Plaza Amusement Co. v. Carter

STURTEVANT, J.

The defendants’ demurrer to plaintiff’s amended complaint asking that the defendants be enjoined from enforcing an alleged invalid ordinance was sustained without leave to amend and a judgment was entered dismissing the action. From that judgment the plaintiff has appealed.

Heretofore certain electors of the city of Santa Monica prepared, circulated, and on October 5, 1933, presented an initiative petition that a certain ordinance be enacted. Those papers were headed:

“INITIATIVE PETITION

“TO THE HONORABLE, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA, STATE OF CALIFORNIA:

“We the undersigned qualified electors of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby petition you to submit to the electorate, at the next General Municipal Election, the following proposed measure, entitled: ...” Then followed the title and enacting clause, the provisions of the ordinance under attack, and a prayer for the initiative enactment of said provisions as an ordinance. On November 1, 1933, the defendant Council enacted an ordinance, No. 524, calling an election to be held December 5, 1933. In said ordinance the propositions to be voted on included the identical proposed ordinance designated in the petition hereinabove referred to. It was included in the manner following. Section 2 provides: “(2) For the purpose of submitting to the qualified electors of the City of

[416]

Santa Monica, for approval or rejection, that certain ordinance in words and figures as follows, towit: ’ ’ (then follows the title and ordinance as set forth in the petition). Then follows a paragraph as .follows: “There having been presented to the City Council of the City of Santa Monica a petition signed by qualified electors of the city in number equal to at least twenty-five per cent (25%) of the total number of voters registered in said city at the last preceding general election, prior to the filing of said petition, asking for submission to the electors of said city of said measure, hereinabove set forth; said petition having been filed prior to sixty (60) days before the election called by this ordinance, each paper of which petition had attached thereto the affidavit of a registered voter of said city, stating that all the signatures to the paper were made in his presence and that, to the best of his knowledge and belief, each signature to the paper appended, was the genuine signature of the person who purports to be thereunto subscribed.”