People ex rel. Canaday v. Williams

This is an appeal by defendants from an order of the special term denying their motion to quash a writ of certiorari issued under the provisions of chapter 269, Laws 1880, to review an assessment of certain real estate of which George Canaday, as committee of Jeremiah Canaday, a lunatic, holds the legal title. It was placed on the assessment roll by defendants, the assessors of the town of Hassau, NT. Y., in the year 1894, against George H. Canaday individually. Relator appeared before said assessors by attorney on the day appointed for hearing grievances, and claimed that said real estate was exempt from taxation on the ground that it was owned by him as committee as aforesaid, and was.purchased with pension money of said lunatic, received from the United States by said Jeremiah Canaday as a disabled sailor; and relator produced and read to said assessors on said hearing a verified petition, showing the facts as claimed by him. The assessors declined to strike said assessment from the roll, and relator obtained a writ of certiorari. The court below appointed a referee to take evidence under the provisions of section 4, chapter 269, Laws 1880, and on the report of said referee made findings which appear in the papers submitted to us. Among other things, the court found:

“That George Canaday, as committee of Jeremiah Canaday, an adjudged lunatic, on said 22d day of July, 1889, became, and ever since has been, and now is, the owner of the premises described in the petition herein; that the money used for the pur

chase of the premises described in this proceeding was pension money received from the United States government by Jeremiah Canaday, an honorably discharged sailor in the United States navy; that the property described in the petition in this'proceeding is not held by George Canaday, as committee of Jeremiah Canaday, for and on account of said Jeremiah Canaday and the family of said Jeremiah Canaday.”

In reference to the hearing before the assessors the following findings were made:

“That on such hearing the petitioner, George Canaday, filed With said assessors his affidavit, showing that the land in question was purchased by pension moneys for the benefit of a disabled sailor by moneys paid such disabled sailor by the United States; that upon such hearing the said petitioner, by his said attorneys, stated to said assessors that if they were not satisfied that the statements set forth in the petition were true, he would have the petitioner appear in person, and would produce evidence before them to show that the money which purchased this farm was pension money received by said committee from the United States, and the said assessors replied that there was no need of doing that; that said assessors did not request the presence or appearance of said petitioner to make proof of the facts alleged in the petition; that said assessors did not request the production of any proof of the facts alleged in the petition; that said assessors refused to strike the said assessment of said property from said assessment roll of said town, and to assess said property as exempt property, basing their decision on the ground that the law did not exempt said property from taxation.”

The evidence in the case was sufficient to sustain these findings of the court below. As the title to said real estate was shown to-be in relator, as committee of said lunatic, and as it was purchased with money of the lunatic’s, received as a pension from the United States, and as property so purchased is exempt from levy and sale under execution (Yates County Nat. Bank v. Carpenter, 119 N. Y. 550 ; 30 St. Rep. 131 ), and hence by statute exempt from taxation, it would seem to follow that the assessment in question should have been stricken from the roll by the assessors on the application of relator, and that the court below reached a correct conclusion in the matter, unless certain positions taken by the appellants can be sustained. It is urged that relator failed to-show in the court below that he was duly and legally appointed committee of the person and estate of said lunatic. It is a sufficient answer to this position that no such claim was made on the hearing before the assessors. The relator produced his affidavit, alleging his appointment as such committee, and, as the special term found, on competent evidence, offered to bring the lunatic before the assessors, and produce evidence before them of the truth of the matters alleged in the petition; and the assessors waived the production of such proof. Also there was testimony

The papers submitted show that relator purchased the property in question on a mortgage sale under a mortgage held by him for the lunatic, taking title to George Canaday, as committee of Jeremiah Canaday, an adjudicated lunatic. Probably he should have taken title in the name of the lunatic. It is doubtful whether a committee of the person and estate of a lunatic has a right to take title to real estate in his own name for the lunatic. It is held that a committee takes no title to a lunatic’s estate. He is a mere bailiff to take care of and. to administer it under the direction of the court, and in fact is an officer of the court. In re Strasburger, 132 N. Y. 128 ; 43 St. Rep. 553 ; People v. Tax Commissioners, 100 N. Y. 215 ; Underhill v. Jackson, 1 Barb. Ch. 73 ; In re Otis, 101 N. Y. 580 , 581; Pharis v. Gere, 110 id. 336; 18 St. Rep. 534 .. I am inclined to think, therefore, that the purchase by relator of the property in question, and taking title thereto in his own name, was unauthorized. But, assuming that such is the fact, and that relator, as committee, cannot legally hold real estate of the lunatic, it follows that under the provisions of the statute of uses and trusts he holds title to the property in question as trastee of said Jeremiah Canaday, a mere naked title "without interest. Siemon v. Schurck, 29 N. Y. 598 ; Reitz v. Reitz, 80 id. 538. In this view of the case the title to the premises in question is in relator as trustee of the lunatic. As such trustee he holds a mere legal, naked title "without any interest in the premises. He holds such legal, naked title for the benefit of Jeremiah Canaday. I concluded, therefor, that as the land is thus held for the benefit of the lunatic, and as the latter is in fact the beneficial owner thereof, and such land was purchased with his pension, that it is exempt from taxation;, and see no reason to doubt that relator, as committe, under the provisions of section 2340, supra, was authorized to maintain a certiorari to view the action of the

MAYHEM, P. J., consurs; HERRICK, J., not acting.