Smith v. City of Santa Monica

HENSHAW, J.

Plaintiff by this action seeks to quiet title to certain lots, in the city of Santa Monica. Judgment passed for defendants and from the judgment and from the order denying his motion for a new trial he appeals.

Plaintiff’s ownership of the land in controversy rests upon certain tax-deeds from the state. Two tracts of land are involved. The assessment under which one was sold was for the

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year 1895, the other for the year 1894. The one was sold to the state in 1896, the other in 1895. The controller’s order to the tax-collector to sell in both cases was on May 9, 1908, and the tax-collector’s deed in both instances was made on June 10, 1908. The city of Santa Monica had brought an action in 1895 to condemn these lands for public purposes as a city park. The judgment in this action in favor of the city was entered December 20, 1897. It results therefore that at the time the controller’s order was executed and the sale made to plaintiff, the title to the property, excepting such title as the state itself acquired by the tax-collector’s deed to it was vested in the city of Santa Monica, or in other words, that the state to enforce the payment of state and county taxes was selling into private ownership the public property of one of its agencies. It is well settled that an assessment for purposes of taxation levied upon public property of such a mandatory or agency is void. The reasoning leading irresistibly to this conclusion is well set forth in

People

v.

McCreery,

34 Cal. 432;

People

v.

Doe,

36 Cal. 220;

Low

v.

Lewis,

46 Cal. 552, and

Doyle

v.