Deets v. Hall

LORIGAN, J.

This is an action to quiet title to two lots in the city of Long Beach, Los Angeles County. Plaintiff had judgment and defendant appealed from it and from an order denying his motion for a new trial.

The judgment was affirmed by the district court of appeal for the second appellate district and subsequently a further hearing was granted in this court.

Against the ownership of plaintiff defendant asserted title to the property under two tax deeds to him from the state. It was stipulated on the trial that plaintiff was the owner of the lots unless defendant could sustain title thereto “under and by virtue of tax proceedings, sales and tax deeds upon which he relied.” The judgment in favor of the plaintiff was based upon the conclusion of the trial court that the tax deeds upon which defendant relied were void. In support of the judgment and order and against the attack made on them by the appellant, it is insisted by respondent that the tax deeds from the state upon which appellant, relied are invalid for two reasons. First, it is claimed that in the tax levy for the year 1902 upon which the sales to the state of the two lots in payment for taxes was based, a portion of

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the taxes levied (to wit, five cents on the hundred dollars) was not levied for any specific purpose and was not apportioned to any particular fund; hence, it is claimed that that portion of the tax was illegal and the whole levy void and the sales and deeds made thereunder invalid. Second, and independent of this, that the tax deeds to the state are void upon their face because they do not recite as required by law the correct date when the period of redemption expired.

As to the first point. The Political Code requires the board of supervisors to levy the state and county rate upon the taxable property of the county “designating the number of cents on each one hundred dollars of property levied for each fund.” (Sec. 3714.) The claim of respondent is that this was not done; that as to five cents on the hundred dollars levied by the board it was not levied for any specific fund. While there is some slight ground for this claim, it will be found on a fair examination of the face of the levy itself, particularly when taken in consideration with the estimate of the auditor to which it refers, that it is based upon a clerical error occurring in one instance in the levy with reference to the rate fixed to -provide sixty thousand dollars for the Temple Street Jail Fund. The report of the county auditor filed with the board pursuant to section 3737 of the Political (Code contained an estimate of the amount of money necessary to be raised by taxes for the support of the county government for the fiscal year 1902-3. It designated the twelve separate funds of the county, among which was the Temple Street Jail Fund, and specified the amount necessary for each particular fund and the special rate to be levied to procure the particular amount for each fund. The aggregate amount to be raised for the funds was totalled in the column as $886,035, and the aggregate tax rate to produce it .8180, the net valuation of the taxable property in the county being estimated at $112,276,055. The report set forth that as to one of the twelve funds—the Temple Street Jail Fund—it was necessary to raise sixty thousand dollars, and the rate on each one hundred dollars of taxable property necessary to produce that amount was designated at .0535. The board of supervisors, in the preamble to their order fixing the tax levy, adopted this report of the county auditor specifying the different funds, amounts required, and par