Cramer v. Armstrong
Cramer v. Armstrong
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
This action was brought by Adaline E. Armstrong to quiet her title to lot 11 in block 11 in the town of Monte Yista. She claims to be the owner in fee and defendant’s title is based on a tax deed. Unless the tax deed is valid, it is conceded that plaintiff should prevail. Plaintiff’s grantor William B. Moss was the owner of the lot in 1894. At that time Mr. Moss was in partnership with Thomas J. Armstrong. - Moss individually owned lot 11, and he and his copartner jointly owned lots 9 and 10 in the same block, and also1 certain personal property. A schedule of property purporting to be that of Armstrong and Moss was filed with the county assessor and verified by this plaintiff as agent. Therein lots 9 and 10 and their improvements were separately listed and valued. Lot 11 was valued by itself, and its improvements were listed and valued as a separate item, and the same was true of the personal property. When the taxes were extended on the tax roll only the total valuation of all the property was entered, — not the value of each item, — and the tax against the same was entered as a lump sum, no separate tax against the different items of property appearing thereon.
Unquestionably, irregularities occurred in connection with the method of assessing the propertjq of which, defendant says, advantage cannot be taken by plaintiff for her conduct occasioned their commission. We need not enter upon a discussion of the errors thereon based for the sale is void for other reasons.
There was a finding by the court that the tax on lot 11, for the non-payment of which it was sold, was upon a valuation which included not only the value of the lot itself and the improvements thereon, but $25 of the valuation of the improvements on lots 9 and 10. The sale was also made for the delinquent tax on the personal property. Real estate of one who defaults in the payment of the taxes thereon and on his personalty may, under our statute, be sold for delinquent taxes on both. Larimer County v. Bank, 11 Colo. 564. True, this personalty was owned by Moss and Armstrong jointly and lot 11 by Moss alone from which plaintiff argues that, since there was a separate ownership of the two kinds of property, the sale of the one to pay taxes on the other is unwarranted. We might for our present purposes safely concede that plaintiff is estopped
It is said that plaintiff should not be heard to complain for, as the grantee of him who owned the property at the time the tax was levied, she agreed to pay ajl taxes that were due upon it. This, however, means all taxes that were lawfully due, and not excessive taxes. The decree is right and is affirmed.
Affirmed.
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