Woll v. Thomas

• Decision Date: 29 April 1891
• Citation: Woll v. Thomas, 1 Ind.App. 232, 27 N.E. 578 (Ind. App. 1891)
• Parties: Woll, Treasurer, v. Thomas.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

1 Ind.App. 232

27 N.E. 578

Woll, Treasurer,

v.Thomas.

Appellate Court of Indiana.

April 29, 1891.

Appeal from circuit court, Cass county; M. Winfield, Judge.

A. G. Jenkines, J. W. McGreevy, and S. T. McConnell, for appellant. Nelson & Myers and W. L. Penfield, for appellee.

Crumpacker, J.

John Thomas died in Cass county, Ind., 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 13, 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, Ind., 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 1st day of December, 1888, treasurer of Cass county, Ind.; 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, Ind., who died on the 21st day of August, 1887; that on the 1st day of April, 1888, said James Thomas was the owner of personal property subject to taxation in Cass county, Ind., of the fair cash value of $12,044.29, and on the 1st day of April, 1884, he was the owner of personal property subject to taxation in such county of the fair cash value of $16,688.14; and on the 1st 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 1st 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 1st 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 1st 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 assessor, in the years 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887, or any one of said years, a correct list of such property so held 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, only returned in 1888, $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, was 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 discoveredthat 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 of said years the amount set forth in the above and foregoing; that after having given the defendant, William C. Thomas, administrator as 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 24, 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 duplicate both in the auditor's and in the treasurer's office of Cass county, Ind., 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,...