Colorado Pacific Land Co. v. Clinton E. Worden Co.

[721]

ANDREWS, J.,

pro

tem.

This is an action to quiet title, based on adverse possession. During the time adverse possession is claimed to have been running in favor of plaintiff on the tract of 4.85 acres involved defendant was the record owner thereof. It was also owner of 80.65 acres lying in the northwest quarter of section 4, north of Kern River. During said time plaintiff was the record owner of 78 acres lying in said northwest quarter of section 4, south of the Kern River, being all the land in said quarter south of the river, except the said 4.85-acre- tract. The Kern River runs through the quarter from its northeast corner to the. southwest corner, dividing it into nearly equal parts. The quarter contained 163.50 acres according to government survey. The tax receipts introduced in evidence show the lands of the parties listed for taxation in said section 4, as follows: To defendant, all north of river in section 4, 85 acres; to plaintiff, the northwest quarter, section 4, south of river, 78 acres. In which assessment did the assessor include the 4.85-acre tract?

The law requires each person to make a statement of property owned by him and deliver it to the assessor, from which, with such additional information as he may require the parties to produce, and such investigation as he may make on his own account, he enters in the assessment-book the data by'and upon which is fixed the value of such property for taxation purposes. The primary concern of the assessor is that all property in the county shall be listed for taxation and that there is no duplication which would result in double taxation. The reason for requiring an estimate of the acreage of lands listed under government surveys to be included in the assessment-books is thought to be that as to such lands the value, which is the final goal of an assessor, is commonly determined, as is shown by all the tax receipts in evidence, by applying a price per acre to arrive at the value, and in adjacent areas the same price is commonly used, as is shown in this case by the tax receipts.

Assuming that the parties each made the statement in the form above set forth or that the assessor on special investigation made, or corrected the assessment to its present form, what , intent should be inferred therefrom? The assessor was interested to see that the 163.50 acres in the quarter-