OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Kay 6, 195 

Mr. Roy 1. Iii11 

County Attorney 

RFmnole ootlnt~ 

Balllager,Texas 

wus dtiy rebelred. 

t taxes ara due on 

the gin here tendered thlm 

on de&-a to know whather 

a a lIea Sor tamn on this 

lntelrtigatloa, we hare oonaluded that it 

la that one rho ha6 a mere lien only 

on the lnsured propsrty hae no alaim to th6 bmurai%o~l ~aoney 

reallesd by the lnsursd in the want of a lees of the proparty, rar a alah on the in*llraaoe money 089 arlsa only cut 

of oontreot. Z6 Corpus Jurb, 4%. That rule has been 

oonslmmtlp rollowed ia Texas, beginning with the oaes of 

Camemon 0. Fay, 255 Tax. 68. fn t,he ease of Caseaway v. Browning, (emor refueedj 175 S, 1. 481, the oourt held8 
lfr. Roy L. Hill, ZZaey 6, 1939, Pace 2 

*In Cameron v. Fey, 55 Tex. 58, it was held 

that a mechanlo's lien upon improvement8 altuate 

00 a homestead did not attach to a policy of lnsuranoe oorerln~ the improvements or to moneys 

due thereon after fire. This particular holdlng 

was not in any wise founded upon the exempt aharaoter of the property, but was based upon the wellsettled rule that the polloy la a strictly personal 

oontraot, and doe8 not attaoh to the lien or realty 

and, in the abaenoe 0r en agreement upon the-part 

OS the llenor that th4 prsmises shall be Insured 

Sor t&e bonofit of the lion omditor, the latter 

has no olala upon the polloy or it8 prooeede. To 

the 84m4 offeat lti Ward v. Gqgan, 4 Tax. 01~. App. 

274.25 9. 91. 479, and Porter i. Portor, 2 Wilbon, 

0%~. Oea. Ct. App. S40. 485. 

*So iar a8 we arc'advl84d, all or th4 authori- 

.tiee ar4 to the mm4 4rr60t, and hold that, In th4 

abasnoo of mmh apI 6p46m4nt, or of a olause in the 

polloy mklng th4 1088 ~ayablo to the mortga@@, 41' 

of en amd.gmmont to him, the mmtgagoo ha8 no intoreotin a polfoy take~n out by the mortgagor upon 

hle own latororrt. 4 Cooleyrs Brlofa on limuranoo 

p. 3699; 19 Cya. 0&6SS7; Jon48 oa Xorteago8 (26 Ed.) 

S40.401.*. 

Th4 rule ua8 4galn follmmd in Walter Connally k Co. 

v. Iio~klna, 196 S. w:BSb. 

Tha aae48 we hsro altod and Qalothd itim larolo4 r4al 

48t4t4, but th4:8%me l.II14 6180 app1148 t0 pW8OXlal ~l-OJWty. 

24tOh48t4r P-4 m8IIraIIOO 00. V. Th48Hk8 "mall t k0. 2m 8. w. 

. 

Of ocnarse this rule does not apply if tha property 

owner egroes with the lien holder to &wure the pmp4rty for the 

lien holder*8 benefit, a8 *a8 8tsted in Gllbort ?. Mooring, 

88 E. W. (2d) 641, as follona: 

"An agreement between a mortgagee and e mortgagor, 

or iendee and vendor, that the iattor all1 lnsurs property for the benefit of the fonn4r, @tree the latter 

an equitable lien upon the prO444d8 or the polioy, and 

he Is entltled to au epplioatlon of the same to the indebtednesa.* 
Mr. Roy L; Hill, my 6, 1939, Pac4 3 

Did the State and County havd a lien on the gin 

ln this case? The general rule Is' that taxes are never a 

lien on property unless expressly made so. State v. Hunt, 

207 s. :I'. 636, and lio&e v. Carcla, 296 S. ii. 902. The Constitution of Texas provides in Art1014 VIII, Section 15, 

as rollows: 

"The annual assessment made upon landed 

propertjr shall be a special lien thereon . . ." 

Article 7172 of the RevlseB Civil Statutes of Texas provides: 

"All taxes upon real pmpertp shall be a 

lien upon such property until the same shall have 

b44n paid." 

By rlrtw of tbeee laet two quoted provlalone, 114 we that 

the State and County had a lien for taxes on the gin (we 

aesume the gin was attaohod to the land and thoro'ore reel 

ertate); but It 18 a mom lien only, and as pointed out In 

the first part of this opialon *one rho has a more lien 

oaly ha8 no olelm to the ln8uranae . . . in the event 0s 

a 10~~ 0s the prop4rty.- W4 think the rulo applies jwt as 

fomlbly tqthe atat4 end county In the oeso 0s tax 11Sn8 

.a8 It does to indiTIdue18 In the 4ae4 of mortgagee and other 

118llS. III the di84u88IOn on tax 1I4M in 3 Cooloy on Taxation, 4th Ed. 2452, It 18 8aid: 

Vh4n liens are sxpr488ly omated bbey am 

not to k, enlarged by oonatruotlon.* : 

By rlrtue or th4 word8 0s th4~aonstltutfoael ~rcwl8lon and th4 

8tatute quoted above, under whioh the 11413 OLi8t8, a lion only 

on the.pmportp la oreatod; and WQ oannotenlarge if to oovor 

the ln8uranoe proc8od8. 

Our ansner to y$nar question i8 that In a 06~4 in 

whloh there were dollnqu4at ad valorea taxes due on a bulldlq, 

the State and County do48 not'hsvo a lien on the tire ineurano4 

noney on that buIldlng wh4n it 18 destroyed by rim. 

Youre vary truly 

ATl'O~GIWeXAL OFl!EXAS 

BY& oh 

Cecil c. Rots& 

ccR:BT ksrrlstant