Miles v. Trustees of Elizabethtown
Miles v. Trustees of Elizabethtown
Opinion of the Court
Opinion of the Court by
By an act of the legislature, to repeal the charter and reincorpórate the town of Elizabethtown, approved February 28, 1868, the trustees of said town were empowered to levy and collect a tax not exceeding one dollar on each one hundred dollars worth of property in said town (except lands used for horticultural or agricultural purposes) taxable under the revenue laws of the State.
This suit was brought by the appellants in July, 1869, setting forth in their petition that they were property owners and taxpayers of the town; that the defendants, the trustees, had fraudulently ' and for purpose of speculation and personal aggrandizement, procured the passage of said act of reincorporation, by
Wherefore, they prayed an injunction restraining the defendants,
First, from acting under said act of reincorporation at all, until the people of the town could be allowed by the act of the legislature, to vote for the adoption or rejection of the charter, and if this could not be done then,
Second, from collecting any tax for the purpose of grading said Maple or other streets; and from grading or repairing said streets at the expense of the tax payers of the town; and from collecting any tax to be used in paying for said survey and map of the town, and,
Third, from collecting any tax whatever beyond what the defendants might show to be absolutely necessary for the góod government of the town.
Afterwards, upon a notice to the defendants disclosing substantially the same grounds stated in the petition for an injunction, the plaintiffs moved the court to grant an injunction staying the collection of taxes under said assessment. And before the decision of this motion, the defendants filed a demurrer to the petition; and the matters of law arising on the demurrer seem to have been considered by the court, together with said motion; and in the same order the court overruled the motion and sustained the
We are aware of no authority for an injunction to stay proceedings under a charter or other law for the purpose of giving time to get it repealed or abrogated. Nor to prohibit the local government of a town or city from proceeding to collect taxes according to its charter, merely for the apprehended reason that the money when collected will be misappropriated or incorrectly used, nor to compel an assurance in advance, that such money when collected will not be wrongfully expended.
Whatever cause may exist for suspecting corruption or mismanagement by constituted authorities, we do not think the remedy by injunction authorized upon such a state of facts as is set forth in the petition in this case.
It seem to us, therefore, that the court properly dissolved the injunction, and adjudged the petition insufficient on demurrer.
Wherefore, the judgment is affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.