Utah Oil Refining Co. v. Hendrix
Decision Date | 18 March 1952 |
Docket Number | No. 7847,7847 |
Citation | 242 P.2d 124,72 Idaho 407 |
Parties | UTAH OIL REFINING CO. v. HENDRIX et al. |
Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
Oscar W. Worthwine and Robert W. Green, Boise, for plaintiff.
Merlin S. Young, Prosecuting Atty., and Blaine F. Evans, Deputy Prosecuting Atty., Boise, for defendants.
Robert E. Smylie, Atty. Gen., and Edward J. Aschenbrener, Asst. Atty. Gen., as amici curiae.
This is an original proceeding in this court whereby plaintiff seeks a writ of mandate to compel defendants to obey an order of the State Tax Commission. The petition of plaintiff, the answer of defendants and plaintiff's motion to strike the affirmative defenses set out in the answer constitute the pleadings. Briefs having been filed, and oral argument in open court having been heard, the matter is now before this court for determination.
The underlying facts as set out in plaintiff's petition are admitted by the answer of defendants. Plaintiff is the owner of a terminal tank storage facility for the storage of petroleum products located in Ada County. Defendant Leonardson, Assessor of Ada County, assessed such storage facility for the year 1951 in the amount of $59,250. Plaintiff, deeming itself aggrieved by such valuation placed upon its property, appealed from such assessment and complained thereof to the Ada County Board of Equalization as prescribed by Section 63-402 I.C., on the ground that such assessment placed an unjust valuation for taxation on plaintiff's property, was illegal and exorbitant, and would compel plaintiff to bear an unequal burden of taxation in Ada County. The Ada County Board of Equalization held hearings on such appeal and complaint, and on July 9, 1951, finally denied plaintiff's appeal and confirmed the assessment theretofore made by defendant Leonardson.
Thereafter, in timely fashion, plaintiff made and perfected its appeal from the Ada County Board of Equalization to the State Tax Commission of Idaho in accordance with the provisions of Section 63-2210 I.C., as amended by the 1949 Session Laws, Chapter 118, p. 211, as amended by the 1951 Session Laws, Chapter 81, p. 150. On August 20, 1951, the state tax commission held a hearing on said appeal at which hearing were present counsel for plaintiff, counsel for defendants and counsel for the tax commission. Testimony was taken and the matter presented and submitted. On November 5, 1951, the state tax commission determined the matter and entered its order in writing as follows:
'This matter was heard before this Commission on August 20, 1951, upon the appeal of the Utah Oil Refining Co., a corporation, from an order of the County Board of Equalization of Ada County, which said order sustained the County Assessor's assessment of certain storage tanks, for 1951, in the amount of $59,250.00, which said storage tanks, situate in Ada County, are owned by appellant and used for storage of oil and other petroleum products.
'Oscar W. Worthwine, Esq., of Boise, Idaho, appeared for appellant; Merlin S. Young, Prosecuting Attorney, appeared for Ada County; and J. N. Leggat, Assistant Attorney General appeared as counsel for the Commission.
'Ordered, that the County Assessor, and the County Board of Equalization of Ada County shall make such changes in the assessment roll as are necessary to make this Order effective.
'Dated at Boise, Idaho, this 5th day of November, 1951.'
Such order was duly served upon defendants. No appeal therefrom was taken by plaintiff or defendants to the district court of Ada County within the time allowed or at all as provided by the 1949 Session Laws, Chapter 119, now appearing as Section 63-2214 I.C., in the 1951 Cumulative Pocket Supplement to Idaho Code.
After the time for appeal had expired, defendants notified plaintiff in writing on December 12, 1951, that they refused to comply with such order of the state tax commission for the asserted reason that said order was in excess of the commission's constitutional powers and would result in an inequitable and unequal assessment between the same class of taxpayers in Ada County.
The answer of defendants contains six, numbered, affirmative defenses. Plaintiff has moved to strike all of such affirmative defenses on the ground that they constitute collateral attacks upon the order of the tax commission, and urges that such order is not subject to collateral attack except upon jurisdictional grounds. Affirmative Defenses Nos. I and IV, which will be hereinafter discussed, are not vulnerable in this respect and the motion to strike them is not well taken.
Affirmative Defenses Nos. II, III, V and VI may be briefly summarized as follows: The state tax commission made no finding of fact upon which to base said order; the state tax commission had an adequate remedy under its original jurisdiction to correct an erroneous assessment by filing a supplemental assessment roll as provided by Section 63-513 I.C.; if defendants had obeyed said order, it would have resulted in unequal taxation among taxpayers of the same class in Ada County; and the state tax commission was estopped to make such order because it had theretofore filed its certificate with the Auditor of Ada County showing the total amount of state taxes for said county based upon the equalized valuation of all taxable property therein, and such order would reduce such valuation and cause the county to pay more than its proportionate share of the state tax. These four affirmative defenses constitute collateral attacks upon the order of the tax commission; and it is, in effect, so admitted by defendants. Further, defendants do not seriously urge that a collateral attack, except for want of jurisdiction, will lie against such order of the tax commission. The order of the tax commission is immune to collateral attack to the same extent as judicial decisions. 49 C.J.S., Judgments, § 407, pages 804-805, subpar. d; State Tax Commission v. J. & W. Auto Service, 92 Utah 123, 66 P.2d 141; City of Phoenix v. Sanner, 54 Ariz. 363, 95 P.2d 987; City of Phoenix v. Wright, 61 Ariz. 458, 150 P.2d 93. The motion of plaintiff to strike such four affirmative defenses from the answer of defendants is meritorious.
Affirmative Defense No. I of defendants alleges plaintiff has a plain and adequate remedy at law in that it has the right to pay its taxes under protest and to bring an action for refund as provided in Section 63-2213 I.C. Defendants did not urge or discuss this defense in their brief or on oral argument. It seems obvious that such section does not afford plaintiff a plain, speedy and adequate remedy at law. The right plaintiff seeks to enforce is obedience to the order of the tax commission. A writ of mandate is a proper remedy available to plaintiff. Section 7-302 I.C.; Maguire v. Whillock, 63 Idaho 630, 124 P.2d 248; Reynard v. City of Caldwell, 53 Idaho 62, 21 P.2d 527, 90 A.L.R. 1124; Blomquist v. Board of County Com'rs, 25 Idaho 284, 137 P. 174.
By their Affirmative Defense No. IV, defendants allege, in effect, that the state tax commission, in making such order, was acting in excess of its constitutional powers and invading the constitutional powers and duties of the Ada County Board of Equalization, and that therefore, its order was and is void. Under this defense, defendants contend that Section 63-2210 I.C., as amended by the 1949 Session Laws, Chapter 118, p. 211, and amended by the 1951 Session Laws, Chapter 81, p. 150, is unconstitutional in that it conflicts with Article VII, Section 12 of the Idaho State Constitution. Said Section 63-2210 I.C., now reads as follows:
'Any time within twenty days after the first publication or posting of the statement, as required by Section 31-819, Idaho Code, of the proceedings of any meeting of the board of county commissioners, sitting as a board of equalization, an appeal may be taken from any act, order or proceedings of the board, to the state tax commission, by any person aggrieved thereby, or by any taxpayer of the county when he deems any such act, order of proceeding illegal or prejudicial to the public interest, but nothing in this section shall be construed so as to suspend the payment of taxes pending said appeal.
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