Cumberland County Gas Co. v. Simmerman
Cumberland County Gas Co. v. Simmerman
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
The fundamental question underlying the controversy in this case is one of fact. The prosecutor, as shown by the duplicate, was assessed for taxes for the year 1918, at No. 233 High street, Millville, in the name of the “Millville (Gas Light Company.” Value of personal property, $120,000. On November 2d, 1918, Wilbert J. Simmerman, the collector of taxes of the city of Millville, entered on the tax duplicate, called in the notice sent to the prosecutor, “omitted property” described as three and one-half acres of land in the city of Millville, bounded on the west by North Second street, on the north by Elizabeth street, on the east by the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad Companj’, and on the south by lands of the
There is no contention by the prosecutor that the statrrte was not complied with if the facts justified the action of the collector. The prosecutor argues at the outset that the application is not to set aside the assessment made by the collector upon the ground that any irregularity, so far as the method by which the assessment was made is concerned, but the attack is upon the validity of the assessment itself, upon the ground that it cannot be justified under the provision of section twenty-eight (28) of the Eevised Tax act (Pamph. L. 1903, p. 394; Comp. Stat., p. 5107), by virtue of which the collector assumed to act. That the property assessed by the collector had not been omitted from the duplicate by the assessors, but was included in the valuation made by the latter at $120,000 for personal property. This, then, as stated at the outset, is the fundamental and only question involved in this controversy, the solution of which depends upon the facts returned with the writ, in addition to the form and amount of the assessment, entered on the duplicate, which is not conclusive, but is certainly significant. Testimony of Mr. S. J. Eranklin, vice president and general manager of the prosecutor, is: The value of the company’s property in the city of Millville — mains, $127,789; services, $41,690; meters, $45,660; total, $215,139; plant, $192,953, the aggregate value of the physical property in the city of Millville, $408,092. As against this testimony, Mr. Alonzo E. Moore, Mr. Charles
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.