Montgomery Ave. Case
Montgomery Ave. Case
Opinion of the Court
It is claimed by the appellant that the act upon which these proceedings are based is unconstitutional and void, because it neither defines an assessment district nor provides for the location and definition of such district by any local authority.
It is not necessary to decide whether or not the provision which empowers the Commissioners to report the lots they may find to be benefited, is a grant to them of the power to create an assessment district.
Judgment and order reversed.
Crockett, J., dissented.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- THE MONTGOMERY AVENUE CASE
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Montgomery Avenue Act—Street Improvement—Constitutional Law.— By the Act of April 3rd, 1876, providing for the change of grade of certain portions of Montgomery Avenue, it was provided that the County Court should appoint three disinterested citizens, freeholders in the City and County of San Erancisco, to assess benefits and damages to such lots of land as might, in their opinion, be more benefited than damaged. Held, that the actwas impracticable, and could not be carried into effect; that, in the absence of any defined assessment district, every freeholder in the city and county had an interest to decide that his own real property was not benefited by the change of grade, and that it was therefore impracticable to appoint disinterested Commissioners, as required by the act.