9 Wash. 639 | Wash. | 1894
The opinion of the court was delivered by
— The above entitled cases present the appeals of the city of New Whatcom from judgments of the superior court of Whatcom county dismissing suits for the foreclosure of street improvement assessments, commenced in pursuance of Gen. Stat., § 641, applicable to cities of the third class. A great number of points against the validity of the assessments are made by the respondents, and in support of the court’s action; some applying to all of the cases, and some to one or more only. But there is one of these points, which is raised in every case, which the record shows was probably the real basis of the judgments of dismissal, and which we consider as conclusive of the correctness of the action taken. When it came to the point of assessing the cost of the several improvements upon the lands fronting thereon, the city sent out its engineer, who measured and estimated the cost of the work in front of each lot, and reported it to the street committee of the council. The committee reported the engineer’s estimates as the ‘ ‘ expense of the work in front of each tract, ’ ’ and the council adopted the same as its equalization and assessment of the benefits to each tract. This was, if anything,
The method of assessment employed appears from the face of the rolls, but testimony alivmde was admitted, and we see no valid objection to that course. Rubber Co. v. Commissioners, 38 N. J. Law, 190; Johnson v. Milwaukee, 40 Wis. 315. The various certificates attached to the assessment roll cannot estop a court of equity to inquire into the facts upon which they are based. Baer v. Choir, 7 Wash. 631-639 (32 Pac. 776, and 36 Pac. 286).
Judgments affirmed.
Dunbar, C. J., and Anders and Scott, JJ., concur.