendant's witnesses usually placing the value at $5 per acre or more. It is practically admitted that the board of equalization, a few years prior to this assessment, placed all wild land in the county at $5 per acre, and that it had all been assessed at that value ever since. The county clerk of Oregon county testified that the average assessment of all land in the county was about $9 per acre; that it was the intention of the board of equalization to put all wild land in the county on the same basis—that is, $5 per acre—and this included wild land used in connection with farms. It was shown that wild land...