111 Ky. 408 | Ky. Ct. App. | 1901
Lead Opinion
Opinion of the court by
Affirming.
This is an appeal from a judgment enforcing a lien upon abutting 'lots for improving the carriageway of Twenty-eighth street, between Kentucky street and Greenwood avenue, in Louisville. The case has been so carefully prepared the points relied on so clearly presented and so elaborate
The first question presented is the validity of the ordinance. The law for the government of cities of the first class provides (section 2826, Kentucky Statutes) that “no public way shall be . . . constructed ... except by ordinance recommended by the board of public works.” This is ;a legislative function, to be performed by the municipal legislature. The fact that it can not be performed except upon the recommendation of a branch of the executive department does not render it the less legislative in its character. After the completion of the work under such an ordinance, it is- provided (section 2837) that, before the cost of the improvement becomes a charge upon the lots contiguous thereto, there shall be an “inspection and reception of the work” by the executive repsentative of the city, at a time and place fixed, and of which notice is required to be given, when the owners of such lots may, in person or by agent, “appear and be heard as to whether such improvements have been made in accordance with the ordinance authorizing the same arid the
It is most earnestly contended by appellants that, as the ordinance provides that the improvement shall be made “in accordance with the plans and, specifications on file in the office of the board of public works,” and as it is conceded, or is at least highly probable from the evidence, that at the date of the adoption of the ordinance there were no plans and specifications of the improvement of the part of Twenty-eighth street designated on file in the office of the board, the ordinance is absolutely void for uncertainty; or, if it be taken
Nor are we able to concur in the contention that the subsequent approval of the contract by the council is such legislative action upon the plans and1 specifications prepared subsquently to the enactment as to write them in the ordinance; or that if the ordinance is void, it is within the curative power of the court, under section 2834, by which it is provided: “No error in the proceedings of the general council shall exempt from payment after the work has been done as required by either the ordinance or contract, but the general council, or the courts in which suits may be pending, shall make all corrections, rules and orders to do justice to all parties concerned.” Being legislative action, the ordinance must, if defective, be remedied by legislative action; and the statute distinctly provides (section 2777) that “no ordinance shall be altered or amended in any way except by repealing it.” Therefore, if the ordinance was void, the mere approval by the council of a contract entered into under it would not suffice. And we think the powers conferred by section 2834 upon the
The next question is as to the sufficiency of the record of inspection and reception of the work. Section 2837, Kentucky Statutes, provides that: “When improvements in public ways have been made, . . . the board of public works shall, by one insertion in one of the daily newspapers published in the city, give notice of the time and place fixed for the inspection and reception of the work by the board, or its deputy or deputies, and suoh owners, their agents and representatives may appear and be heard as to whether such improvements have been made in accordance with ordinance authorizing the same, and the contract therefor.” It is claimed that, as the acceptance of the work provided for in the section quoted' is, in the absence
The next question presented is upon the constitutionality of section 2838. That section provides: “In all'actions'to
It is urged in the same connection that, even if the ■statute is held constitutional, and certified copies of the ordinance, contract, and; apportionment are prima facie evidence of every fact necessary to enable plaintiff to recover, still the apportionment was erroneous, and a link in the chain was thereby broken, which destroys the whole chain; that the statute gives no effect, as prima facie evidence, to certified copies of any one or two of the three things specified in the statute in the absence of the other, and that, if one is missing or defective, the whole chain fails. We do not think the statute was intended to produce such an effect, nor have we ever so applied it. On the contrary, in numerous cases — among them the case of Fehler v. Gosnell, supra—we have sustained the prima facie case made out by the contractor by filing certified copies of the three papers, though we directed the apportionment to be corrected. It is not at all as if no copy of the apportionment was filed, or no apportionment made. An apportionment was made, though for a greater amount by ten per cent, than was proper under the circumstances, and was available to make out the prima facie case provided for by the statute, al
The next objection is made upon the ground that the advertisement did not fix the time for the completion of the work. It is argued that the time for the completion of the work was not fixed until after the advertisement had been had, and the letting made; and it is insisted that this was very prejudicial to the interests of the property holder, ‘as affording an opportunity to prevent proper competition by putting it in the power of the board to make, the time easy to persons in favor with that body, or difficult to bidders who were obnoxious to it. These objections seem to be well founded. The bidding oug’nt to be under circumstances which would give to every prospective bidder equal advantages in estimating the cost of completing the contract; and the time within which it is required to be completed is, in our judgment, quite material in making such estimates. But we are of opinion that these objections come too late after the contract has been made and approved, the work done and accepted, and the apportionment made, as it is not shown that appellants were thereby prejudiced. Barrett v. Stone Co. (21 Ky. Law Rep., 669) (52 S. W., 947); Dumesnil v. Stone Co., 109 Ky., 1 (22 Ky. Law Rep., 503) (58 S. W., 371).
Objection is made upon the ground of the unconstitutional license ordinance wtoich, it is insisted, must have had a prejudicial affect upon persons desiring to bid upon the work. That ordinance was adopted in 1896, and' required all persons engaged in the doing of public works of original construction, etc., to first take out a license therefor,, for which a payment of one hundred' dollars was required. The license fees were payable in advance into the sinking:
Whole court sitting.
Dissenting Opinion
Dissenting opinion by
I dissent from the opinion rendered in this case for several reasons, among which I mention the following: My opinion is: that the ordinance which, it is alleged, authorized the improvements for which the property of the appellants was adjudged to bo sold, was utterly void. This being true, there can be no valid contract made or entered into for such improvements', and no lien could be created upon the property of the appellants for the improvements in question. The act of t'he Legislature which attempts to authorize such improvements as those in question to be made a,t the cost of the property owners is in violation of section 171 of the Constitution of this State. It is too clear for argument that the burden imposed by the law in question is a tax. It is manifestly for the benefit of the public, and hence it must be true that it should be levied upon all the property within the territorial, limits of the city authority levy