Kessler v. State ex rel. Hampton
Kessler v. State ex rel. Hampton
Opinion of the Court
Appellant is the superintendent of construction of a drainage improvement under the jurisdiction of the Board of Commissioners of the County of Newton, which consists of deepening and widening certain dredge ditches, and appellees are interested landowners. After the work was ordered constructed, and a contract entered into for the work, appellant gave notice of collection of the assessments by instalments. Appellees desired that bonds be issued to pay for the work primarily, and brought this action for a mandate to compel appellant to determine the total cost of
It is the claim of appellant that as the drains were originally constructed under the jurisdiction of the board of commissioners, and as the proposed improvement is by the board, wholly under the authority of §19 of the drainage law of 1907 (Acts 1907 p. 508, §6174 Burns 1908), bonds cannot be issued under the provisions of §5J of said act (§6145 Burns 1908)* as amended in 1909 (Acts 1909 p. 431), as the act does not apply, while the contention of appellees is, that whether the proceedings be before a circuit or supexior court, or a board of coxnmissioixers, bonds may be issued as against the assessments which are not paid within the time given by that section for payment, provided the cost of the work exceeds $5,000, axxd that if the proceeding is under §19, supra —which is not conceded—the construction contended for by appellaxxt would exxlarge the scope of §19, supra, and restrict the scope of §5½, supra. The provision for issuing bonds as ' against ditch assessments first appeared ixx the amendxnexxt of 1903 (Acts 1903 p. 384).
The ixxdepexxdent act of 1905 (Acts 1905 p. 456) was a cirexxit or supexior court act primarily, but by §9 of said act concurrent jurisdiction was conferred on boards of coxnxxxissioixers, when the lands or subjects of assessment for the work were “wholly withixx one county”, with like proceedings as before circuit or superior courts. All prior laws were repealed, with the exceptions noted in §14 of said act as to petition, notice, remonstx’ance, etc. Said act of 1907 was an ixxdependent act, repealing all former laws, with the exceptioxxs xxoted in §21 and §22 (§22 appears as §6168
By §17 of said act (§6151 Burns 1908), concurrent jurisdiction is conferred on boards of commissioners, where the lands and subjects of assessment for the work were "wholly within one county”, with the proceedings the same as in circuit or superior courts, as to petition, notice, remonstrance, hearing, etc.
Section 6 of said act (§6146 Burns 1908) fixes the liens, and provides for the recording and notice of the assessments, and their release.
Section 19 (§6174 Burns 1908) provides for changes of prior-constructed drains, and for notice as under §§2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 (§§6141, 6142, 6143, 6144, 6147 Burns 1908) for an original improvement, "and’if such work of change or improvement is done under the direction of the circuit or superior court, and the total cost exceed five thousand dollars, the provisions of section six in relation to the issue of drainage bonds shall also apply. In all other respects the provisions of this act in relation to the construction of any work of drainage shall, so far as applicable, govern in the making of any such change, improvement or extension of any work constructed under this act or under any former drainage law of this state.”
It is also clear that §19 was an interposed section, and is in the identical wording of §11 of the act of 1905 (Acts 1905 p. 456) down to the first proviso, which accounts for the discrepancy in rewriting §6 in the act of 1907, which had no relevancy in that act to the matter of issuing bonds, but said §6 of act of 1905 bad direct relevancy to that subject (Acts 1905 p. 456, §6).
Section 17 of the act of 1907 (Acts 1907 p. 508, §6151 Burns 1908) is identical with §9 of the act of 1905 (Acts 1905 p. 456) and §8-| of the act of 1907 (§6149 Burns 1908) is identical with §12 of the act of 1905, and was interpolated by amendment in the Senate precisely as said §5-| and §19 were.
Under both the acts of 1905 and 1907, §§9, 17, respectively, when the work was wholly in one county, boards of commissioners were given concurrent jurisdiction with circuit and superior courts, but §11 and §19 of the respective acts in their reference to the tribunal in which the proceeding may be had confer the jurisdiction on the circuit or superior courts, in case of ditches originally constructed by these courts, or in case of ditches in more than one county, and confer jurisdiction on boards of commissioners where the improvement is wholly in one county, and in those cases where ditches were originally constructed by boards of commissioners.
What then was the origin and purpose of, and what construction is to be given in §19, supra, to the clause “if such work of change or improvement is done under the direction of the circuit or superior court,” etc., and if the costs exceed $5,000 may bonds issue, and does it preclude issuance of bonds in case of proceedings before boards of commissioners ?
The provision which presents the difficulty here is the one in §11 of the circuit court act of 1905, in which provision was made for petition in circuit or superior courts and before boards of commissioners. Section 6 of the act provides for payment of proceeds of bonds on certificate of the superintendent, and §5½ of the act of 1907, supra, followed it, but by the amendment of 1909 (Acts 1909 p. 431,
It is therefore clear that in these various enactments the fact did not appear to the legislators, that there was some confusing language in applying §6 and §11 in said act of 1905 and §5, §5½ and §19 in said act of 1907, and said amendment of 1909, referring to approval of warrants by the circuit court, but such confusion clearly arose from the failure to keep in mind that concurrent jurisdiction under said act of 1905 was conferred on boards of commissioners, and under that act bonds could not issue unless the cost exceeded $5,000, even though the proceeding was in a circuit or superior court, as shown by §5 and §6, and by §11 the issue of bonds was restricted to proceedings in circuit or superior courts. ' _ _ '
But when we come to the proviso in §5 in said act of 1907, carried as independent §5½, bonds were provided for in all cases where the cost exceeds $5,000, but in adding this proviso and introducing §19 from the act of 1905, as part of the same act, the apparent conflict was overlooked in this respect, as well as in respect to §6, instead of §5, with the proviso in §5½.
Taking §6 and §11 of that act (Acts 1905 p. 456) together, there could have been no possible reason for the conditional language used in §11 of the act of 1905, and the same thing is true as to §5, with the proviso of §5½, which should appear as a proviso proper in said act of 1907.
If we eliminate from §11 of the act of 1905, and from §19 of -the act of 1907 words referring to courts, or add boards of commissioners, the sections become consistent with other portions of the acts.
The language of §6 in act of 1905, and in §5£ as a proviso of §5 in said act of 1907, is “In all cases,” etc. In said act of 1909 it is broadened to “ In all ditches and drains, ’ ’ etc.
Note.—Reported in 98 N. E. 1089. See, also, under (1) 36 Cyc. 1126; (2) 36 Cyc. 1128, 1138.
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