99 P. 255 | Utah | 1908
Lead Opinion
This is an application to this court for a writ of prohibition. Nor convenience the parties will be designated as plaintiff and defendants. The question involved being of a public nature, we have entertained the application without requiring the plaintiff to apply to the district court, as is usual with such applications.
The plaintiff, as a taxpayer of Salt Lake City, brings this action to prohibit the defendants from issuing, .negotiating, and disposing of certain water and sewer bonds. The bonds in question are attempted to be issued and disposed of by virtue of the alleged authority conferred upon the defendants by a special election held on the 29th day of July, 1908, pursuant to an ordinance duly passed by the city council and approved by the mayor. The plaintiff, however, alleges that the special election, was irregular with regard to the matter hereafter to be noticed, and that therefore the bonds should not issue. The ordinance was passed, and the election called and held, in conformity with the following constitutional and statutory provisions, namely-: Section 3 of article 14 of the Constitution, authorizes any county, city, town, village, or school district to incur an indebtedness beyond the current revenues in case a majority of the electors who have paid a property tax within the municipality the year preceding the election authorizes such indebtedness. Section 4 of the same article, within certain limits, authorizes an indebtedness to be incurred as provided in section 3 for water supply, artificial lights, and sewers when the plants are
“When the city council of any city or board of trustees of any town shall have decided to submit the question of incurring a bonded indebtedness, it shall, by order, specify the particular purpose for which the indebtedness is to be created and the amount of bonds which it is proposed to issue, and shall further provide for submitting the question of the issue of such bonds to the qualified electors of the city or town at the next general election, or at a special election to be called for that purpose by the council or the board, as the case may be. If the question is submitted at a special election, it shall be held, except as herein otherwise provided, as nearly as possible in conformity with the general election laws of the state. Notice shall be given of such election by publication in some newspaper or newspapers published in the city or town for four weeks prior thereto; or, if there be no newspapers, then by posting notices. The council or the board, as the case may be, shall cause ballots to be printed and furnished to the qualified electors, which shall read: ‘For the issue of bonds: Yes. No.’ If-a majority of the qualified electors voting thereon shall have voted in favor of incurring such indebtedness, the board may proceed to issue the amount of bonds specified.”
Section 310, in-substance, provides that the city council shall, by ordinance, .provide for the issuance and disposal of the bonds; that the same shall not be sold below par; and that such council shall annually levy a .sufficient tax to pay the interest as it falls due, and also to constitute a sinking fund for the payment of the principal within twenty vcars from the date of the bonds.
“NOTICE OF BOND ELECTION.
A special election will .be held in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake county, State of Utah, on Wednesday, July 29th, 1908, at which election the qualified electors of Salt Lake City who shall have paid a property tax in the year preceding the election, may vote upon the question of the city incurring a bonded indebtedness to the amount of $600,000.00, as follows:
*32 $475,000.00 for city water and waterworks purposes; and
$125,000.00 for city sewer purposes.
Persons qualified to vote and residing within the following districts, to-wit, Nos. in the . Municipal Ward as the said districts existed at the time of the municipal election in 1907, will vote at .
Polls will open at 7 o’clock a. m. and close at 7 o’clock p. m.
J. B. Moketon, City Recorder.”
The blanks, as shown above, were filled by giving the ward and the particular places in each district where the electors should cast their ballots.
The propositions were submitted to the voters in the following form:
“WATER BONDS..
For the issue of bonds in the sum of $475,000.00 for city water and waterworks purposes.”
“SEWER BONDS.
For the issue of bonds in the sum of $125,000.00 for city sewer purposes.”
These questions were so placed upon the dial of the voting machines used in Salt Lake City at all elections that each voter, by simply moving a pointer to,the right or left, could vote “yes” or “no” according to his choice. At the election 5,601 votes were cast upon the question for water supply, of which 3,030 were.for, and 2,571 against, the issue of water bonds. Upon the second proposition there were 5,590 votes cast, 2,934 for, and 2,656 against, the sewer bonds. It will thus be seen that the proposition in favor of water bonds was carried by a majority of 459, while the sewer bonds were carried by a majority of 278.
The plaintiff contends that the bonds were not legally authorized, and therefore the defendant should be prohibited from issuing and disposing of them upon substantially the following grounds: (1) That a notice of the time and place of holding an election is an essential prerequisite to the holding of a valid election, and that no such notice was given in this instance; (2) because the ordinance authorizing and the original notice calling the election contained a
First, as to the sufficiency of the notice. Upon this question the courts are not in entire accord. There are. a few decisions which hold that the statute providing for notice of an election must be strictly complied with; or the election held thereunder will be void. Other courts hold that such statutes are directory merely, and in case it is made to appear that the voters had actual notice of the election, or that they attended the polls and participated in the election in such numbers as important elections are usually attended by the voters, the election will be held valid, unless it be made to appear affirmatively that voters in sufficient numbers remained away from the polls for want of a proper notice to change the result of the election. We think, however, that the weight of authority is to the effect that a notice of the time and place of the election ordinarily is essential, and that the statute prescribing a notice must be substantially complied with in order to hold a valid election. A discussion of the foregoing propositions will be found in the following cases: Packwood v. Kititas County, 15 Wash. 88, 45 Pac. 640, 33 L. R. A. 673, 55 Am. St. Rep. 875; Seymour v. Tacoma, 6 Wash. 429, 33 Pac. 1059; Williams v. Shoudy, 12 Wash. 362, 41 Pac. 169; Dishon v. Smith, 10 Iowa 212; City of Cheyenne v. State [Wyo.], 96 Pac. 214; Hamilton v. Village of Detroit, 83 Minn. 119, 85 N. W. 933; State v. Carroll, 17 R. I. 591, 24 Atl. 835.
It is clear, therefore, that if the question of issuing bonds had been submitted to the voters at the general election held on November 3, 1908, as it might have been under section 309, supra, the county commissioners and not the city council would have designated the polling places in the several wards and polling districts of the city. In construing sections 792 and 890 together, it will be seen-that, if the notices -stating the polling places are posted in each of the voting districts for at least five days prior to an election, the law has been complied with. In none of the sections, and we know of no others that have been referred to, is the time fixed at which either the county commissioners or the city council shall designate the polling places, except by implication; that is, that such places must be designated at least more than five days before the election, since the notice in which the polling places are to be stated must be posted at least five days before the election. Section 890 requires that
Tbe second objection, in our judgment, is not one that affects the authority of the city council to issue and dispose of tbe bonds in question. Tbe contention that tbe voters were misled by tbe statement contained in the published notice, to tbe effect that tbe interest and principal of tbe contemplated water bonds would be paid out of tbe revenues obtained from the water system of Salt Lake City, is not tenable. Tbe city can issue bonds only when authorized by statute. Tbe purposes for which it may do so, tbe amount thereof, and tbe manner in which they'may be issued, are
In the case of State v. Topeka, 68 Kan. 177, 74 Pac. 647, the Supreme Court of Kansas, in an action brought to prevent the disposition of bonds, in passing upon the question of a defective noticé or proclamation calling the bond election, where the statute covered the subject which was claimed ought to have been stated in the notice, says: “The voters knew of this statutory provision, and in exercising their right of franchise did so in view of them. . . . The provision of the statute by reference became a part of the petition as well as part of the proclamation.”
It is also conceded by plaintiff that the city council, as well as all the officers, acted in good faith in the matter, and that fraud was neither intended nor perpetrated by what was done.
In view of the foregoing, we are of the opinion that the statement contained in the notice did not amount to a misrepresentation. It certainly was not a misrepresentation of an existing fact. The statement was simply a proposition made by the city council upon a subject upon which it had no right to speak, because, the statute determined what
But if we should assume that the statement was in the nature of an inducement to the voters of
It is also conceded by the plaintiff that the bonds in question are issued in strict conformity with the statute, and that they contain a recital that both the payment of the interest and principal will be provided for as required by the statute, and not in accordance with the statement contained in the notice. The bonds, therefore, seem to he in conformity to law. We can discover no reason, therefore,
It is so ordered.
Concurrence Opinion
(concurring in result).
The statute which provides that notice of the election shall be published in a newspaper of the city does not prescribe the terms of the notice. While, no doubt, the city council was required to specify in the published notice the time, place, and purpose of the election, still I am of the opinion that it was not necessary to designate in the published notice the polling places of the various voting districts. I therefore concur in the conclusion reached that the published notice was not defective on the ground that the polling places were not specified therein.
I also concur in the conclusion reached that the writ should be denied on the second ground urged by the relator. I do not concur, however, on the theory advanced by the members of the majority court, that every one is charged with knowledge of and is presumed to know the law, or that the maxim, “ignorantia juris non excusat,” ignorance of the law is no excuse, or, as sometimes expressed, "ignorantia legis ne-minem excusat ” ignorance of the law excuses no- one, should be applied. I know it is sometimes loosely said by courts and text-writers that every one is presumed to know the law. But there is no such presumption. That is not what the maxim means, and it is not applied in such sense by the courts who are mindful of its correct meaning. The declaration, many years ago, of Lord Mansfield, is as true now as then. He said: “It would be very hard upon the profession if the law was so certain that everybody knew it; the misfortune is that it is so uncertain that it costs much money to know what it is, even in the last resort.” Said Mr. Justice Maulé, in Martindale v. Felkner, 2 C. B. 719: “There
Ignorance of the law will not relieve one from, nor excuse him of, the legal consequences of his wrongful or negligent acts; nor will it relieve him from the legal effect of his contract obligations. It is only in respect of such matters that the maxim is applicable, and it is only in such sense that it may be said every one is presumed to know the law. The rule is founded upon policy and in necessity. It is, however, quite enough to say to one that he is presumed to know the law when ignorance of it would relieve him from the legal consequences of his wrongful or negligent acts, or from a liability on a contract, without also saying to him that he is charged with knowledge of and is presumed to know all the statutory and common law on a subject, when he is not seeking relief from, nor excusing or defending, a wrongful or negligent act, nor seeking relief from contract obligations on the ground of ignorance of the law. Policy and necessity do not require the maxim to be carried that far. To say that every one is conclusively presumed to know the law in such general sense is applying the maxim too broadly, and is indulging a presumption which every one from common experience and observation knows is untrue. To say so is, I think, inconsistent with the maxim, with law, and with reason. The law is not an exact
Nor do I agree with the statements, loosely made by some courts, and with the principle intimated in the opinion of ■the majority members of the court, that relief cannot be given on the ground of mistake or misapprehension of the law. Courts from an early day have constantly, and do now, grant relief on such ground. In Lowndes v. Chisolm, 2 McCord, Eq. [S. C.] 455, 16 Am. Dec. 667, it is said:' “It is well established that relief is given in eases where the mistake has been clearly one of law, and the authorities relied on put the matter beyond all doubt, if, indeed, it could be doubted at this day.” In speaking of the.maxim, Mr. Kerr says: “If a man, through misapprehension or mistake of the law, parts with or gives up a private right of property, or assumes obligations upon grounds on which he would not have acted but for such misapprehension, a court of equity may grant relief, if, under the general circumstances, of the case, it is satisfied that the party benefited by the mistake cannot, in conscience, retain the benefit or advantage so acquired.” Kerr on E. & M. 389, quoted in Macknet v. Macknet, 29 N. J. Eq. 59, and approved in Freichnecht v. Mayer, 39 N. J. Eq. 559, and in Swedesboro Ext. Ass’n v. Gans, 65 N. J. Eq. 132, 55 Atl. 82.
I am further of the opinion that the maxim is inapplicable because the statement was one of fact and not of law. After stating in the published ordinance and in the published notice that the question was submitted of incurring a bonded indebtedness of $415,000 for thfe purpose of improving and enlarging the water supply of the city, and $125,000 for the sewer system, the city council, in referring to the water bonds, also specified in the .ordinance and notice so published-that “the net revenues from said water system-shall be set apart for and shall be a'sinking fund for the payment of said bonds and interest thereon;” and in referring to the sewer bonds it was specified in the published ordinance and notice that “the city council shall annually levy a sufficient tax to pay the interest on said sewer bonds as it falls due and also to constitute a sinking fund for the payment of the principal thereof.” It is thus seen it was expressly provided in the published ordinance and in the notice published to the electors that the principal and interest of the water bonds' should be paid from the net revenues derived from the improved and enlarged waterworks system, and that the principal and interest of the sewer bonds should -be paid by annually levying a tax. I think such a statement calculated to induce electors to believe that the proposed indebtedness of the water bonds, if created, would be paid from the net’ revenues derived fro-m the waterworks system, and
' True, it was provided in the statute itself that the city council should annually levy a sufficient tax to pay the interest of such a bonded indebtedness as it falls due, and to constitute a sinking fund to pay the principal; and it was further provided that in submitting to the voters the -question of incurring such a bonded indebtedness the city council was only required to specify the particular purpose for which the indebtedness was to be created and the amount of bonds proposed to issue. It may therefore be conceded that the city council was not required to specify in the published ordinance or notice the manner of paying the proposed indebtedness, -and that it was not necessary to submit such a question to the electors. But it must be remembered that to legally create such an indebtedness it was essential to obtain the consent of the majority of the qualified electors (those who paid a property tax in the year preceding the election) voting on the question of creating the indebtedness. To properly obtain their consent the city council was required to give them notice of the particular purpose of the indebtedness, the amount • of bonds proposed, and the time and place of the election. Now, it may be said, with much force, a voter voting in favor of the question submitted did so upon the terms and conditions expressed in the notice; and though the city council was not required to submit to the voters the question as to the manner of paying the proposed indebtedness, still when it submitted to them the question of creating a bonded indebtedness ■ of $475,000 to enlarge and improve the waterworks system on the terms and conditions that the interest and principal of such an indebtedness should be paid from the net revenues derived from the waterworks system, a voter voting in favor of such
I think the question whether the electors were misled by the statement in the published notice is one of fact. .Being one of fact, I think the relator was required to aver-and show that a sufficient number of the qualified electors voting at the election were misled by the statement and induced to vote in favor of creating the indebtedness, who otherwise would not have done so, to change the result of the election. ’ There being no such averments, I concur in the conclusion reached denying the writ. I recognize the general rule that, when bonds have passed into the hands of innocent purchasers for value, a mere irregularity in the proceedings by which they were issued does not ordinarily furnish ground for assailing them. But these bonds have not passed into the hands of such a purchaser. They have not yet been issued by the • municipality. This application is made for the purpose of preventing the municipality from issuing the bonds and disposing of them. The application is therefore timely.
I also do not agree in the holding that the relator cannot be heard to say that the electors were misled by the false statement in the published notice on the theory of an agency existing between the electors and the city council.