Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1939 )

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
I&rch 15, 1939
HonorableTams W. Cbzndler
County P.ttorney
Bobert6cJncounty
Frenklin,Tena
HonorableThomas E. Chandler,Arch 15, 1939, Page 2
prior to Ueoeaber31, 3938, ter-
minating,the date oi thie oontmot."
Yinoe the salver of the formerCountyAt-
torneyoould cover only hie tern, and the pree-
ent CountyAttornoyhas not waived,did the
C~aalone~rs* Court exceed Its power in etlp
ulatlngthe aboveexoepttion or provlsi.on?
Could the presentCountyAttorneynow take
chargeof the suits that were Piled by the QOII-
traotorpd.or to January1, 1939 (DeoaaberSl,
rest, tbetiine d&b or oat&mot I?
(I
gllEtTxos
4t
Dobe tam oontraatorbavb tim ri*t ta a
lsp aaamlb~aonon any rboov4ry4.4the mttlb-
mcab::0ra tar malt after Dbarpbbrail,1988?
HonorableThoma R. Chandler,MarohM, 1939, we 3
collectthe $100,000.00he had ~uarnnteedtc do
by the expirationdate or said oontraot,Decaz-
ber 31, 1938, (and to be exact, only e little
lees than $80,400.00has bean oolleotedby Ire-
amber 31, 1938.). Kould you oowider thiFscon-
tract breaohed?"
x8 will firstendeavorto axuweryour GuestfonNo. 1.
ArtioleV, Seotioa18, of the Constitutionof Terra,
af$er pmvldln~ for the eleotionof four oooinmfssloners
in eaoh
ozunty,pmvlden as tollowsr
bythicrCoiwtlttatioaaa thb lawa at the State,
,. gnmttrlboU+”
ar ar nay br kmreaS%ar
Tiwe ir no wlmtitutlo~ pmedon or ,8tptUt9
8tatwg
barorethe aoust eaa aot?
Tb9r9arenoT9xasagfpaxla~ 9ourtOa808
quest&m, and there ls a mat gonfltcrt
wwthe
othbr fatstee.
EonorableThomae B. Clxmdler, Marok lS, lQZY$,
Page 4
Igdlam held that Wan a quorumof a oity ~ouuoll*as presentthat
a majorityOS the votes cast (acmebeing presentend not voting)
authorizedtileccu~cilto act. In a foot note to the case of Law
z~&rs. Ingersoll,puma, in Volume 6 of L.R.A.,the follovAng
:
*Thle cnat~ emd the one next Sollowing,
xiwlvl3.leoas 00. VII.xhtahT.ll.le,
post. sls,
by their shark oonfllctadd interestto 6cmo
questionsahlch do not often QOBIBbeforethe
aousts.
*mua wbight or authorityis to the of-
I
t
I
1~
1 Pth9awQrst~r‘``~ .
Ch t in a p x wwUa g under Ar tisle P $ ,b $tb a
that tu-th m s o t th e tultim
fhmb p %wb nt tlna Yo tlng nut to te 6a m mmly 9o a -
atwd’Artlolo O61, as& 1. rballyof 8~ v&tie to ualr fa t&s ew
d &tat0 TO* OitJroi MaAUea, thu wwt lib24that a dty
ardlnaaoewtu lwella bm8aume t!??i!k- had not elm it, thh
belngth6raalpafatendi~meinthaaa8;p butthb4mtatblao
uld, whiohrclare irurk ta stats may b4~ui8tu& th nPUd.ast
*As mll ordlaanobbut bb agqfravo4
by a
Mjorlty Ya4b 04 thaw pruoat Mu robl!a&ata
rPlrUb~@&ll8&8t~dthDbr*a8Sd``~,:t
mt u appbbr that Ste m nlrwnt at a a*deMy
k~ti8bWS Vd8i?d3tb%8````*
XonorableThoms 1;.Chandler,Maroh 15, 1939, Fage 5
In that ease the 'mayorand four oounoil````~
Wre present,
and two voted *yes",one voted "no", and the xtayorand one oouncll-
man aid not mte. The langu;uaCe in this ease indloatesthat JUdge
Ryan, n?~owrote the opinion,Savoredthe rule leld down ln the aaae
0r Rushri~e ias co. VS. city or itushville, a.
As indicatedby the authoritieson the question,tbi.8is
a very close an4 dirrfoultquestionto,dealde,edd we realize that
we aan decide~onemy almostas loglaallg6s we oen deoidethe other
way. Ziowever, m reel like the uuurt did in Statevs. Yates,
after it haU reviewedthe evenly balancedauthoritieson both
of the question,in w&oh it said:
'We ar6 inullaedto thb oplllion
that thb
pro r x~&lcrth&ttho~Jho r.malnsllant
bharlbr&mmMta auaatto the aotofthoeo
l&o 40 vote'.*
ml3 ruls was eated In camp V8r Thumael, 86 8.W. (84) mc,
a11 tolla*
r* * * lbierypsrsvalsoharge4withthe
knowledg#of the law tbat ooraeirrdon~ aourtm
oan be bound by their apmamte only when theq
aut a8 oourtsaxd by orders Uuly pessed. HO
rl@ts uan be ae Wired aB aga$rmta twuntyby
agrwatm dth &I8 inairidual8eon1po6lagae~1~
mlatiiolYbr6* uaurt``
Whir0 the evibnbb ahars that the ammlb-
alcmerr~00ur-tbae aoted w.kthkmmlb48e of the
olroum~tanee6~0~4%that thb otbbr part@ to thb
RonorableThoms fi.Chandler,Baroh 15, 1939, Page 6
-allqed contracthas innooentlyplaced himelf
in a situationuhihiahwill oausehim loss in ease
the contractla not suataimd, it nay be con-
cludedthat the county is boundthersbg. Ths
ratlliaotion or estoppelmust be based upon ao-
tion on the part Or ths oon!m.bsioafsrel oourt.*
This rule or ratlfioationwan expressedin~the~oaees or
Boydstonvs. RockmillCounty (Dr. Sup. Ct.) 86 Tex. 234, 24 3.X.
vs. Pure Oil Co. (Ter.Cams.A p.) 78 S.E. (26) 929;
272; ‘d.llisxs
and ~elvostonCountyvs. Oreshsm (Tex.Clv. if
pp.) 220 3.~. 560.
The eontraotin qusetlonIs bated May 26, 1937, end wo
do notknowwhat &s ~YRUW``I& ala00 that date. It may or pray&at
b.~&y~g~pa~%`` Oopnt]r bRB Z%tif%mait aridifbm~gpab t0 a”’
.
our mmwertoyourfirst cpzostAml.sthat byvlxtam of t&
two to one efrlamtive vote by the oomll#doaers'oourt the oontraot
ls vttUd:and in addttiontheretothe oontraatmight be enforolble
oonstlt\rte ratifloatioa
and ortop-
anmuryour seooad qm8Moar
The &atute uhloh autdaorltwthereidada ot wntraoti la
78s5 or tam perlad ai*1 Statutva 0r Texas, 8auIit z06a+
rrzlolt4
b part,a8 fbllowm
%heawer tbo -~donarr' ovwt OS any
aountyafter thlrtfdyr written acitioo to,tbm
oouatyattonw 6r Qirsriot attorney te fflr
6d.inquanttaJLsu%ta~hl.a iailaseto doso,
&mlldeam tt neaorrmary or axgedicat, 88l&crourt
mayoontnaotwith u4r osnpetent atturnoyto qo-
fora* or assist in the m~orcrownt0S the wl-
leotion~orany ddlnquant Btata aad Qouutytaxea
for a per osat on the taxes.a
This oiiroshas heratetirat~held in Attorney &meral*r
Opln.lon?&.0-237 dated February14 lQS9,tbata Omr~&relom~rs~
court ldm3~.1*0&* term sn4ed IalbSs owl& notiluske a wntzaot
of thJa kind uhkoh wan aot TV take Wteot until lQI!M, rtrema mw
aam&oslonwe* hurt would be in oitloe,on the @wand that tym
CWaiouara* Court aould oat biad the rrsrtOaPnnLedoriemr*Court
in pemonal matters fa? tJd.8 kl& Hamwcwrya)till not ea 80 iar
as to hold t&at the @Wxmmy aaplqed by tie QWUBL$88LOn~(l'Court
in oontraut8or thi6 klnd mUat ma00 work to the extcmt.oinQt
proseoutingowmalafeedy flb4 $180 broaauea newa~sn~rec
aourt an4 a ww ouunty Attorney himi taken orrioe, *vim tbeu6hthe
provideo
ooatraotspeaftigally t;hst the attorney80 ~pbrail shall
HonorableThoms R. Ohasdlar,Haruh 15, 19959,
Pago 7
be allowedsir months afterthe temInatIng date or the oontraot,
kich una also tie end of the CopBpisaiOner8'
and the CountyAttar-
ney*s term 0r orrioe, t0 proseautosuits alreadyriled to rinel.
judgment. In this oaeo the oontraotmaker suah a provIsionand grants
the attcmsy ID emplo~adths right to finish prossoutingthemaIt al-
ready flledt and we ballevs t&t the Caaraiselomrs~ Court had the ati-
--thodty to grant tho attorneythis privilege, Commonsaxme dlotates
that tho attcmmyvho fllodths suit md startedltuould be Iaabot-
ter positionto prossoutethe mit to udgeumtthan some4other attor-
n.ey,andthIs is exaotlywhatths ComairsionsrsthoughtInthIr sass
*on tbsyput that pmvidon In the sontrasb.
Tberoanno antborItlenthatwomifl~& tbatbeardiraat
4 a this sIt\atloatbrrt wo kl%o*a tht the nU atat. %a 4 pae,
On The Iar or &rd
'Ooutraetr, xd*, 8848, applies to thie 8~01 that
mls bef.n6
a8 iollas:
:
~d,atfm we tho 8aooesrfulbid.derfar the
HonorableThorns FL Chandler,March 15, 1938, Pace 8
wculd clearlyhave been entitledto com;Jlete
the orUer.*
It ha6 been nu&gestedthst the new County Attorney,who
took officeon January1, 1933, haa oertslninterestsin theee
CGSeS. liedoes have a vltel interestin the mite flled efter he
tcke6 office,becausehe Geta e fee a8 ptided in me 15% 3.S
he file6 the mlts (and.thisw-a8$lven Sor one OS the xumaoneSor
AttorneyQanerel’s0pWon x0. O-W?, referredto abow); but ba
@.OOS Ilothave t&i6 interest iIltU SUitEI that have @.bWdy been
filed by an outaiUetsx attorneybofcm he took atlice,and wh%ch
suits are calf being pmcsecutodto Slnal judagmsnt.The zxmonhe
dose not hnvo thla lntsrertAnthe tits alretiySil+4 by.ea out&de
-ta x
ltta r a ey
la b eo a a m h 8wo tlld wt x*& v* l fee la th o a r 8uiC8
‘ssla tk a tir Eyr i~r o r ~f````~r r r dsinp a F ti*~ib t
1WSt
';l;e
cocstitutlonality of Article7335 was upheldby the
SupremeCourt of Texrisin the csses of CherokeeCountyvs. Odom,
U3 Tex. ZCB, 15 5.i..(Ed) 538; nnd Com~I.ssfoners' Court oGbEdi-
son Countyvs. it~llace, 116 fex. 279, I.5S.V.'.
(26) 535. -
quent to those cases the CommissionoS Appasla,Se&ion A, in the
case of ';nstemooGvs. HendersonCounty,62 S.Z. (2d) 69, saldt
"The power to provide for the colleotlon
of dellrquent tares, ad prescribethe oompen-
sationto be p&G for servicearenderedin that
res;)ect, residesexclusivelyin the LegieLature.
Under this power,tho cowzssi'oners* oburt av?ay
be grantedsuthotityto mske bindingaontrsats
lookin@to the aollaotioti OS deljmpuenttaxw,
and to tha paymeat0r a t as the aolleotioai3,
88 amapamatlon Sin a0lA=oee putowed in that
j Otlrenawrto your third qusstlon la t&t tba present
UouatyAttarmy oaul(la~tatthm praaenttiwtslr;s ohargeoitha
muits that were flleadby the QWqueat tax attoraa prior bo ths
tealnatiagdato of the awttraot(Deaaubersl, 1MB T 1 In&ha ocm
taltmohrggeat themattbe lndof rri,xmantha
aStarftM.tazml~tlag
&at0 if any ar8 8tlll on the daeket,
We rlll PQI give aansideratlon
to jour fewtlaquwtlon~
Theaaatreetpzrovldea that RaEutsonCauatyimto paythe
tu attarm em oyod war tb eantraot WI per aant crithe amouat
oclleoted0E:alpldeliaqubattaxna,peaaltgand intuwt+ * * eotu-
ellyoalleated* + +, OS vhlah sbaaed Rsrty (tuattaraayll8l.iwtm-
asatal in oolleotlx@* + + ".
We Mvea~eady held laour tmawarto Qu88tioatwothettha
tax attomsg~ls entitled ta eix mantlm attertha tsa&mtAag tit* c#
th4 aantrsat Daamnbat3l.,3.9Ei3, lnwhlohta pm86autato ii&ml IV&-
Wat (Nit8 drSGdySl~& 8.d we hare held inour M8mrto '4-S t 011
three thatdurIng that If,xmcnthe periodthe Ckuuty Ati``rney aauld
not teke aharga of the tsx suits ~l.re~ClgTiled by the tax attomep.
Eruitathat ere Siledbythstar attorney bdn& theaim-
tmot perlo and eettled by himwithin 8i~mnthrr sitar tb0 tan&J&-
ing date me alesrly aantanpktedby the aontZ%ot,and ths pOd8iOn
referredte above that providesfor payrnant to the attorMy of 1%
OS the mount aallaatedapplisawithoutqwirtion to th880 Qaao6i
OuramwutoyaurZ'ourth qubooionia that thsooat~ofor,
the taxattora~,has the xtghtto alf4j4aamslmloaona mr@YO~ls
the 8ettlrmeat of a ta%atitaSterDeasmibersl.2938, pkwV%dtith8
suit was riled by the tar stboxmy prior ta Deomaber1IL,lQIBB,darines
HonorableThoms i..Chnndlsr,Usrch 15, 193Q, Page 10
the term OS tiiouontraot,;-ad
wu5 settledwithin six monthsOS De-
celnber31, 1938.
:ist?
will rlowt&e up your SiSth question.
This contractdoes not expresslystate that t&m is OS
the essence. IS a law suit shoulddeveloptjotween the partiesto
the oontract,it is iqossiblt? for us to sey nt this timewhat
gle&dingswould lo tiledwd what evideme woilldbe odmitted,'but
it Keg be ttit the 1~ ouit would developso that the rule in Taylor
allin;:Co. W. ~knricankg Co., 230 S.ii.782;would apply,whioh
rule is in vmrds CE follows:
Vhether or not tinr,it3of the essenoo~or
a oootmot ls~a quetuttion at femt fbr a jury,
UdLdSS the eaatraotwpre66lyat¶keeitso,ar
utihss the tmbjeot-matter OS the oontraotis
euoh that aoourtullltake judlolalknowledge
ar the taatthat the pll't&OS obvlouelylntsn888
that t3.w ahaul bs ab me 08-01) OS ths aoa-
traat. Suahwiuld bet&~ oaselnauontraatto
deliveraotlm ox-wheat, or any art~oleOS nblah
there Wi8 a aonatentl SulotQatinglm~t, a8-
outalrsble by estab dab edE3rkutquotatWa6.
*The modsrnteadsnoyls tohold that time ti aat
Qs the a6banooOS a aantraot woepttM*r tbs
alrouwtaaoos above &atodr'
Tbi.6oifioebk8 bonoti18d OntO MEWr~QWStiOW,
and '10hkIV8vSnt``O8Our OpitiOaRon thereWa(1#Uah a &Jk Or au-
thorltythstitawtante8 only to a me88 a8 torhattb8aourt8weuXd
yobuuE'Qd3.l not ga 60 r= or be aa reaklesea6 to tsm66what a
.
On aoootant
cU the Saot that this may developinto a &XT
qwtetlon,we believeth~titwouldbb inpmperfarus to attmptto
GMweu it,.
we wlu now endsavorto anaveryour sixth quwtlon.
In paragraphYII OS th8 aontraotit ie mvldad that $ab-
erteonCounty is to pay ths~t``attaney bnp%yed under
%3 peroentot the amount
otor OS taxes durine:the
(t tt )iei t tal 1 11 tl
the &es:to:~ "iii% is "tii t%?iS t&t%n~o%? In para&ra~h
VIII it is pXOti’b8 that “thi8 WtiXWt 6htkl1 be iEl fQl’W inw. 8UW
1, 1937, to DeoenberXL, 1938, + + * end at ths expirationor 6&d
periodthie 0mtraatehel.lteda6te * + *,* Tek%ng+heeepmVi6-
ians a.low3into oonslderation wwmii.6 aanoludethat the aontraatcr
HonorableThomis Ii.Chrrndler,
-oh 15, 1939, Page
(tax nttorney)oould only reoeiveoo``~&~alons fro=
1~ the tern of the ffintrnot whioh was rnxu June 1, 1937, to koember
31, 1938, and that he oould not rsoeivecommisslone rmi gnymsnts
rnndeafter that tiae; but there is anotherprovisionthat mat be
considered, and that is that pert of paragraphVIII which prorides
as follae: wExoeutthe oontraotshall be alloweds$lxmonthsin which
to Prosoouteto final fudaumt suits 1-d mlor to i)eoanber 31. 1930.-
In oonstrulngthis last quoted provisionwe held in our an-
ower to your seo~ndquestionthat this provisionwa8 valid, end that
ths tax attormy has the ri&t providedfor in this p~uvieion. If
the tax attorney"is lnstnueentsl In oollsotln~"these taxes by tir-
tusoShad.agflleda suit, that ie ifthssultoau``edthe paynwmt
of them taxoo, then surely the tax attor``eyIa entitled to reoslvea
6omldon, be0mls0 ii the tax attQnwp oanaot rwelve these OoQals-
tdonn lt'wouldbo wsless (LIfar a6 he *a8 oonoornod-to ~sseute
to iinal judpent”~after Dewmber Sl, lVS8, suitsthat he had fU.od
prior to that tlms, and tlm abare quoted pr~tislon from Sootion VIIX
of the oohtraotweuld be meanlng&s~, &oh a aoaetnrotion weld not
be hes4 011this ooatraotby aayoourt, but the rule axprsrssdln
10 8ex.Tur.884wmldbo applkd,thatrPlsbslng ariollms:
l1 tla to b s
Ouranswwto your ulxth queasttonlrthat the 6outra6tor
(thetaxattornsy) oeuld aoteoatinuste reoelrsoomml.emlonm oa 00X-
~leationo -de by t.b Tax AmesmI”CIOlle~t~ after DsoaaberZl, lBS8
with the eraeptlonthat be is entitledto a ooamisrlonon money ml&
totho TaxAeam61~0or-Ooltootoru~ta ml 19f59,
fish&was ti@tru-
mu&al in aollsotlngby vfrtu6 of havS.4$fhsd a cult @or to DOOOBI-
bar 3l,lUS,
we4till now ensweryour mmutth qqeetlorb
It 1s our oplnlon that mar 8x1-r to que8tian sit alao an-
SWSXVBI&IS qutw,loni.YOU se at tmat rate the ooauisnW #houla be
paid, and that ie already set out at 18% ot the arsouat 6ol266t&
RonorablcThoms S. Chandler,Um-ch 13, 1939, pnge 1%
Cur mswer to your seventhqestion is that the contraotor
(the tax attorney)could not receiveoo.missIonsfmlr.thapaymnt af
delinquenttares cf't~ Ijeoe:ber 3l, 1938; wItA the ezoeptionthzt he
ie entitledto licozA.solonon colleotlonsup to July 1, 1939,whIoh
he wae instrumnttil in collectingby virtue of ftavin(;filed 6 adit
prior to Lkxxmber31, 193& and his rate of cox~Issionlntlxme lat-
ter onses is 13 per cent of the mount collooted.
Se wIl1 now discussand aaaweryour eighth,and last, ques-
tlon.
Xe are unable to find in the contractany wordo by which
the tax attorney&uarsnteesto solloot$100,000.00In delinquent
tsxm by Deoember 31, lOSe$ and, thonfiwe, ws oonaludsthat ths
repremntatioae and guarantyn to rhlohyourererin your question
w4r4 orallymade at th4 tlm of tbo ae~tiationsl~dluguptoths
luaungoi the oontraot. Tha only ps+vldon lnthtroontraotthat mw-
tlonsa ?guarantee*ie SeotlonXVI, whloh rsads as follows:
*B;L1plxtiissZwrstoagmatotbsfollordng
4hangsin tho fWo&6g pnnisions of this 6on-
tS!LOt, to-T&J &OOoldPJlX’ty&f&l1 ROt X’OOaiv9
say oomp~satdon uhatmsrer umbr and by rirtps
of this aoatl'aet
until Cm l?uadrsdThouscudDal-
lams (#lOO,OOO&O)shall hambmm soLlootedby
saib gwty or th0 64ixmdpit. .zr as, a04Whsa
safd~Ttyaffhss~ndp~obalihaoeo~ot~
odQneHunaredThousarrrlDollan~#lQO,OOO.OO)be
ahall be entitledtc ad must be PaId the !Phire
tom psr oent (1%) aolaskrlonset out abovo,.gnd
thereaftersaibpartyoftbs astmdpartshallbe
The above aomission of X3$ uhlo~his w&h-
held is a guaranteethat One IkudredThoumnd Dol-
lars (#100,000``00)will be oollsotedshall be
plaoedin osorow,payebB to ths .partyof the so+
ond gmrt upon proof or the oolnotIon of the
$lOO,OOO.OO,the benk or banks to hold the esorm
money being,neuSadby prey of tti samad part.,
said bank or banks ta bs situatedin Robertson
colaaty,TexaII*party or creoondpart rurtberagreea
-not tc eend out any notlms or tile~eu.ky
suit qainet
delinquenttaxpayersprior to August IBth, A.D.,
1937v"
This provlsioaooulitnot be oanstxwd a6 a guwanty that
tbs tax attonvrywould oolleot$lOO,QOWQ
lb msrely pmofdee that the t&z attornsps
upuntilhe has oolleoted$LOO,oOo*OO~end
amat be rememberedthat ha is entltbd to 6i.x mm&&w atiar DeOaab~
IionmcbleIZm?zsZ. Emadler, Wimh X5, 1959,Pags 19
1, 1928, in d.i~h to wos%%ut% to findL jtipti suits alr%a& filed,
bet&t
2nd it nit?* the total of O,lOO,OOCi.oO
will be reaoh%dtir
hce%?r 31, 1938, xhflobe is so pms%outln~thoee suits,aud tha
5% r;c;uld
hu a?titAedto hi% cou~nsation.
In ragam to the oral agr%%nmt +u3ntliohyourefsr by wbi%h
thetex attorneyreprnreaented aailgwrante%d t&t h% would %oUeot
p100,033.00, ~6 must.not overlook the x-tile
stated in 17 Ter. J'Ur.
844, cs r0u02f8:
Ykcl evidenoe is l.radmlaalble
to vary en
unoontitLona3.pmmisato paynmn%y by shea
p~orarcoat````paroln~nttbatthe
pxvdaorrPIouldnotb4raqulredtopayorthatlt
we4 notabsolutalypayable- as, ror sxswplo,that
itehouldbepagablso~yuponthe psrfolmllos0r
h speoiried6onditionor the happenin of a o%r-
tainoantingsnoy,orthat;Iaym%& should bsmads
ootorapa~calar tun0.*
Am.1 86 8.8'.@U) lslr Robert&St. fohu Wtor Co. vs* Bpriqpasr, 66
i 8.U4 o!a)8991 aad Hldal Oarmty Wati4r JmpmclrwntDiet6Hoe 4 ter.
Feutara Iat%&%r& 06.1'9"U.S. O&A.) 16 ted. (&I) 89% It may be
t&stilleUw wilt ooaur8 lnmlringthirraontraottlatfraud,aoof-
doat or aistnhawill be alleged and thereby makeoral rspremnta-
tlons admlsdhle lu evldems, but we lmv6 only tlm oontraot be$wp
uslnsnswering yourrirrsstions,andaecsaonlyba``~dbgthe
words or th% 00ntra0t*
mraatswer toyouraighth qasstlonlstbatualerthe Rrcrts
tbetyouhave &mm us ontMs questionwridonot oonsiderthatthe
contracthas bean beaehhsd.