Jolly v. Latah County
Jolly v. Latah County
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiffs (appellants here) brought their action in the court below against the defendant, Latah county, to recover the alleged contract price of $1,661 for publishing by the appellants in the “Moscow Mirror,” a weekly newspaper published by said plaintiffs at the county seat of the defendant county, the delinquent tax list of said county for the year of 1894) under a contract made and entered into by and between the plaintiff and the assessor and collector of the defendant county on December 17, 1894. Several questions are raised by the briefs of the respective parties, but the-vital question, and the principal one that it is necessary to consider, is, Did the assessor and collector of the defendant county have authority to make such contract, and thereby bind the defendant county? Section 1530 of the Revised Statutes,, requires the tax collector to have the delinquent list published. Section 1532, as amended by act of March 16, 1891, reads as-follows: “The publication must be made in a newspaper or a. supplement thereto, once.a week for three consecutive weeks,, published in the county, if it can be done for not more than.
Appellants complain that the lower court did not give them judgment for the amount allowed by the board of county commissioners for printing said delinquent tax list. It appears that appellants presented their claim for printing said delinquent list to the board of commissioners, based on the contract made with the tax collector; that the board equitably allowed ■appellants a reasonable compensation for such work; that the appellants refused to accept the amount allowed by the board, refused to appeal from the order of the board, and elected to sue the county, basing their action solely upon the said contract; and upon the said contract the action must stand or fall. The judgment of the lower court was proper. We do not see how the lower court could have affirmed the order of the board of commissioners, there being no appeal therefrom. Nor could the plaintiffs, under the allegations of their complaint, recover upon a quantum meruit. If the plaintiffs had pleaded a quantum meruit in a second count of their complaint, the case would probably be different. The trouble in this case arises from the unwarranted usurpation of authority by the tax collector. He should have prepared the delinquent list, and delivered it to the person or party selected by the board of commissioners to print it; and until the statutes cited are changed by enactment, such course is the only one that tax collectors can legally pursue in this state. Judgment affirmed, with cost to respondent.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- JOLLY v. LATAH COUNTY
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Pp.inting Delinquent Tax List — County Printing. — The assessor and collector of a county liasi no authority to fix by contract the compensation of the publisher for printing the delinquent tax list. Duty of County Commissioners as to Printing Delinquent Tax List. — Under subdivision 18 of section 1759 of the Revised Statutes of Idaho, it is the duty of the board of county commissioners to contract for the printing of the delinquent tax list, and the authority to fix the compensation for publishing such delinquent tax list, by contract or otherwise, is vested solely in the board of commissioners. (Syllabus by the court.)