Walston v. Nevin Roach v. Same

• Decision Date: 10 December 1888
• Citation: 128 U.S. 578,9 S.Ct. 192,32 L.Ed. 544
• Parties: WALSTON et al. v. NEVIN et al. ROACH et al. v. SAME. 1
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

128 U.S. 578

9 S.Ct. 192

32 L.Ed. 544

WALSTON et al. v. NEVIN et al.

ROACH et al.

v. SAME.¹

December 10, 1888.

H. M. Lane and J. K. Goodloe, for the motions.

B. F. Buckner, contra.

FULLER, C. J.

Judgment was rendered in the Louisville chancery court in favor of the defendants in error in the first of the above-named causes, directing the enforcement of a lien given by a statute of the commonwealth of Kentucky approved March 24, 1882, entitled 'An act to amend the charter of the city of Louisville,' by a sale of certain lots in the city of Louisville owned by plaintiffs in error, to pay the amounts assessed against such lots for a local improvement, and, upon appeal, was affirmed by the court of appeals of Kentucky. In the second case, which arose upon another local improvement, but involves the same questions here, the Louisville chancery court denied the defendants in error relief, because in its opinion the proceedings for the improvement had not been properly taken; but the court of appeals reversed the judgment of the chancellor, and remanded the cause, 'with directions to enforce the lien and for proceedings consistent with the opinion herein, which is ordered to be certified to said court.' Writs of error were thereupon prosecuted to this court, to dismiss which motions are now made, united with motions to affirm under the rule.

A preliminary objection is raised that defendants in error should have caused the entire record to be printed. But we only require the printing of so much of the record as will enable us to act understandingly without referring to the transcript; and if, in the judgment of counsel opposing the motions, more in that respect was needed, he might have made such specific reference thereto as would have enabled counsel for the moving parties to have supplied it. As the cases stand, we have apparently been furnished with quite enough for the disposition of the questions involved.

The parts of the statute necessary to be considered upon these motions are as follows: 'Section 1. 'Public ways,' as used in this act, shall mean all public streets, alleys, sidewalks, roads, lanes, avenues, highways, and thoroughfares, and shall be under the exclusive management and control of said city, with power to improve them by original construction and reconstruction thereof as may be prescribed by ordinance. 'Improvements,' as applied to public ways, shall mean all work and material used upon them in the construction and reconstruction thereof, and shall be made and done as may be prescribed either by ordinance or contract, approved by the general council. Sec. 2. When the improvement is the original construction of any street, road, lane, alley, or avenue, such improvement shall be made at the exclusive costs of the owners of lots in each fourth of a square, to be equally apportioned by the general council according to the number of square feet owned by them, respectively, except that corner lots (say thirty feet front, and extending back as may be prescribed by ordinance) shall pay twenty-five per cent more than others for such improvements. Each subdivision of territory bounded on all sides by principal streets shall be deemed a square. When the territory contiguous to any public way is not defined into squares by principal streets, the ordinance providing for the improvement of such public way shall state the depth on both side, fronting said improvement to be assessed for the cost of making the same according to the number of square feet owned by the parties respectively within the depth as set out in the ordinance. A lien shall exist for the cost of original improvement of public ways, * * * for the apportionment, and interest thereon at the rate of six per cent. per annum, against the respective lots, and payments may be enforced upon the property bound therefor by proceedings in court; and no error in the proceedings of the general council shall exempt from payment, after the work has been done, as required by either the ordinance or contract; but the general council, or the courts in which suits may be pending, shall make all corrections, rules, and orders to do justice to all parties concerned. * * * Sec. 4. * * * When improvements in public ways have been made, * * * and the contract therefor completed, the city engineer shall, by one insertion in one of the daily newspapers published in...