Salt Lake Tribune | 1915-12-21 | Page 14 | Decision Protects Property Holders

DECISION PROTECTS PROPERTY HOLDERS City s Demurrers Are Sustained In Special Improvement Tax Litigation. The second attempt of Sttnson & Ca of Phi ade phla to compel the city to cl ange ts present policy of handl ng de nquent special Improvement taxes was bio ked esterday when Judge F C Loofbourow sustained t e cltys. demur rer to the company s suit for a writ of mandate Counsel for t e company an no ced that an appeal would be taken mmed ately to the supreme court The company handles the city 8 special mprovement warrants Issued to con trac ors In pajment for pub lo Improve menta Tl e warrants bear Interest and are redeemed by the cltj as the special mprovement taxes are co lected The spec al Improvement taxes are paid In ear1v lnsta ments and the city has aken the stand at the property oannot be so d to satisfy the ax unt 1 t e ast nsta lment aB beco ne due and del n quent As against th s stand the com pany argues that the property should be sold the monent any 6ne Instalment bo comes del nquent In arguimr tl e case yesterday the company 8 attorneys rested on the c ty ord nance wh ch prov des that In case of de nquency the who e tax becomes due and payable The ty a torney met s argument w h he counter asser on hat the contract between t e lty and the contractor was t e ru Ing factor n he matter and tha the cont a t spe fl a. ly provl les that n case of de n ien v of one or n ore nsta ments t e a e of nterest s ould he Ig e Th s was e only pena ty provided for e n que v n the contraot an was t e on y one hat could be enforced the c ty at torney argued Judge Loofbourow deeded that the contention was correct and ru ed n favor of he cl y acco ding yl The S fnson company o ds abo t $1 500 001) wo h of c ty Improveme t wa rants and had won Its case t o t eas rer vould have been com pe ed to se 1 a largo amount of ocal p perty to n eet the oompany s demands fo payment of the warrants Th s wou d work a hardship on hundreds of zens who thoug thev have let one or two nslil ments of the r speqlal taxes become delinquent wou d be able to make up tho d ffe ence before the final ne a men s o I et a one until that ne