State Nat. Bank v. Carson

State Nat. Bank v. Carson
1897 OK 123
50 P. 990
Decided: 09/02/1897
Supreme Court of Oklahoma

Supreme Court of the Territory of Oklahoma.

STATE NAT. BANK et al.
v.
CARSON, County Treasurer.

Rehearing denied.

Sept. 2, 1897.

Syllabus by the Court.

¶0 Equity will not interfere to restrain the payment of illegal taxes, a part of which are, claimed to be illegal, and a part of which are admitted to be legal, unless the parties seeking the equitable relief shall first pay or tender to be paid the taxes which are due, and a suitable averment of such payment or tender of payment must appear in the pleading by which the relief is sought.

Redick, Lewis & Snyder, for plaintiffs in error.
J. L. Brown, for defendant in error.

McATEE, J.

¶1 Injunction brought by the plaintiffs to restrain the payment of taxes alleged to be illegal because in equalizing the taxes between the various counties of the territory the territorial board of equalization, about the third Monday in June, 1895, and while sitting as a territorial board of equalization, with authority to take an average of the assessments returned to the auditor of the territory from the county clerks of the various counties in the territory, undertook to exercise the function of assessment and valuation, and in doing so added various percentages to the assessed valuations of the property returned from the various counties, varying from 15 per cent. to 75 per cent. of such valuations, and in the case in hand added an additional valuation of 30 per cent. to the assessed valuation as ascertained in Oklahoma county by adding that percentage to the total assessed valuation of property in the county as made by the various township assessors in that county, and as reported to the auditor of the territory by the county clerks of the respective counties. The petition averred that the petitioners were owners of real and personal property and taxpayers in Oklahoma county, and generally made those averments of the action of the territorial board of equalization in undertaking to increase the aggregate basis of taxation by adding to the valuation of property in the territory as legally ascertained the sum of $11,000,000, thereby increasing the total valuation of property in the territory from the sum of $28,000,000 to over $39,000,000 for the purposes of taxation, and which action was in the case of Gray v. Stiles (passed upon at this term)