County of Tulare v. Woody

JENNINGS, J.

Petitioner, County of Tulare, filed its petition for a writ of mandate in the Superior Court of Kings County. The petition alleges that during the year 1929 certain persons, firms and corporations whose names are contained in an exhibit attached to said petition and by reference made a part thereof had their actual domiciles and residences in the County of Tulare and were the owners and operators of 240 motor vehicles which during said year

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were registered with the motor vehicle department of the state of California; that said owners in their respective applications for registration of said motor vehicles stated that their postoffice addresses were the city of Delano in Kern County; that during the said year the state controller of the state of California drew his warrants upon the motor vehicle fund in favor of Kern County and paid to Kern County that portion of the net receipts of said fund which he estimated was due to Kern County and in making such estimate allotted to Kern County the motor vehicles registered by the aforesaid owners who were actual residents of Tulare County in addition to other vehicles that were owned by residents of Kern County; that the amount paid by the. state controller upon each motor vehicle was the sum of $1.837929647; that on July 30, 1930, petitioner filed a claim with Kern County for the sum of $441.10, which was the amount received by Kern County from the state of California by reason of the distribution of registration fees on the 240 motor vehicles owned by residents of Tulare County and that said claim was rejected by Kern County on August 4, 1930, and said rejection was not based upon lack of itemization or improper form of .the demand; that on August 30, 1930, and on various other occasions petitioner demanded from respondent Woody, as County Auditor of Kern County, that he draw his warrant in favor of petitioner for said sum of $441.10, but that said respondent refused and still refuses to draw such warrant; that petitioner has not received from the state of California or from Kern County any distribution of the aforesaid sum of $441.10, or any part thereof or any allocation of motor vehicle registration fees based upon the aforesaid 240 motor vehicles; that petitioner has no plain, speedy and adequate remedy at law. The petition closes with the prayer that the court issue its alternative writ of mandate requiring the respondent Woody, as Auditor of Kern County, to draw his warrant in favor of petitioner in the sum of $441.10, in payment of the portion of the net receipts of the motor vehicle fund paid by the state controller to Kern County on account of the registration of motor vehicles registered by the aforesaid residents of Tulare County for the year 1929, and further requiring respondent Shields, as County Treasurer of Kern County to pay the said warrant when