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Ess v. Bouton

H. N. Ess v. Mary J. Bouton

Ess v. Bouton, 64 Mo. 105 (1876)
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Court
Supreme Court of Missouri · State Highest Courts
Decided
October 15, 1876
Judges
Norton, Other
Citations
64 Mo. 105
Headnotes
I. Special tax bills, evidence of contract with city, when — Evidence—Prima facie case made out by bill — Evidence contra will not be reviewed, when. — Under a municipal charter which provides that a special tax bill shall “ in any action brought thereon baprima facie evidence that the work and material charged in such bill have been furnished, and of the liability of the parties therein named as the owner of the property,” the bill itself furnishes presumptive evidence of the existence of the contract under which the work was done. Such bill being put in evidence furnishes a prima fade case, and no declaration of law being given, the Supreme Court will not review the opposing evidence for the purpose of determining whether it be sufficient to overthrow the case so made out.
Summary
Appeal from Jackson Co. Special Law and Equity Court.

Syllabus and headnotes are prepared by the reporter or publisher, not the court, and are not part of the opinion.

Opinion of the Court — Norton

Text extracted by OCR from a scanned original; check the original for exact wording.

Norton, Judge,

delivered the opinion of the court.

This suit is for the recovery of a special tax hill for making side-walk on part of Third Street in Kansas City, which was issued to the contractors and by them assigned to plaintiff. The suit was instituted against defendants as owners of lot No. 294, block 31, and its object is to subject said lot to the payment of said tax bill.

The case was tried before a justice of the peace and judgment rendered for plaintiff, from which an appeal was taken to the Special Law and Equity Court of Jackson County and on a trial de novo in said court, judgment was again rendered for plaintiff.

The case was tried by .the court without the intervention of a jury, no declarations of law were asked and none were given, and the only exception saved, as shown by the record, was as to the action of the court in admitting the tax bill as evidence. Defendants objected to its introduction on the ground that plaintiff 'should first prove the existence of a contract under which the work was done, for which the tax bill was issued.

Section four of an act to revise and amend the charter of the City of Kansas (Acts 1870, p. 347) provides that such tax bill shall “ in any action brought thereon, be prima facie evidence that the words: and material charged in such .bill have been furnished, and of the liability of the persons therein named as the owners of such property.”

Under this provision, the objection of defendant was properly overruled.

It is urged that the judgment is against the evidence. A number of the ordinances of the city were offered in evidence without objection, and this court will not look into the evidence for the pui’pose of weighing it and ascertaining whether it preponderated on the side of plaintiff or defendant.

A prima facie case was made when the tax bill was received in evidence and no declarations of law having been given, the evi *107 deuce will not be reviewed here for tbe purpose of determining its sufficiency to overthrow the case made by plaintiff.

Judgment affirmed, in which the other judges concur.

How later courts describe this case

No later court has written an explanatory parenthetical about this case yet.

1879–1880: 11891–1892: 11893–1894: 11895–1896: 11897–1898: 11917–1918: 118792026peak 1879 · 1

Relies on it most ⓘ

  1. State v. Beach46 N.E. 145 (Ind. 1897)
  2. State v. Buck25 S.W. 573 (Mo. 1894)
  3. City of St. Joseph ex rel. Gibson v. Farrell106 Mo. 437 (1891)
  4. Stifel v. Dougherty6 Mo. App. 441 (1879)
  5. Davis v. Dawson201 S.W. 524 (Mo. 1918)
  6. Gallaher v. Bartlett64 Mo. App. 258 (1896)

Most recent

  1. Davis v. Dawson201 S.W. 524 (Mo. 1918)
  2. State v. Beach46 N.E. 145 (Ind. 1897)
  3. Gallaher v. Bartlett64 Mo. App. 258 (1896)
  4. State v. Buck25 S.W. 573 (Mo. 1894)
  5. City of St. Joseph ex rel. Gibson v. Farrell106 Mo. 437 (1891)
  6. Stifel v. Dougherty6 Mo. App. 441 (1879)

Citing references are not a citator: they show that a later opinion cites this case, not whether it followed, distinguished, or overruled it. Check negative history before relying on this case.

Authorities cited 0

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