Kern River Co. v. County of Los Angeles

MELVIN, J.

Plaintiff sued, with partial success, to recover certain taxes for the fiscal year 1908-9, which had been paid under protest. This appeal is from that part of the judgment which was adverse to plaintiff.

[753]

Plaintiff is a corporation engaged in the business of producing electricity for light and power. * From its power plant in Kern County it transmits its product over its lines to a transforming station in the city of Los Angeles, where all of its electricity is delivered to another corporation. No local service is given along the course of its transmission lines.

The tax which was paid under protest was levied upon plaintiff’s “franchise to use the public highways of the county of Los Angeles.” This franchise to use the highways of the county outside of the city of Los Angeles was assessed for the aggregate sum of $28,960, the total amount being distributed by the assessor among the various school districts through which plaintiff’s lines extended in proportion to the mileage in each district, without regard to the actual use of the public highways therein. In Delsur district plaintiff’s lines extended entirely over private rights of way and • not a foot of any county road was used. In Elizabeth Lake, Castiae, Newhall, and Vinedale the only use of public highways was in crossing, nine public roads being so used for an aggregate distance of three hundred and sixty feet. In four other districts (Morningside, Burbank, West Glendale, and Trópico) more than fourteen miles of the public roads were occupied longitudinally by plaintiff’s power line, yet in the districts wherein the roads were merely crossed for an aggregate distance of three hundred and sixty feet the assessment was more than twice as much as in the four wherein fourteen miles of highways were utilized in part for plaintiff’s benefit.

Plaintiff presented its objections to the board of equalization, but that tribunal affirmed the assessment.

Appellant’s first point is that its occupancy of the highways of Los Angeles County by its transmission lines is not a franchise and not assessable as such. In this behalf it calls attention to the fact that it is merely a manufacturer of electric power which it delivers to a single consumer and that it does not use its transmission lines for the purpose of collecting tolls. Further, it submits that the assessment of its transmission lines in their entirety should be deemed to include whatever rights of way it possessed in the public roads. In support of this position,