52 La. Ann. 1880 | La. | 1900
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This is an application for certiorari and prohibition, against the judge of the District Court of the Parish of Vernon, and the Police Jury of that Parish, to restrain the reopening of, and further proceeding in, a certain cause in which the relator alleges there was final judgment in its favor in October 1897. Under an order made upon the petition herein, a certified transcript of the proceedings in
On December 5, 1S95, agreeably to the provisions of Act No. 35 of 1886, carrying into effect Article 242 of the Constitution of 1879, a sxiecial election was held in the Parish of Vernon in order to determine whether the property tax payers of that parish woulij submit to a special tax in favor of the Kansas City, Shreveport & Gulf Railway Company; and the Police Jury, having- canvassed and compiled the returns, proclaimed the result as having- been in favor of the tax, and adopted an, ordinance to levy the same. Thereafter, upon February 27, 1896, seven persons, claiming- to be tax-payers and voters in the parish, filed a suit in the District Court, which bears the number 175 of the Civil Docket, with the view of contesting said election, in which thejy prayed that the “Police Jury of Vernon Parish, composed of W. D. Holden, etc.,” (naming- the members), and the Railway Company, be cited, and for judgment, decreeing the result of said election to have been the defeat and rejection of said tax, annulling the ordinance levying- the same, and perpetually injoining- its collection. The allegations of the petition upon which this prayer was predicated charged:
1. That the petition for the election was not signed by the requisite number of property tax-payers, as required by law.
2. That many of the signers were not property tax-payers.
3. That the Police Jury ordered the question submitted to the property tax-payers entitled to vote at general elections, whereas it should have been submitted to “the property tax-payers.”
4. That all votes cast in favor of the tax were null and void by reason of non-conformity to the requirements of the petition.
5. That, in holding the election, canvassing- the returns, and promulgating the result, certain gross frauds were perpetrated by some of the Commissioners, by the Board of Supervisors, and by the Police Jury, which frauds the petitioners set forth with elaborate detail and circumstance.
Citation, with a copy of this petition, was duly served upon each of the members individually, but not upon the Police Jury, eo nomine. The answer of the railway company was filed April 6, 1896, and, upon April 11th, a written agreement for a continuance was signed by the District Attorney, in behalf of the Police Jury, and, the counsel for the
“In this case, by reason of the consent of the plaintiffs, and the law and evidence being in favor of the defendants, it is ordered, adjudged and decreed, that there be judgment in favor of the said defendants, and the demands of the plaintiffs be, and are hereby, rejected, and this suit dismissed at plaintiff’s cost. Done and signed in open court, on this, the 12th day of October, 1896.
“(Signed) S. D. Read,
"District Judge.'"'.
No answer, or appearance, other tiran as stated, had been filed or made by the Police Jury. Upon March 30, 1898, however, that body adopted an ordinance, which, after reciting, as the reason for its action, the fact that the railway company had entered into the agreement above mentioned, declared its previous ordinance, levying the tax, “repealed, annulled and of none effect”. Thereafter, the company instituted suit against the Police Jury, the assessor, and the tax collector, praying that the repealing ordinance of March 30, 1897, be declared null, and the officers named be ordered to extend the assessment and collect the tax. In this proceeding, the Police Jury answered that the plaintiff company had destroyed any right which it might have acquired, resulting- from the election in 1895, and had destroyed the validity of the ordinance, levying the tax in its favor, by the compromise and judgment of October 12th, 1897, inasmuch as the result of the same was to release a portion of the tax payers and leave the burden upon others. The case, having been decided by the District Court in favor of the defendants, was brought here by appeal, and, in February, 1899, the judgment appealed from was reversed, and there was judgment for the plaintiff.
It further sets up the compromise entered into by the railway company, and the judgment obtained, and alleges that they were collusive and had the effect of making the burden of taxation unequal; that the ease was not at issue as to it, when the judgment was rendered, and that it was no party thereto, and hence, that the same is null and void: and that to give effect to it would be to deprive the tax-payers of the Parish of Yernon of the right to be heard. “That these respondents were re- “ quired by law to be made parties defendant in this case, as representatives of the tax-payers of Yernon Parish, and that they were s-“made parties, and the petition prays for citation and judgment “ against these respondents. They, therefore, aver that no valid judg“ment could be rendered herein except contradictorily with them. “ That the suit, not being, alone, for the protection of tho rights of “ the plaintiff, but availing to the benefit of all tax-payers, it is against “ public policy and good morals to permit the grave charges contained “ in the plaintiffs’ petition to be withdrawn for money consideration, “paid to the plaintiffs and their attorneys.”
And the answer contains other matter which need not he here recapitulated. In February, following- the filing of this answer, the Police Jury ruled the railway company, to show cause why the. ease should not he reinstated as an open case and proceeded with to a final hearing; to which the company excepted and answered; and the rule was heard, and, on February 28th, submitted for adjudication. On March 2nd, however, the mover asked and obtained leave, the railway company objecting and excepting, to withdraw said rule, and the case, as we understand it, was then set for trial, as a case which is open as to all parties, in fact, the judge a quo has permitted other tax payers to come in, by way of intervention , and his position in regard to the matter, as now presented, as well as that of the police jury, may be understood from the foregoing resume of what has taken place, and
The judge says: "That the proceedings by rule were, under orders of court, subject to the disposal of the applicant therefor.” That the plea to the jurisdiction was, in effect, a plea of res adjudicaba, but that only two of the parties could be affected by the judgment relied upon, and that, as between them, the judgment was rendered by consent.
That the law requires that the Police Jury should be made a party in a suit such as the one in question, and that no judgment could, otherwise, be rendered affecting rights represented by said Police Jury.
That said suit involved public rights, and when brought, became public property, and neither the tax-payers, who brought it, nor the Police Jury, could, thereafter, settle the same, by compromise or consent judgment, or in any other manner, save by judgment of the court, after an examination of the facts.
“That, the proceedings by rule having been withdrawn, the said cause, No. 175, by necessity, must stand as it stood when the consent judgment was signed and became operative, and has stood ever since that circumstance, and open for all purposes of legitimate consideration, until finally closed by such action as definitely settles all matters put at issue by, and against, all parties thereto.”
The Police Jury says, that the relator has an adequate remedy by appeal, since “if the exceptions, which the relator claims to have filed in “ the court of first instance, be sound in law and the court overrules “ them complete relief may be had by appeal.”
That this court is asked to exercise original jurisdiction which does not belong to it, and to decide matters which have not been decided by the lower court, to-wit: the effect of the judgment rendered in the absence of the Police Jury, and the question of the duties and responsibilities of said Police Jury under Act 106 of 1892.
That the suit, No. 175, is one in which the tax-payers are interested, and that it could not be compromised, or discontinued, without the consent of the court and. upon full statement of facts. And there are further averments relating to the merits of the case in the District Court.
Whatever might be the inclination of this court to afford relief, in view of the conditions thus disclosed, the action, and non-action of the parties interested, and of those by whom they are represented, renders it impossible that the course pursued by the respondents should be sustained, without an utter disregard of the most elementary rules established for the orderly administration of justice.
Act No. 106 of 1892 reads:
“Section 1. That any election, held under Articles 209, 242 and 250 of the Constitution of 1879 and the laws to carry the same into effect, may be contested by any party or parties in interest, on the grounds of fraud, illegality, or irregularity, before any court of competent jurisdiction.”
Section 2. That suits brought to contest any election, as aforesaid, -shall commence by petition, which shall be served, in the manner provided by law, on the Police Jury, or other body, or authority, holding such an election, under the aforesaid articles of the Constitution of 3 879 and laws to carry the same into effect; and any suit, under the provisions of this act, shall be brought within three months after the promulgation of the result of the election contested.”
Py reference to Article 242 of the Constitution, and to Act No. 35 of 1886, it will be seen that the suit, in this instance, was properly brought against the Police Jury, as the authority which ordered, and held, the election, declared the result, and adopted the ordinance levying the tax; and it was also properly, though, perhaps, not necessarily, brought against the railway company in whoso favor the tax was said to have been voted.
The act, however, only requires that the “Police Jury or other body, etc.”, shall be made party defendant, and this is, manifestly, because such “Police Jury” etc., is presumably • best qualified to vindicate and defend the result announced by it, and which it is the purpose of the suit to attack; and because it stands for the body of the citizens, whom it would be practically impossible to join together as defendants.
In the suit out of which this controversy has arisen, it appears, that, whilst the Police Jury was not cited, eo nomine, nevertheless, a copy of the petition was served upon the members, and each of them was
It is plain that, unless the District Court was without jurisdiction to render the judgment rejecting the demand of the taxpayers and dismissing their suit, there is no suit pending in that court in which such an answer could be filed, and there are no litigants now before sa'd court who can be called upon, by means of such answer, to contest the issues presented by it, even if it should be conceded that those issues can be presented by the Police Jury.
The question, then, is, wherein was there a lack of jurisdiction? “Jurisdiction,” says the Code of Practice, “means the power of him, who has
Whether, by reason of the peculiarity of the suit in question, the plaintiff ought to have been allowed to discontinue, or to take a judgment rejecting their demand, was a question which the district judge had to decide. Perhaps, if the Police Jury had put -in an appearance, and had urged that, the plaintiffs, having come into court and being the only property tax-payers who had done so within the time allowed, ought to be held there for the benefit of those who had not come in, he might have taken that view of that matter. But the Police Jury put in no such appearance, and no one else came in, and the judge determined the question for himself; and, several years later, he concluded that he was mistaken. But, in the meanwhile, the judgment is a finality, and is no longer under his control. The Police Jury, not having been made a party to the suit because n'ot cited, is not affected by it, and, as to those who were parties to it, it is conclusive, and must remain so, unless set aside in some method known to the law; and, merely to ignore it as a thing having no existence, is not such a method.
Rehearing refused.