Bay St. Louis v. Hancock County

Mississippi Supreme Court March 15, 1902

Bay St. Louis v. Hancock County, 80 Miss. 364 (Miss. 1902)

Calhoon

Opinion of the Court

Calhoon, J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

Antecedently to the constitution, of 1890, the law was that the statutes of limitation ran against counties and municipal corporations; but even then this was true only as to property not used or held for public or governmental purposes, such as courthouses, jails, streets, etc. The contract of the *372county in this case, made in 1874, with the municipality, that the latter should contribute to build a courthouse for the county, and thereby become owner of a room in it for city purposes, was ultra vires of the board of supervisors, and void. The pursuant occupation of the room by the city, and its continuous occupation of it for twenty-six years ■ constituted no bar, and the city, while so occupying, was simply the tenant-at-will of the county. On the expiration of the sixty days’ notice to vacate, the right of tenancy by the city, and its term as tenant, expired, and its holding after that was a holding over after the expiration of the term in the purview of code, § 2547, and entitled the county to the remedy provided by that section. It is immaterial that the city thought it owned the room, under the facts, and claimed adversely.

Affirmed.

Reference

Full Case Name: Bay St. Louis, City of v. Hancock County
Cited By: 14 cases
Status: Published
Syllabus: 1. Statute of Limitations. Code 1893, \\\\ 3730, 3734. State. County. Municipalities. Lands for public purposes. Tbe statutes of limitation have never operated against tbe state, or any subdivision or municipal corporation thereof, so as to invalidate their title to property owned for governmental purposes, such as court houses, jails and streets. 3. Board of Supervisors. Contracts. Sale of room in courthouse. Ultra vires. The board of supervisors had no power in 1874 to contract with a city so as to invest the latter with title to a room in the courthouse of the county. 3. Courthouses. Possession of room in. Tenant at will. Proceedings to remove. Code 1893, H 3547-3557. The possession by a city of a room in the courthouse of the county, under claim of a purchase thereof from the county — the county having no power to sell — is that of a tenant at will; and the city-can, on notice to vacate, be removed therefrom by proceedings under Code 1892, §§ 2547-2557, providing a summary remedy for the removal of tenants wrongfully holding over. 4. Same. One in possession of lands belonging to a county under a pretended contract, which is void because the board of supervisors had no power to make the same, is a tenant at will of the county, and may be removed as such. .