Williams v. Viselich

HARRISON, J. Action upon a street assessment.

Upon the completion of the work an assessment therefor was made by the street commissioner, from which the contractor appealed to the city council. The city council, after hearing the appeal, set aside the assessment and directed that another be made, and upon this latter assessment the present action was brought and judgment rendered in favor of the defendant.

The ground presented in support of the appeal therefrom is that the notice of the appeal to the city council from the first assessment was insufficient, and. that the city council acquired no jurisdiction to hear the same, and that the assessment made under its direction created no lien upon the property of the defendant.

The notice of an appeal from any act of the superintendent of streets to the city council, which is required to he given, is defined in section 11 of the street improvement act (Stats. 1885, p. 156) as follows: “Hotice of the time and place of the hearing, briefly referring to the work directed to be done, or other subject of appeal, and to the acts, determinations or proceedings objected to or complained of, shall be published for five days.” The notice which was published in the present case .was as follows:

• “Hotice is hereby given that an appeal of John E. Magary, contractor for paving with basalt and curbing with granite curbing Washington street, from Hunter street to El Dorado street, in the city of Stockton, to the city council of said city from the assessment for such paving and curbing made by the street commissioner of said city, and from the diagram and warrant there[316]to attached, on the ground, that some of the lots so assessed were assessed to the wrong persons, and for informalities of said assessment, diagram and warrant, will be heard by said city council at its regular meeting to be held at the courtroom of Department ISTo. One of the superior court of San Joaquin county, California, on the twenty-eighth day of May, 1888, commencing at eight o’clock P. M. of that date, or as soon thereafter as same can be heard. Dated May 18, 1888. C. A. Campbell, Clerk of the City of Stockton.”

This notice sufficiently refers to the work contracted to.be done for which the assessment was made, and also refers to the assessment as the act and proceeding of the superintendent objected to, and names the time and place at which the appeal will be heard, and was published for five days. It therefore complies with the above provisions of the statute, and authorized the city council to hear the appeal.