495 

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Honorable Gee. 

Comptroller of 

auotlc, "iaxee 

H. au3ppmr4 

Yublta Aaaounta A 

, +s roqw8t of thla 

th8 wwwwat ror 

afa~lanfI* in Potter 

em lqatlanal Or&n Gorporatioa 

d In muaretioa tlsemwith pu 

the rects and olrwwtanow 

erty, awl the respef~tlte 

8 in regaz-4 to its taxixtioa. 

fully stated in attaahed lett&r to pU 

* county &ttorwy, Potter county, from 

lor to 1936 the Farmerr Watloaal 

tlon, wbleh vi) unnderrtmod %a a oubarwre Xatimi4L Grain Corporat$on, 

survey 137 

Blook B, AB&& 1~4~ in Potter Gouaty, Texas, aai fall 

taxes hmd been paid up to &s%d fn~lrrdirrg 1MM. State 

an4 County tarw were aawwad againat thie property 

for the year 1930 in the nmta si t&e m?iiQ aorpcrratioa, 
496 

Eon. ho. %. rt+ppard, page 9 

the reaord title owner am or the date of aasaestramt. 

vubseq,ueAtlp, it haa been claimed that the tit18 

to this property had been traASferred to tha 'Jnltsd 

-rtates. k statsment of the Taut6 Up011 whloh the 

Gorexnmnt relies Is aontainad IA a letter frox hr. 

Yeyton X. Evans, General Counnel of the Yaw Credit 

Mmfnlatratlon, to the &aessor and Collector 0r 

Taxes of this aounty, dated July 90, 1937, aa rollovaa: 

**S'he Parsers Watlonal ksln Corporation was 

Indebted to the yederal ;raW fjaard (to Whose runetions the Yarm Credit idmiAletratloA euooeedsd 

under the terms of an exeoutlre order of the 

President of the United fjtatea 8xeauted Karah 87, 

1933) iA a larp ImouAt 0r lUOA87, an4 OA June x3, 

1634 it was agreed between the yala?ere htfOAa1 

Grain Corporation and the Zarfi Credit Adrtinistration to trawrar a large part of tka Corpomti~*~ 

asset.6 and those or lta subeldlarleri to the united 

States Governmeat (farm Credit idminlstratloa) In 

partial extlngulshmnt of the then exlstlng indebtSdn46S. This agrwment was eub)eot to the appmral 

or the Saoretary of the Treawry. The approval of 

the Saaretary was obtaSnad en Roteabber 7, 1936 

;&e& 

EIowwor, a blanket a8slgnment or all or the 

oovered by the m&pwmeAt aovered by tha 

agreement of Juw le, 1956 was exeouted by tha 

Farmars hatloasl Grain CorpOratlOn on October 31, 

1936. This awfgawnt contained wordr or grant 

and aonveymnoe aob lnaluded both real and peraenal 

property . . . Separate t3onveyaaces 0r partiaular 

properties bars been 13 preparation ror a period 

of some m&ha, and smq of them have been delirere8, but all have not been put OA reoord. #8 

do not consider, however, that the date8 of mmh 

aonveyanoer or the data& or their raoordatloa are 

material iA rWpe8t t0 the CUeStfOa Of tie right 

or the states or their poUtlOa1 8ubdiVlslon6 to 

Impwe t~axes thereon.* 

*The property In qwrtl6n was eonveYsd by daed rrom the 

Partners National tiprehouse Gorporatloh to the WIted 

sttttw exaoutad 'all as or octaber 31, 19Sd, but actually 

on this the 84th day of Fabntarf, 1997,' which deed wmt 
iion. Gee. il. L’hopperd. peg@ 3 

fiba for record on Gecmber 17, 1937, ena re00raed in 

Wolume 850, page 42, of tte Deed iiecorde of Potter 

county. 

*'This property was all arbitrarily asiesaee for taxation on January 1, 1937, for the year 1937. he find 

in the file OS tke a8aaaoor and aollector of taxea for 

Potter County a printed notice *that on Eovembar 7, 

193A, the United State6 of breerioa beoam the ownar of 

411 real estate,* 4na other propertlen 0r this aorporation. Thie notloe le dated Dcoarrber EQ, 1936, but bate 

OS reoaipt le not ahown.” 

Xo question is prasantea here of the immunity,or property 

owned and held by the Unitad titatee of kmarioa, from atat taxation of any kind, beoauee it ha6 1onA bean settled beyond dimputs that such property, whether ouned and held for governmental 

purposes or othexwlee, la exampt, or more properly, not aubjeet 

to the taxes lerfea by a State, exoapt by Congraealonal conaent. 

The only queetio,n presented here la whether or not the proparty 

Involved was aotually owned and held by the UnitaA Stats6 OS 

America on January 1, 1987, the bate fixed by statute for datarrinlng ownerehlp of property for tax purpose6 for the year. 

Upon this Issue oi ?aot regarding ovnerehip oi the land 

%n queatfon on January 1, 1939, that Is, whether or not earn wan 

ownod and held by ~armera Batlonal Grain Corporation an that data 

or by the pa= credit Mmlnistratlon, a6 an inatrumantality OT 

agency of the UnlteA state4 of %rloa, we find; ev8n in the 

etatements mede by repreeentatlvee of the Unit& @tat64 of 

&erloa, a eoniliet of pe4ltlona and iraats. tiesme, ‘16 cannot 

answer your qmestlon aategorloelly but 6re aonstrainad to answer 

aam up& tha aaaumption that one or the other atate of faotr 

la true. 

In thla oonneotion, it should be stated that we do not 

have the becetit OS a copy of any deeA, aoel~ent or other alleged muniment of title pae8ing between the ]Parmere lFaflon61 

Or4in Corporation and the United Statea, and referred to In attaehsd aorrosponAanoa, but muat aeeume that the raota and atatemanta made in regard thereto correctly reflaet the tenor, affect 

and reading of such in6truma~ts. icitb thie in mind, wa oall 

yvmr attentlcn to the 8tataBlant eontalned in letter from Mr. 

Pagton k. Evarm, General Counsel of the Pam Credit Mmlnfstratton, to the ~aeeeor~Collaetor oi Tares for Potter County, 

dated duly ZO, 1939, and &areinabove eet out aa patt of the 
Hon. Coo. 8. Sheppard, pace 4 

quoted letter tc you by said ~~seeu6or-Collector of Taxea. It 16 

stated therein that the ~armar8 Eational Grain Corporation being lnaabtad to ttia ~edaral Iant Board end its 6ucoeanor, the 

Sarm Credit Adxilulatratio~, agreed, OEL June 18, 1936, to transfer 

a large part of ita aareta and thoae of lta aubdUariea to 

the raid fan Cradlt &l&4.nlatratlon tn partial artlnguIahmant 

or the then axlatIkg 1nA#bte&e66, which agreemer;t was eubjeot 

to the approval of the bacretary of the Treasury. UlEder the 

Statutes of ~axaa governing conveyanolng and t&e paaaage of 

tltia to real eatate, ouch uneer&anAlng and agreanzent would 

not aufflos to transfer title to real aatete, but the atatexent 

la further made thnt *a blanket aaalgnasnt of all of the aaaeta 

ooverad by the agreement of June 18, 1986, was exaouta4 by the 

@#mar8 Xational Greln Corporation on Uatober 31, 1936, rhloh 

aaalgmsent contslned worda ot 6-t and conveyance and Ineluded 

both real 4Aa personal property." 

X6 are not able to 6ey that the above deaorlba4 Inotruaent did not vest in the United State8 of SMrIoa, throqh the 

Paw We&it AAmInIatratlon. tltle to the realty In queatlon here, 

upon It6 approval by the kuratary of the l’reaauq. W are net 

wvoindful ot the fact that the utual anA eustosary mAe of 

tranaferrhg title to real eatata ln %xea la by general warrenty 

deed, ln the fern? praacrlbed by etatutu, cPantainlng the usual 

formal oosqmneat part8 of pramiaest habandun;, tanenAum, reAAenAum, 

warranty and tastimbnium alauara. And ft such inatrumnt or 

dee4 us6 the alne qua noli to poemage OS tltLa In Teraa, then we 

wouid’ay that t&e property hare wouiA be aubjeat to %iata and 

county ad vsloran tax66 for the year 1959, beeauea aueh dead, 

In thIa usual atetutory form, was not axeouted until the Mth 

day of February, A. 0. 1939. Sor would our aoncluslon bs 

altered ‘by the toot t&at raid doe4 purported to relete baok, 

wall a6 of Ootober 31, lQSA,” beeauee, In our opinion, the l o tua i 

Ante c t exa eutlo wn a o uM govern. 

3ut it la a rule of law too well e6tabllrbsA to require 

elaboration here, tkat tltla to raai e~rtate In ‘isxaa may pas6 

by say writtec instrument which otmtaimo expreae word&! oi &rant 

or aonvayanoe, thereby evldanoing en Intent between the partlea 

to effect a transfer of title, aad lb It not neeeaaary that the 

forpp of general warranty Bead, ruggeataA by the lar mkar8, be 

literally followeA k, acocmpliah this purpose. lo beve before 

us the unpualliled atatemeat that on Qotobes 31, l@S, e written 

blanket asaignreent, covering ammg othsr aeoeto and propertlas, 

t&e real eetate fnvolv6A In the Inetant inqtiry,, waa Auiy exeouteA 
499 

Eon. GaQ. E. Sh4ppard, peg4 5 

by and between the ~arxzcrn Aatitnal Grain Corporation aad tba Sam 

Credit iidrololstrstlon, purporting to ccnvey said gropcrty, end 

oonteining rords of grant end ccnveyerce to tbie end, and being 

in oonnummatlon of sn agreesent a&e on June IS, 1938, between 

t&e parties to make suck transfer. It is further eteted that the 

neeanrary approval of the Secretary of the Tresaury was obtained 

on 8ovember 7, 1936. Kot bavia6 e copy of this eesigmaent before ~8, and glring full oredenoe to the aforeaald statements, 

we me ippelled to the oonoluslon that not only the equitable, 

but the legal title es wall, t+ the real estate in question, 

wes vested in the United ~tatar, through the ysrm Credit Adminlutratlon, before January 1, 1937, end, consequently, under 

l Mtte4 prlnoiples of law, was not rubjeet to State and eountp 

taxetloa for the yser 1939. 

On the other band, we are oonfrontcrd with a statement 

iron another represeotetlve of the United States ot hlrerloe 

or one of its duly oonstituted inntrumantelltler and a6encier, 

which presents 8, different aspeat upon the queetion oE the essot 

date, with referones to January 1, 1939, that title to this reel 

entatu maed from the bmmers Kitlonnl &in Corporetton to the 

United Statee. This statement is in the ?or?a oi a letter from 

Bonoreble rC. E. Daly, &rletsnt tc Oenerel Counsel, Bedersl Land 

Bank o,f Bouston, to Elss Jewel Davidson, Aeeeroor-Colleetor, 

Potter County, oi datd.June 39, 1939, a& we quote the pertinent 

parts tbenoi es follon8: 

*Rerererme fe mede to your letter8 of b&y 88th 

end June Z4 regarding the traourer or owawahip of 

oertaln properties ia Potter County frala the Farmers 

Satloan %rebouse Corporation tom the United States 

of +merieu. 

-1 have in my pouseeelon a d06a executed under 

date of February 84th. 1939, by tbe Pmeer8 Betloxml 

';.erehoase Corporation, conveyin& to the Or&ted Stetelr 

02 emsrice the following deroribed propertyt 

. . . 

“This deed has net 84tU4llr been aooeQted, and 

negotletions are now pending *hfeb will in all probability result in the seoegtenoe of the da&. Wmn 

thiu trsnsaotlon is txmmua?rrstaQ tke deed will, of 

courma, be forwarded to Potter Countg for r40or&ing.~ 

Should full faith end oredit be eoaorde& to tba foregoing 

Statammt frort an euthorizsd repreeentatkvs ot the grantee of tbe 
500 

Eou. ho. II. 3bep,-ard, $%!4 6 

property here, the ikited States 

. 

of hmrica, tbmu,yb t2.e ?erk 

credit hdffilnistratlon, men our answer would be dle~etrloally 

opposite to that heretorare (tlver. It is settled law in Texas 

that a deed or eny other lnsfru!wmt, purportlng~to oonv4y realty, 

does not divest title out of t&a grantor and vest 6eEe in the 

ereritte, until there baa been en setuel eoceptacee of such deed 

or other inet~rucrent by said grantem. The laws of the State 

where property ie looeted govern exolueively the oonstruo,t~lon 

md effect of all instnmente intended to oorvey it. KeTLoe, if, 

at tbe writing at t&e above quoted letter, to-wit June 39, 1930, 

the trenseotlan described herein bad not been consummated by 

eooeptnnae, either expressly or tsrplledly, of the deed or other 

lnstrtumnt purportLag to 00~~4~ title to t&Is realty, then title 

thereto would, cm thet date,~remain in the &rmrs ,*latienel 

Grain Corporstion, e private corporation, &Ad rOllid be aubjeet 

to Xate and county ad valorem taxes assessed against saw for 

the year 1937. 

se realize that this opinion osnnot Be useful to you 

until the aonfliatln~ iactual e~atmneuat sppearlng here Is 

reaolve6 one wry or th4 otber,~ anO to thte enb, we mg$est that 

you further eevelop the facts fn the li*t oi the foregoing 

discussion kod be goveme thereby in yeWilndin$e. 

Your* very truly 

A'l'%RBEY &i'&WiL OF TDAS