Abbott v. Gaches
Abbott v. Gaches
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This action was begun by respondents, as taxpayers, to enjoin the payment of certain warrants of diking district Ho. 12 of Skagit county. The warrants had theretofore been issued and presented to the county treasurer and registered by him and stamped “not paid for want of funds.” The complaint alleged want of legal consideration or authority for the issuance' of the warrants, for the reason that they were issued in payment of warrants which had been issued under the old diking law (which has since been declared unconstitutional) by diking
The first contention of the appellants is that the demurrer to the complaint should have been sustained, for the reason that there was a defect of parties defendant, the contention being that the diking district ought to have been made a party to the action. We have examined the cases cited by the appellants on this proposition, hut believe them not to he in point. In § 576 of High on Injunctions (2d ed.)—which section is the .same in the 3d edition—• among other things it is stated, after arguing the question generally, that “the true test, however, in all cases would seem to be to make such parties defendant as are necessary to a proper solution of the questions at issue.” The question at issue here, certainly, is the validity of the warrants in question; and the making of the diking district a party defendant in this action could in no way aid in' determining that question, because their validity or invalidity depends entirely upon the construction of an act of the legislature. Again, the county treasurer, under the act of 1895, collects the dike taxes and has full power to disburse the same. The diking district, then, having nothing to do with the collecting or disbursing of the taxes and having no control over the treasurer in regard to their collection or disbursement, is not a necessary party to the action.
The next contention is that the complaint did not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action, for the
It is also contended that the court erred in granting respondents’ judgment on the pleadings, for the reason that an issue was tendered on the allegation that the plaintiffs had no adequate remedy at law. This allegation amounts to nothing within itself, and the question of whether there was an adequate remedy at law must be determined by the facts stated, and not by the averment that there was no adequate remedy at law. We think that the facts stated showed that there was no adequate remedy at law, and that the warrants in question were issued without considera
It is again contended that, under the affirmative defenses, the question of estoppel was raised; hut this court passed upon that question in Skagit County v. Stiles, 10 Wash. 388 (39 Pac. 116); and, while that question was not discussed in the opinion, it was before the court and was decided adversely to appellants’ contention here, as shown hy the dissenting opinion of Judge Stiles in that case.
It seems to us that the questions involved in this case have been decided by this court in favor of the affirmance of this judgment in Snohomish County v. Hayward, 11 Wash. 429 (39 Pac. 652), and Pickering v. Ball, 19 Wash. 185 (52 Pac. 1022).
The judgment will he affirmed.
Gordon, O. J., and Anders and Reavis, JJ., concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Linus Abbott v. James Gaches
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- Syllabus
- INJUNCTION-PARTIES—DIKINO DISTRICT-WARRANTS-CONSIDERATION—PLEADING-ISSUES. In an action to enjoin the payment of alleged illegal diking district warrants, the diking district is not a necessary party defendant, where the collection and disbursement of the dike taxes is in the hands of the county treasurer, and the diking district has no control over the funds or the treasurer. Where warrants for the construction of a dike were issued under an act which the courts had declared unconstitutional and no method for their payment had been afterwards provided by the legislature, the subsequent issuance of warrants to take up such invalid warrants was without consideration. The denial in an answer of an allegation in the complaint that plaintffs have no adequate remedy at law tenders no issue of fact.