104 Wis. 193 | Wis. | 1899
Lead Opinion
The following opinion was filed March 14,1899:
1. The first question which naturally arises, and the only one which affects all of the causes of action, is whether or not the lands in the year 1876 were within the taxing jurisdiction of the officers of the town of Marinette. It is vigorously contended by the appellants that because this town has been laid out and extended northwesterly from township 30, range 23 east, to township 42, range 11 east, thus having a length of about 110 miles, and there being places in the course of such extension where said town was only two or three miles wide, it falls within the rule laid down in Chicago & N. W. R. Co. v. Oconto, 50 Wis. 189. In that case the authority of the taxing officers of the town in question was assailed for the reason that the lands assessed were entirely outside the inclosing boundary of the territory wherein the taxing officers resided; that is to say, two dis
The reasons involved and necessarily considered in determining the shape and boundaries of the civil subdivisions of the state are essentially legislative in their character. Those reasons are too numerous and various for expression. Especially are they complicated within the forest portions of the state. Distances there cease to be measured by miles, but by possibility of intercourse. Relationships of interest and convenience are affected largely by the courses of the rivers and their tributaries. Large areas exist, or did exist, utterly devoid of inhabitants, which it is obvious cannot properly be laid off into towns by themselves; for the town contemplated by the constitution is a civil entity, exercising some functions of government,— conditions which cannot be met in the absence of inhabitants to exercise that government.
In the present case it appears that the town of Marinette was. laid off generally as tributary to the Menomonee river,
This conclusion disposes, adversely to the appellants, of the only question presented with reference to the third and fourth causes of action, and sustains the judgment rendered for the trespasses therein sued for, in the sum. of $2,500. It also necessitates consideration of other questions relating to the first and second causes of action.
2. Were the interests of Crowell and Fletcher in these lands exempt from taxation in 1876, by virtue of ch. 429,
Were Eletcher and Crowell assignees of the contract with Babcock of July 20, 1867 ? It should be noted that there can be no con tention that the lands in question were earned under the Winslow-Hadley contract, so the assignment of that contract to Fletcher and Crowell is not a material circumstance. It is expressly found in the stipulated finding of facts that the work of constructing the road was done under the Babcock contract of July 20th, and it is also'found that the Winslow-Hadley contract had been declared forfeited by the commissioners.
The question is, therefore, as to the effect of the agreement of July 12th between Babcock, Crowell, and Eletcher. Bab-cock was the contractor, and by the terms of his contract he could assign only upon condition that the commissioners should consent in writing and that the assignees should give bond to the state of Wisconsin according to the terms of ch. 429, which required a bond conditioned on the full performance of the contract.
The agreement between Babcock, Crowell, and Eletcher does not, in terms, assign this contract, which, indeed, was not executed until a week later. It is, however, strenuously urged that the agreement constitutes a copartnership for the purposes of carrying out the contract with the commissioners, so as to make them co-contractors with him, or equitable assignees thereof. When reduced to its ultimate terms, that contract is simply that Crowell and Eletcher will pay to Babcock a proportionate part of $30,000 (about $273 per per mile) for so much of the road as the three decide shall
Whether or not these three were partners as betweem-themselves is, however, quite inconclusive upon the question whether they were assignees of the contract within the tax: exemption statute of 1867, when considered from the point of view of the state, which, of course, must control in construing that act. The object to be accomplished by these-various legislative enactments and the contract under them Avas to obtain a road, according to the specifications, between; certain termini. The contractor bound himself to build the-whole road; so that, if for portions of it the lands assignable-were more valuable than for other portions, or if some part& were more expensive than others to build, it made no dif
Defendants’ counsel contend, however, that whatever might' bethought, as an original question, of the construction"of
Nowhere do we find any authority for the governor to make an agreement, or to modify one, with reference to ithese lands or the taxation thereof.' The act of Congress
The result of these views is, of course, that the lands in question were not, after their conveyance to either Crowell or Fletcher, exempted from taxation by ch. 429, Laws of 1867; which disposes of the controversy as to the three-sixteenths share formerly owned by Crowell.
3.'As to the nine-sixteenths'interest derived by defendants from Fletcher, appellants claim that by virtue of the judgment in Fletcher v. Coleman et al., in Oconto circuit court, the exemption from taxation of such interest while held by him under said act of 1867 is res adjudicata as against Coleman and as against the plaintiff, his grantee of the lands and assignee of the cause of action in suit here for trespasses committed while Coleman claimed to be owner. The rules governing the efficacy of judgments in subsequent litigation between parties and privies are well established, and may be formulated thus: In a second litigation between' the same parties or privies upon the same cause of action, the judgment is absolutely final as to their rights in that cause of action as to all things, not only those which were in fact litigated and decided by the court, but also those which might have been so litigated and decided. On the other hand, in a subsequent litigation between the same
The efficacy of the judgment is the same whether it he pleaded in bar or merely be offered in evidence, if it is material to the issues formed by the pleadings. If pleaded as an estoppel, it is effective as such. If offered as .evidence, it is conclusive evidence of all matters so adjudicated and decided. Mr. Greenleaf (1 Ev. § 531) well says that, “ where a former recovery is given in evidence, it is equally conclusive as if pleaded; ” and this view is sustained by the great weight of the authorities, many of which are collected in the opinion in Southern P. R. Co. v. U. S. 168 U. S. 55-60. Indeed, in a litigation upon a different cause of action the prior judgment does not serve as an estoppel, but only as evidence; and when 'so offered it is conclusive evidence of the matters settled by it between the same parties. And, if such matters go in denial of the existence of any cause of action, they are admissible in evidence under the general denial. Lombard v. McMillan, 95 Wis. 627; Carroll v. Fethers, 102 Wis. 436. In the present case we have no extrinsic evidence as to the issues actually decided in Fletcher v. Coleman, but merely the complaint, the finding, and the judgment. The complaint asserts one ground of exemption from taxation, strictly so called, namely, that by virtue of ch. 429, P. ¡fe L. Laws of 1867, the lands in question were
The plaintiff, however, urges that, even if this construction be placed upon the judgment, and it be held that by virtue of oh. 429, Laws of 1867, the lands were exempt from taxes in 1875 in the hands of Fletcher, other considera
No doubt the conclusiveness of a judgment is limited in subsequent litigation on a different cause of action to the: issue actually decided, and a new or independent issue raised in second litigation is not concluded; but that does not. mean that such conclusiveness is destroyed by the fact that, a new and cogent argument is presented, which does- not; appear to have been urged or considered on the first hearing. If that were so, the employment of new counsel would almost’invariably nullify the effect of res adjudícala. Nor can such conclusiveness be avoided by the presence of new or different evidence upon the same question. Thus, in Van Valkenburgh v. Milwaukee, 43 Wis. 580, the plaintiff’s title to land was admitted in the first suit, and adjudged upon
The next question is whether the plaintiff is in privity with any of the parties- to the action of Fletcher v. Coleman et al. as to the rights of property presented in this action. It should be remembered that this action is to recover damages for a trespass committed upon certain lands while the same were claimed to be owned by Coleman, who was a party defendant to that action. The general rule governing privity is reiterated in nearly all of the authorities as “ mutual or successive relationship to the same rights of property.” Those “ who claim under or in the right of a party ” are privies. The respondent urges as the essentials of privity, first, successive relationship to the same rights of- property, and that a relation of privity is a relation of dependence, not independence or superiority; and applies these tests to a discussion of the fact that the plaintiff is not claiming under the same tax certificates as were adjudged void in the former action. This argument is a confusion of ideas. Strictly speaking, the right of property
The following are some illustrative cases of privity, one or two of them taken from respondent’s brief: Finney v. Boyd, 26 Wis. 366; Warner v. Trow, 36 Wis. 195; Lawrence v. Milwaukee, 45 Wis. 306; Masten v. Olcott, 101 N. Y. 152; Lipscomb v. Postell, 38 Miss. 476; Porter v. Bagby, 50 Kan. 412; Lea v. Deakin, 11 Biss. 23. The true question is whether, by virtue of the judgment above mentioned, facts establishing invalidity of Coleman’s title as against the defendants were res adjudicaia at the time of the alleged trespass, so that, if he had brought suit therefor, that judgment would have been admissible against him; and, if so, whether plaintiff is so in privity with him as to the right of action for that trespass that he is affected by the same facts, and, if so, bound by the adjudication thereof. The statement of the question seems to answer it. True, the source of Coleman’s title was not the identical certificates adjudged void in Fletcher v. Coleman. If it were, we should be trying practically the same cause of action as in that former case. But as between him and Eletcher, or Fletcher’s privies; the same facts and rules of law which rendered void the certificates involved in the former suit rendered invalid his title at the time of the trespass in 1894 and 1895. Had he brought suit for the trespass, he would at once have been met with an adjudication, in a suit to which he was a party, that the lands which he claimed to own were exempt from taxation, just as much in 1876 as in 1875 and earlier years;
To test the mutuality of this estoppel, suppose that the judgment in Fletcher v. Coleman had gone the other way, and these lands had been adjudged to be subject to assessment, and, the certificates involved in that suit having been redeemed, Coleman had thereupon obtained title, as now, upon the certificates for the tax of 1876, can there be any doubt that the judgment would have been res adjudicata, in favor of Coleman or of this plaintiff, had the same grantees of Fletcher committed this trespass, and plaintiff had sued thereon, and been met with the former claim of exemption from taxation in 1876? If such an adjudication could have been invoked by the plaintiff in such case as against these defendants, the adjudication, having gone the other way, is equally available to the defendants against the plaintiff.
The argument of counsel that privity is predicated upon rights of property, and not upon persons, is a partial statement of the rule as applied to the case presented here. The conclusive effect of a judgment is against the parties thereto personally whenever the matter adjudicated again becomes material between them, and that personal effect attaches itself to any property or rights of such individuals when brought into litigation, and follows such property or rights
To summarize our conclusions, therefore, we hold: First. That the town of Marinette, in 1876, was not illegal for want of contiguity; that the lands in question were within the taxing jurisdiction of its town officers; and that the assessments on none of the lands were void for that reason. Second. That Crowell was not a contractor, nor assignee of the contractor, within the meaning of ch. 429, Laws of 1867; and that the share of the lands owned by him was not exempt from taxation in 1876. Third-. That by the judgment in the suit of Fletcher v. Colemam, the exemption of the portion of the lands owned by Fletcher' from taxation in 1876 is res adjudicata as against this plaintiff and in favor of these defendants in this action. And, as a general conclusion, that plaintiff is entitled to recover for- the trespasses upon the lands involved in the third and fourth causes of action and for one fourth (Crowell’s share) of the damages for the trespass upon the lands described in the first and second causes of action, but is not entitled to recover the remaining three fourths (Fletcher’s interest) of the stipulated damages for the trespass on said last-mentioned lands. The plaintiff should have recovered, therefore, $5,000 damages, while $7,500 of the damages which he did recover were improper. The
By the Court.— The judgment of the circuit court is modified by reducing the recovery of damages therein to $5,000, and, as so modified, is affirmed.
Rehearing
Both parties moved for a, rehearing.
The motion was granted June 2, 1899, and the cause was reargued September 11, 12, 1899.
For the appellants there were briefs by Hooper & Hooper, and oral argument by Moses Hooper and E. C. Eastman.
H. O. Fairchild, of counsel, for the respondent.
The following opinion was filed October 20,-1899:
Motions for rehearing were made in the present case by both parties, and upon consideration a rehearing was ordered upon the single question of the effect of the judgment in the case of Fletcher v. Coleman. It was, in effect, assumed in the former opinion that it appeared in the case of Fletcher v. Coleman that Coleman held or claimed to hold tax certificates upon the lands included in the first and second causes of action in this case, and hence that it appeared affirmatively from the record that the judgment in that case necessarily decided, as between Fletcher and Coleman, that Coleman’s certificates thereon were void, because the lands were exempt from taxation in the year 1875. In justice to ourselves, it ought to be said that this assumption was entirely justified by the original briefs furnished us and the oral arguments made upon the first hearing. Upon the respondent’s motion for rehearing, however, it
The general principles governing the efficacy of judgments between parties and their privies were well stated in the former opinion, and we do not find it necessary to rediscuss or criticise them. Those principles are there stated as follows: “In a second litigation between the same parties or privies upon the same cause of action the judgment is absolutely final as to their rights in that cause of action as to all things, not only those which were in fact litigated and decided by the court, but also those which might have been so litigated and decided. On the other hand, in a subsequent litigation between the same parties or their privies upon a different cause of action the judgment is only conclusive as to those issues which were in fact adjudicated. ... To ascertain what those issues were, we may examine the proceedings, or extrinsic evidence may be considered.” In discussing the question of privity, however, the following language was used: “ The conclusive effect of a judgment is against the parties thereto personally whenever the matter adjudicated again becomes material between them, and'that personal effect attaches itself to cmy property or rights of such individuals when brought into litigation, and follows such »
Another position was taken by the plaintiff, and argued, namely, that, even conceding that the judgment in the prior action estopped Coleman and his grantees, who claimed under a title founded on the certificates attacked in that action, still such estoppel could have no effect upon the Web
By the Oourt.— Judgment affirmed.