Williams v. Segur
| Decision Date | 18 June 1885 |
| Docket Number | 11,970 |
| Citation | 1 N.E. 707,106 Ind. 368 |
| Parties | Williams, Treasurer, v. Segur |
| Court | Indiana Supreme Court |
Petition for a Rehearing Overruled June 25, 1886.
From the Steuben Circuit Court.
The judgment is affirmed, with costs.
A. A Chapin and W. S. O'Rourke, for appellant.
J Morris, C. H. Aldrich and J. M. Barrett, for appellee.
This was a suit by the appellee, Segur, to enjoin the appellant, Williams, as the treasurer of Steuben county, from collecting certain additional taxes, which the auditor of such county had, upon written notice to Segur, caused to be entered on the tax-duplicate against him and his property. Appellee's complaint was in one paragraph, which the appellant answered in a single special or affirmative paragraph. Appellee's demurrer was sustained to such answer, and the appellant declining to amend or plead further, the court, by its judgment or decree, granted the appellee an injunction as prayed for in his complaint.
Error is assigned here by the appellant upon the decision of the circuit court in sustaining the demurrer to his answer to appellee's complaint.
In his complaint the appellee, Segur, alleged that he was, and had been for five years last past, a citizen and resident taxpayer of Steuben county, and as such, during all such years, had duly listed and returned for taxation to the proper assessor and other officers, demanding the same, a full and complete description of all his real and personal property of every kind, including each item as set forth in the schedule prescribed by statute, and had paid taxes thereon and on all amounts, as each and every article was returned by the assessor for the purposes of taxation. And the appellee averred that, on the 12th day of June, 1883, one Robert H. Johnson was, and since had been, the auditor of Steuben county, and, as such auditor, he on that day entered into a written contract with the board of commissioners of such county, whereby such county auditor was employed by such county board, among other things, "to diligently search for and discover in a lawful manner omitted, concealed and unassessed taxable property, as provided for by section 6416," R. S. 1881. In consideration of the services of such county auditor, under such contract, the county board therein covenanted and agreed to pay such auditor "a sum equal to thirty per centum of the money and taxes recovered by the treasurer of such county, by reason of the aforesaid discoveries" of such county auditor, and that such contract should continue in force for one year from the date thereof.
And the appellee further alleged, that immediately after the county auditor, Robert H. Johnson, had entered into such contract, and induced thereby and by his hope of gain thereunder, he on the 1st day of September, 1883, increased the valuation of the property theretofore returned by appellee for taxation, and exhibited by him to and valued by the assessor of Milgrove township, in such county, where the appellee resided, for each of the years 1881, 1882 and 1883, from the amount of $ 100 for 1881 to $ 300 for 1882 and $ 300 for 1883, thus wrongfully and unlawfully adding to the tax-duplicate against appellee the sum of $ 400; that, prior to so doing, the auditor, Johnson, mailed a notice to appellee to appear on a day therein named and show cause why a certain amount should not be assessed against him for omitted property; that the appellee, knowing he had fully returned all his property for taxation, and believing that the county auditor, by reason of his interest in finding adversely to appellee, under his aforesaid contract with the county board, was incapacitated from acting therein and his decision would be void, did not respond to such notice; that thereupon such auditor so found as aforesaid and entered such amount on the tax-duplicate which was then in the hands of appellant, as the treasurer of Steuben county, who, as such treasurer, was threatening to, and would, if not enjoined from so doing, levy upon and sell appellee's property, to his irreparable injury; that such addition to the tax-duplicate, so made as aforesaid, was not on account of any omitted property, or so claimed to be, but was an increase in the valuation of the property, theretofore returned by the appellee, and upon which he had theretofore paid all the taxes levied, and the valuation of which was thus arbitrarily and corruptly increased by such county auditor for the reasons aforesaid.
And the appellee, who was a land-owner in such county and taxpayer therein, averred that such pretended tax or lien was wholly void for the following, among other reasons: That the appellee had fully returned all property owned or in any manner possessed or controlled by him, all of which had been duly listed and assessed by the proper officer, and such county auditor had no power to increase such assessment; that such auditor was interested in his decisions against appellee, by reason of such contract, and was, therefore incompetent to act in the premises; and that appellee had fully paid all taxes legally assessed against him,...
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