208 N.W. 409 | Minn. | 1926
(1) This law is applicable to "any consolidated school district which has been heretofore formed," etc. This limits the statute to a particular existing class. Consolidated school districts to be organized in the future cannot come within its application. The classification must be prospective and calculated to embrace others which may in the future come within the same class. Failure to meet this rule requires us to hold, as we do, that L. 1923, p. 648, c. 435, is unconstitutional. State ex rel. v. Independent Sch. Dist. No. 1, Polk County,
Counsel for appellant attempts to justify the classification on the theory that prior to the decision in re Sch. Dist. No. 30 v. Consolidated Sch. Dist. No. 30,
(2) The claim is made that even if the act of the legislature is unconstitutional the complaint does not make a case for injunction because the statute provides a method for contesting elections and it is claimed that this provides a full remedy for the plaintiffs. We think however that most courts, while conceding that the holding of elections is a political matter not ordinarily cognizable by a court of equity, hold that, where a proposed election is about to be had under an unconstitutional law, equity will enjoin the holding of such election at the instance of a taxpayer upon the ground of an unlawful expenditure of public funds. This is upon the theory of an entire absence of legal authority to do the things sought to be enjoined. Todd v. Rustad,
(3) The claim is made that there is a defect of parties because the petitioners are not made parties to the suit. In Graham v. City of Minneapolis,
Affirmed.