Majority
Headnote
[1] Taxation — Payment op Tax Under Erroneous Decision — Vested Bight to Becover — Overruling op Opinion. — An erroneous decision by the supreme court holding that certain property rights are not subject to taxation has not the effect of a statute, so as to vest in the owner of such a property the right to recover taxes thereon paid under protest subsequent to the rendering of such decision but prior to overruling by the supreme court, in a later ease, of the views therein expressed.The appeal involves two cases between the same parties in which the same questions are raised, and which by stipulation are presented in one record and as one appeal. The actions were brought to compel the city of Los Angeles to refund; taxes alleged to have been illegally and erroneously collected by the tax officers of said city during the years 1911, 1912, 1913, and 1914, from . plaintiff!, on assessments against. “improvements” upon the tide-lands within- the city of Los Angeles and fronting upon the navigable waters of Los Angeles harbor, and for the years 1915 and 1916 against plaintiff’s leasehold interest in a certain wharf and two warehouses upon said tide-lands, and for the year 1915-, against plaintiff’s leasehold interest in said tide-lands, said tide-lands being owned by the state of California and held by plaintiff under lease from the city of San Pedro, the municipal predecessor of the city of Los Angeles. The lease was made in February, 1906, and was approved and ratified by the legislature by an act of March 23, 1907. The lease was rewritten in July, 1907, in order to conform to certain changes in the harbor lines as made by the United States war department. The general scope and purpose of said lease may be gathered from the following quotation from Koyer v. Miner, 172 Cal. 448 , [ 156 Pac. 1023 ]: “This lease and agreement were given by the city as a means for improving the harbor of San Pedro, and facilitating navigation and commerce therefrom. The agreement provided that Miner and his successors should erect a seawall on the harbor-front line as soon as same was located by the federal government, should improve the same for purposes of navigation, should reserve a certain portion thereof to the city for a public harbor-front, should fill in and reclaim the land between said front and the shore, and dedicate appropriate parts thereof to public use for streets, and that he
The first point made by appellant is that “Plaintiff’s leasehold interest in said tide-lands was not and is not a property to be assessed or taxed, and the assessment and collection of taxes against the same for the years 1915-16 were, and each thereof was, erroneous and illegal. ’ ’ In support of its position appellant cites San Pedro etc. Ry. Co. v. City of Los Angeles, 167 Cal. 425 , [ 52 L. R. A. (N. S.) 991 , 139 Pac. 1071 ]. It was, indeed, in that ease expressly held that “a leasehold is property under certain circumstances and for certain purposes, but it is not property for purposes of taxation under our revenue and fiscal laws, notwithstanding the fee is owned by the state and hence is not taxable.”
How does the question appear in the light of the cases cited by appellant? In Kelley v. Rhoads, 7 Wyo. 160 , [ 75 Am. St. Rep. 904 , 39 L. R. A. 594 , 51 Pac. 593 ], it is said: “The effect of a decision of the supreme court construing a statute renders it the law for the time being as so construed. Parties have a right to act upon such a decision, and no injury ought to be allowed to result, by reason of a dependence thereon, if the decision is subsequently changed any more than in case of a repeal of a statute.” But in that case the change in the decisions affected only the remedy to be pursued by the party claiming to have been illegally assessed. There was no conflict in the decisions as to the validity of the assessment and the claimant therein acted upon and in accordance with the earlier decision, whereas herein appellant acted contrary and in opposition to the earlier decision.
In Taylor v. Ypsilanti, 105 U. S. 60 , [ 26 L. Ed. 1008 , see, also, Rose’s U. S. Notes], it is said: “The rights of the plaintiff, as the owner of bonds issued under a statute •which, when passed, was valid by the laws of Michigan, as declared and acted upon by departments of its government, are not affected by decisions of the supreme court of the state rendered after the railroad company, to whose rights plaintiff succeeded, had earned the bonds under contract with the city, made in conformity with the statute.” In that case it is clear that to have made the bonds subject to the later decision would have been to impair vested contract rights, and the supreme court properly followed its own adjudications in similar cases. It is not necessary to notice specifically the other decisions of the United States supreme court further than to quote from Douglas v. Pike Co., 101 U. S. 687 , [ 25 L. Ed. 968 , see, also, Rose’s U. S. Notes], the following clear statement of the generally recognized principle: “The true rule is to give a change of judicial construction in respect to a statute the same operation on contracts and existing contract rights that would be given to legislative amendment, that is to say, make it prospective but not retroactive. After a statute has been settled by judicial
The two California decisions, In re Dorris, 93 Cal. 612 , [ 29 Pac. 224 ], and Schoonover v. Birnbaum, 148 Cal. 548 , [ 83 Pac. 999 ], add nothing to the situation. They simply emphasize the reluctance of. appellate tribunals to overrule former decisions when the effect would be to disturb and impair vested interests.
[2] But, as already intimated, we are not dealing with a ease of contract, or contract rights acquired under the former decision. It is, rather, an instance of the payment of a just obligation to the government, although mistakenly supposed at the time to be unjust. Of course, if in such eases a decision of the supreme court is to have the full effect of a statute, the contention of appellant would be sound, but, as we understand it, that rule is to be applied only when considerations of justice and equity demand it. Such is not the case here.
It is perhaps unnecessary to add that if said decision in 167 Cal. had been rendered in this cause, it would, of course, constitute the law of the case and we would be bound by it, but since this is entirely different litigation, we are at liberty to apply the just and correct rule.
[3] Again, it is claimed that the “improvements” were improperly assessed, since they were exempt as a part of the realty. In response to the suggestion of respondent that the lease did not contain any agreement to that effect, or that they should become the property of the lessor, appellant points out that the complaints expressly allege that said improvements belong to the public and that, since it appears that the lessee affixed said improvements to the land of the lessor without any agreement permitting their removal, it follows as a matter of law, by virtue of section 1013 of the Civil Code, that the improvements belong to the owner of the land. The demurrer, of course, admits the facts as alleged, and we must, therefore, necessarily consider respondent as the owner of said improvements.
As to the improvements a similar situation exists as to the assessments for 1915 and 1916. It is true that the complaint alleged “That within the time provided by law, the assessor of the city of Los Angeles, without authority or right so to do did assess the said leasehold interest in said lands and the improvements on said leased land, above described, to this plaintiff, ... at and for the following sums,” etc. But when we turn to the exhibits attached to the complaint containing the demand that was made upon the treasury for the retorn of the money claimed to have been illegally exacted we find it recited by appellant that the assessment was made upon and against “the possessory interest of claimant in and to two warehouses” and “against and upon the possessory interest of claimant in and to five thousand two hundred feet of wharf,” etc. While the ex
The case is different as to the assessments for the earlier years. The allegation as to 1911 is, “the assessor of the city of Los Angeles, without authority or right so to do, did assess the said improvements on said leased land above described, under the designation of ‘improvements on leased land’ to the plaintiff.” The allegations are similar as to 1912, 1913, and 1914. The claims presented to the treasurer also recite that said taxes were levied and assessed against “said improvements on said leased tide-lands.” It cannot be doubted that such assessment covers the entire title and interest in and to said improvements. If there had been a similar assessment of the land no one would dispute that it included the entire interest. If the leasehold or possessory right alone had been intended, it should have been so designated. The reversionary interest, however, both in the land and the improvements was not subject to taxation, and since the assessment of the improvements" included this interest and is indivisible, it is difficult to see how it can be sustained.
Respondent, though, claims that the decision in 67 Cal. is to the contrary. Therein it was said: “It is not necessary to follow and answer in detail the various reasons given by defendant why he should not be held liable; it is sufficient to say that, for the purposes of revenue, the legislature of this state has observed a distinction between real estate and improvements, and .that distinction has been recognized by this court. . . . We are of opinion that, for the purposes of revenue, the defendant was the owner of the property assessed and that he is liable for the taxes.” But in that ease attention was not directed to the distinction between the possessory right and the title to the improvements. Indeed, it was claimed by the city that McGinn was the owner of said improvements and entitled to remove them, and it was so found by the trial court. While ownership was denied by him, yet his counsel in their opening
A recent decision upon the subject is the case of City of Oakland v. Albers Bros. Milling Co., 43 Cal. App. 191 , [ 184 Pac. 868 ], wherein it was held that improvements erected by the lessee upon land belonging to the public were not subject to taxation. It is true that in the lease therein it was expressly provided that the improvements should be the property of the city while herein a similar result is affected by operation of the statute. The material fact, though, appears to be the same, that is, that the improvements belonged to the public. In that case, as in this, the assessment was to the lessee upon “the buildings and improvements as improvements on leased land.” An examination of the briefs in that case discloses that the attention of the appellate court was called to the fact that “a tax on the leasehold interest of the defendant or on its beneficial use of the property of the plaintiff (either land or improvements), is not the subject of this controversy.”
It was also emphasized in the briefs for respondent that in the McGinn case the trial court had found that the improvements therein belonged to McGinn, and the supreme court seemed satisfied with that finding. If the improvements belonged to McGinn, of course, they were taxable, and the conclusion of the supreme court based upon that premise is unassailable.
[5] But section 3804 of the Political Code, under which these actions were brought, provides that “no order for the refund of taxes, penalties or costs under this section shall be made except upon a verified claim therefor . . . which said claim must be filed within three years after the making of the payment sought to be refunded.” It appears from the complaint herein that the' claims for the repayment of the taxes for 1911 and 1912 were not filed within said three years, and hence as to those amounts the demurrer was properly sustained. The same objection does not apply to 1913 and 1914, but respondent contends that the whole action is barred by reason of section 3819 of the Political Code, providing that one claiming his assessment to be void “may,
[6] Another important contention of appellant is that the municipality was estopped from levying this tax. The theory is based upon the fact that in August, 1911, the city commenced a suit against the company to quiet title to and to obtain possession of said property, averring in the complaint that said city was the owner and entitled to the possession of the property and that the defendant had no interest therein or right to the possession thereof; that the trial of said action was had in the superior court in June, 1915, and that the decision of said court was in favor of said city as to a large portion of said property; “that, because of said claims of said city of Los Angeles-' to said property, and because of said litigation affecting the same, brought and instituted by the city of Los Angeles against this plaintiff, and still pending, said plaintiff has suffered great loss and damage in its possession thereof and in its operations thereon, and said property has been thereby at all of said dates and times herein mentioned, and still is, greatly depreciated in value, and rendered practically of no value for sale, rental or any other purpose, and should it be held by this honorable court that said property herein-above described, or any part thereof, is or was, at any of the dates and times herein mentioned, taxable as against this plaintiff, plaintiff alleges that the assessed valuation placed thereon by said city assessor, as aforesaid, was and is greatly inflated and in excess of its said value, or any reasonable value, and that said value, if such or any assessment was or is lawful, should not be, nor should it be upon the whole thereof, fixed at more than the sum of $100,000.” In support of its claim appellant cites Moore v. Morledge, 42 Iowa, 26 ; Iowa B. Land Co. v. Story Co., 36 Iowa, 48 ; Calhoun County v. American Emigrant Co., 93 U. S. 124 , [ 23 L. Ed. 826 , see, also, Rose’s U. S. Notes],
The later case from Iowa involved similar facts and the supreme court based its decision upon the ruling in Iowa R. Land Co. v. Story Co., 36 Iowa, 48 .
In the County of Calhoun ease, supra, the county in levying the tax violated its stipulation and agreement that the property should not be assessed, and in view of the bad faith of the county the supreme court of the United States deemed it proper to say: “Corporations, quite as much as individuals, are held to a careful adherence to truth and uprightness in their dealings with other parties; nor can they be permitted, with impunity, to involve others in onerous obligations, by their misrepresentations or concealments, without being held to just responsibility for the consequences of their misconduct or bad faith.”
In those cases, it is to be observed, that a degree of perfidy characterized the conduct of the taxing power, and that the burden was ivrongfully and unjustly imposed; whereas, in the case at bar, there is no suggestion of mala fides or oppression. We must assume that there was an honest differ
Of course, if there had been a final judgment in this case or if appellant had been deprived of the use and enjoyment of the property before the assessment was levied, we would have a different situation. But no judgment has been ' rendered and appellant has remained in possession. [7] There is an allegation, it is true, that the value of appellant’s interest has greatly depreciated in consequence of said litigation, but manifestly, this was a consideration to be presented to the board of equalization. When a party believes that his property has been unduly assessed, in order to obtain relief, he must make application to the tribunal created for that purpose. (Fall v. City of Marysville, 19 Cal. 391 .) There is no pretense that such course was pursued herein.
[8] It may be added that the doctrine of estoppel is not to be lightly invoked against the exercise of the sovereign power of the state to levy and collect taxes for the support of the government. This authority is so important and commanding that, assuredly, it cannot be successfully chai
We think the judgment in the case “No. B 52,531” is correct and should be affirmed; that the judgment in “No. B 38,539” is erroneous as to the assessments for 1913 and 1914, and that the complaint states a cause of action to recover the same, and that said judgment should be reversed and such further action taken as herein indicated.
It is so ordered.
Hart, Js, and Nicol, P. J., pro tem., concurred.
Cases cited
- Koyer v. Miner 172 Cal. 448 p. 122
- San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad v. City of Los Angeles 167 Cal. 425 p. 123, p. 124
- San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad v. City of Los Angeles 180 Cal. 18 p. 124
- Taylor v. Ypsilanti 105 U. S. 60 p. 125
- Douglass v. County of Pike 25 L. Ed. 968 p. 125
- Schoonover v. Birnbaum 148 Cal. 548 p. 126
- City of San Francisco v. McGinn 67 Cal. 110 p. 127
- City of Oakland v. Albers Bros. Milling Co. 43 Cal. App. 191 p. 129
- Stewart Law & Collection Co. v. County of Alameda 142 Cal. 660 p. 130
- County of Calhoun v. American Emigrant Co. 93 U. S. 124 p. 130
- Fall v. Mayor & Common Council of Marysville 19 Cal. 391 p. 132