Yawkey-Bissell Corp. v. Town of Langlade, YAWKEY-BISSELL
| Decision Date | 06 May 1952 |
| Docket Number | YAWKEY-BISSELL |
| Citation | 261 Wis. 524,53 N.W.2d 174 |
| Parties | CORP. v. TOWN OF LANGLADE. |
| Court | Wisconsin Supreme Court |
Gustav Winter, Antigo, for appellant.
Whiting & Whiting, Antigo, for respondent.
The evidence on the trial established the following facts. The plaintiff, Yawkey-Bissell Corporation on April 1, 1946, purchased at the price of $1.13 per acre, 14,000 acres of cut-over land in the Town of Langlade. There was some second growth timber on some of the forty acre descriptions. None of them are entirely worthless but between 25% and 30% of the acreage is worthless. The town assessor, Edwin Hoffman, assessed each one of the forty acre tracts at $150 regardless of the relative value of one forty acre description as compared with another. This same valuation was placed on all cut-over lands, whether they were owned by the plaintiff or some other taxpayer. The taxes levied on such assessment of plaintiff's land in 1948 and 1949 were involuntarily paid by plaintiff under protest; and claims for refunds of a part thereof were duly made by plaintiff. The Town Board failed to allow said claims, and within one year from the time it paid said taxes, plaintiff brought two actions against the Town of Langlade. (But this appeal is in relation solely to the amount paid involuntarily because of said excessive assessment in 1948.)
Edwin Hoffman,--the assessor for the Town of Langlade for the years 1948, 1949 and 1950,--on adverse examinations before the trial, and also on the trial, testified: that all cut-over land in the township, whether owned by the plaintiff or other taxpayers, was assessed at $150 a forty straight through for the year 1948; that the assessment of such cut-over lands was '* * * just a little above what they could have probably been sold for * * *;' that he thought that the 14,000 acres owned by Yawkey-Bissell and assessed by him at $52,050 in 1948 would have brought a price at private sale somewhat less than that figure; that he assessed milk cows in the township in 1948 at $30 to $35 a head which in his opinion would have sold for $150; 'It shows it on the books, I have to say it;' that he assessed agricultural or farm lands on the average of 50% of their full value; and that he assessed mercantile real estate at about 1/9 or 1/10 of its full value. Thus he conceded, in other words, that he had assessed cut-over land for more than full value; but that no other property in the township was assessed for more than 50% of full value; and that some of it for only 1/10 of such value.
There was undisputed proof that in 1950 Hoffman was assisted in making his assessment by William Hartman, appointed by the Wisconsin Department of Taxation. Hoffman admitted that exhibit 'A', the report of the Supervisor of Assessments to the Langlade County Board of Supervisors for the year 1948, correctly indicated that his assessment for class 'E' real estate, swamp, cut-over and waste land, totalled $120,915 and that his total assessment of all real and personal property for the year 1948 was $272,978. Cut-over lands amounted to nearly one-half of the total value of the property in the township in 1948. Hoffman admitted also that plaintiff's exhibit 'C', which is the 1950 report of the Supervisor...
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