94 Ky. 16 | Ky. Ct. App. | 1893
delivered the opinion of the court.
The sheriff of Greenup county reported to the Greenup county court that J. C. YYoodruff and Julia VY. Anderson owned a certain tract of land lying in said county, which they had leased to the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Company, and which property had not been “assessed for taxes due for 1890.” The said parties were summoned to appear, &c. Thereafter, J. C. YYoodruff and Julia YY..Anderson were
The record facts as to the purchase, ownership and lease of said property are as follows: That C. H. Coster, of New York, purchased the land from A. A. Meade at the price of thirty-two thousand dollars, paying his own money therefor. He then leased the property to the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Company for the term of one thousand years, for an annual rental of sixteen hundred and fifty dollars, to be paid in monthly installments, and that said company was to pay all taxes and charges on the land that might come against it, in addition to the yearly rental. That Woodruff and Mrs. Anderson finally
The truth, from the evidence, seems to be that Coster purchased the land at the suggestion of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Company as an investment, relying upon said railroad company to lease it at a rental that would pay a reasonable interest, and the payment, of the taxes and other charges in addition. The lessors are bound to pay the taxes on the land from the dates of their respective purchases, and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Company agreed to pay the taxes and other charges upon the land as a part of the rental consideration; and to allow it to escape the payment of the taxes for the period of its five years’ exemption would, in effect, allow it to violate one of its terms -of lease, and put the burden of the taxes for said period upon the lessors without remedy, which that company, by the terms of the lease, can not do; for its obligation to pay the taxes is contractual, and commences from the date of the lease, in order that the lessors may have the full benefit of the contract. It seems that the entire property should be assessed by Woodruff and Anderson for the year 1890, and continuously thereafter, unless it is given in by said company without reference to its exemption, in which case Woodruff and Anderson may not be required to give it in for taxes.
The judgment is reversed, with directions for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.