San Diego Realty Co. v. Cornell (1907) · DecisionDepot

San Diego Realty Co. v. Cornell

Name: California Superior Court Tentative Rulings
Creator: DecisionDepot
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

California Supreme Court Mar 8, 1907 No. L.A. No. 1709.Published

Before: Henshaw

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Holding. The court held that a property owner may obtain injunctive relief against the issuance of a tax deed based on a void assessment by tendering the amount of taxes equitably due, and that a court of equity has the authority to determine and accept such payment without usurping legislative taxing powers.

Issues

Whether a void tax assessment justifies injunctive relief to prevent the clouding of title by a tax deed.
Whether a court of equity may require and accept a tender of taxes equitably due as a condition for granting injunctive relief against a void assessment.
Whether a court's determination of the amount of taxes due constitutes an unconstitutional usurpation of legislative taxing functions.

Disposition. affirmed

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“The fact that a litigant going into equity offers to do more than equity has never been held a ground for refusing him the relief to which he is entitled.”

Synopsis

The facts are stated in the opinion of the court.

U. S. Webb, Attorney-General, George A. Sturtevant, Deputy Attorney-General, and Cassius Carter, District Attorney, for Appellants.

[638]

HENSHAW, J.

Plaintiff brought this action against the defendants, who are county officers of San Diego County, for the purpose of enjoining them as county officers from issuing tax-deeds to certain of its property, following assessment and sale. Plaintiff alleges that the assessment was void, and avers that the defendants propose to execute the tax-deed to the state of California, conveying its land so attempted to be assessed by the void assessment; that the deed so made will cast a cloud upon plaintiff’s title; that had the property been assessed according to law] the taxes assessed against it would have amounted to the sum of $2.08 for all the years wherein the property was not legally assessed and for which taxes were not paid and for which the property could now be reassessed. Plaintiff has tendered this sum of $2.08 to the proper officers, who have refused to accept it. It continues its offer to pay this money, and upon payment asks the decree of the court restraining the officers from clouding the title to its realty.

The court found in accordance with the complaint, accepted the tender directing payment of the money to the county treasury, and granted the injunction sought. Defendants appeal.

The description given in .the assessment-roll which is attacked is as follows: “In the county of San Diego, state of California, and described thus: Lot 1, Block 17, Ocean Beach. ” This description is admitted by appellants to be void, upon the authority of

Labs

Cooper,

107 Cal. 656, [40 Pac. 1042], and

Miller

Williams,

135 Cal. 183, [67 Pac. 788], but appellants argue that as the assessment is void, no cloud is cast upon the title, and that there is therefore no occasion for the interposition of equity. The answer to this is found in the allegations of the complaint, that the defendants propose to execute a deed to the state by a description legally sufficient to charge the property, and by this, together with all the presumptions which follow such a deed, with the

San Diego Realty Co. v. Cornell

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Synopsis

HENSHAW, J.

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