Woll v. Thomas

• Decision Date: 29 April 1891
• Docket Number: 44
• Citation: Woll v. Thomas, 1 Ind.App. 232, 27 N.E. 578 (Ind. App. 1891)
• Parties: WOLL, TREASURER, v. THOMAS, ADMINISTRATOR
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

27 N.E. 578

1 Ind.App. 232

WOLL, TREASURER, v. THOMAS, ADMINISTRATOR

No. 44

Court of Appeals of Indiana

April 29, 1891

From the Cass Circuit Court.

Judgment affirmed, with costs.

A. G Jenkins, J. W. McGreevy and S. T. McConnell, for appellant.

J. C Nelson, Q. A. Myers and W. E. Penfield, for appellee.

OPINION

CRUMPACKER, J.

John Thomas died in Cass county, Indiana, in 1887, and the appellee was appointed administrator of his estate.He gave due notice of his appointment, and proceeded with the duties of his trust, and on the 21st day of November, 1888, filed his final settlement report in the Cass Circuit Court, which was set for hearing by the clerk for December 13th, 1888, and due notice was given accordingly.

The hearing of the final report was postponed until the 17th day of December, on which day Charles Woll, treasurer of Cass county, appeared and filed exceptions to the report, upon the ground that a claim for unpaid taxes was pending against said estate undisposed of.At the time of filing such exceptions he filed a claim against the estate, in the form of a complaint, as follows, leaving off the caption:

"The plaintiff, Charles L. Woll, as treasurer of Cass county Indiana, complains of the defendant, William C. Thomas, administrator of the estate of James Thomas, deceased, and says that he is now, and has been since the first day of December, 1888, treasurer of Cass county, Indiana; that the defendant is now, and has been since the 29th day of August, 1887, the administrator of James Thomas, deceased, recently, and for and during all the years hereinafter mentioned, a resident of Boone township, Cass county, Indiana, who died on the 21st day of August, 1887; that on the 1st day of April, 1883, said James Thomas was the owner of personal property subject to taxation in Cass county, Indiana, of the fair cash value of $ 12,044.29, and on the first day of April, 1884, he was the owner of personal property subject to taxation, in such county, of the fair cash value of $ 16,688.15; and on the first day of April, 1885, he was the owner of personal property, subject to taxation, in such county, of the fair cash value of $ 18,504.97; and on the first day of April, 1886, he was the owner of personal property subject to taxation, in said county, of the fair cash value of $ 22,535.21; and on the first day of April, 1887, he was the owner of personal property, subject to taxation, in said county, of the fair cash value of $ 24,098.65; and on the first day of April, 1888, his estate, of which the defendant was and is the administrator, was worth, in personal property, over and above all debts and liabilities of every kind and description subject to taxation, the sum of $ 25,596.95; that said James Thomas did not make and deliver, or cause to be made and delivered, to the proper assessors, in the years 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887, or any one of said years, a correct list of such property so sold by him; and the defendant, William C. Thomas, administrator as aforesaid, did not make out and deliver, or cause to be made out and delivered, to the proper assessor, in the year 1888, a correct list of said property so held by him as such administrator; but the said James Thomas only returned for 1883, $ 8,699; for 1884, $ 12,376; for 1885, $ 6,444; for 1886, $ 7,075; for 1887, $ 7,916; and the said William C. Thomas, as administrator aforesaid, returned in 1888 only $ 9,036 as the amount and value of the said property so held by them, so subject to taxation, and in consequence thereof the residue of such property so owned by the said James Thomas in the years 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, and 1887, and the residue of such property so held by the said William C. Thomas, as administrator as aforesaid, in the year 1888, were omitted from the assessment books and tax duplicate, and no taxes were assessed or paid thereon for the said years 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887, or 1888, or any one of said years; that on the 19th day of November, 1888, Harry Torr, the auditor of said Cass county, was credibly informed, had good reason to believe, and discovered that all the property of said James Thomas had not been assessed for said years; that there was an omission from the assessment books and tax duplicates of each said years, the amount set forth in the above and foregoing; that after having given the defendantWilliam C. Thomas, administrator aforesaid, written notice to appear before him, as such auditor, on the 24th day of November, 1888, and show cause, if any he could, why such omitted property should not be assessed and charged with the amount of taxes due thereon; and the said William Thomas, administrator aforesaid, in pursuance to said notice given him by said auditor, appeared on said November 24th, 1888, before said auditor in person, and by attorney, but failed to show said auditor any good and sufficient cause why such assessment should not be made, and said property charged with the taxes due thereon.

"Whereupon said auditor proceeded to and did assess such omitted property at its true and fair cash value, and charged said omitted property, and the defendant, William C. Thomas, as such administrator, on the tax duplicates, both in the auditor's and in the treasurer's office of Cass county, Indiana, for the years 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887 and 1888, with the proper and lawful amount of taxes due thereon.That by reason of such assessment, and the placing of said taxes upon the tax duplicates as aforesaid, there are now in the hands of the plaintiff, as such treasurer, for collection against the defendant, taxes for State, county and other purposes, the following sums, to wit:

For the year 1883 on omitted property valued at

$ 3,375

$ 49 95

For the year 1884 on omitted property valued at

4,310

75 86

For the year 1885 on omitted property valued at

12,060

169 80

For the year 1886 on omitted property valued at

15,460

192 94

For the year 1887 on omitted property valued at

16,185

186 44

For the year 1888 on omitted property valued at

13,248

198 72

Making a total tax for these years of

$ 873 22

"That no part of said tax has been paid, but the same is due and unpaid; that since the making of said assessment the plaintiff has demanded of the defendant payment of said taxes.And the plaintiff further shows that $ 23,399.59 came into the hands of the defendant, as such administrator, after paying all debts and liabilities of said estate, more than sufficient to pay all of said taxes."

An answer was filed to the complaint stating, in effect, that all of the taxable property of the decedent, and of his estate, had...