**OFFICE OF**  **THE ATTORNEY**  **GENERAL OF**  **TEXAS AUSTIN**  GROVER SELLERS **Arr0RNE-f**

**GcNLtl*L**

Hon. Farris 

## a&3 County Auditor F5nnh County Bonham,Texas Dear Sir: Opinion No, O-7420

Re: Feee pertaining tax suits In Ind Districts.

Your letter.

requestingan opinion on the above subjectmatter is as follows:

RI em writin you for to delinquenttax wits In lets,

of sale issue

fee that the 

# am;xyJJ-3; OpMon In the

c , provides in part the following: Attorney shall repreCounty In all suits against deand all.

eums collected shall. be to the County Collector.

tho recovery of dalinquent taxes for any yew, notice sh‘all be given to the owner or owners of safd propert as Is provided for in hrticle 7324 of the Revised f! iv5.1 Statutes of Texas, 1925, as mended by Chaptor 117, p%e 196,66

Hon. Farris Pirtle - Page 2

Acts of the Forty-second Legislature,Regular Seseion. The feea herein provided for shall not accrue to nor shall the varioue officersherein naued be entitled thereto in any suit unless it be proved that notice has been given to the **owner** for the .tine and in the manner providedby law.

=In Su 429888 the COmpeXisatiOn 

### of 88id Attorney shall be Two ($2.06)Dollars for the first tract and One ( 1.001 four Dollar for each additionaltract up to 41, but said feeFinno ~(188 to exceed **Five** ($5.00) Dollars. And provided,that in any suit brought against
2x individualor corporateowner, all past due taxes for pretiouoyears on such tract or tracts shall be included; and provided further that where there are several lota in the same addltion.oreubdlviaiondelinquent,belonging to the same owner, a.U. said delinquentlots &all be made the Bubject of a single wit.
"All fees provided for the officersherein shall be treated as fees of office and accountedfor aa such, and said officers shall not receivenor retain said **fees** in 8XCeD8 Of the !W#XimW eompenraation allowed **said** officers under the laws of this State* and provided further that the County Attorney,

### Crlmimd District Attorney or District Attorney shall not be entitled to the fees herein provided for in inetanceewhere such delinquenttaxes are collectedunder contra&n between the Commissioners' Court and others 

### for the collectionof such taxes, and in such instance8the fee8 herein provided for such offioere shall not be aoaeaaednor collected.

ecoive a fee of Two (‘2.00) .I

"The County Clerk shall receive One ($1.001Dollar in full for his services in each case.rii--rrr ‘* I=’ --



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Hon. Farris Pirtle - Page 3

nProvld8d,that the fees herein provided for in connectionwith delinquenttax suits shall constitute the only fees,that shall be chargedby sa.$d officers for FeparilI& ffling, inetituting,and prosecuting suits on delinquenttaxes and securingcollection thereof repealeh.

and al.+,

laws in conflictherersith are hereby

"In case the delinquenttax-payershall. pay t,c the collectorthe amount of delinquenttaxes for which he la liable togetherwith accrued interestafter the fillng **of** euit before judgment is taken againsthim in the case; then, only one-half of-the fess taxable in such~a case, as provided for herein, shall be **charged** against him. , i ." Article 7343, V.A.C.S., providesas followe:

"In any.ineorporated city or town in which any tracts, lots, outlots or blocks of land, situatedwithin the corporatelimits of said city or to%n have been returned delinquent,or reportod oold to said city or town for the taxes ciue

thereon the governing body may prepare or cause to be prepared l&s of delinquentsin the same manner as provided in this chapter, and such lists shall be certifiedto aa correctby the mayor of said city or town, if any, and if sdd city or town has no mayor, by the presidin&officer of the governingbody. After said lists have been proper1 f of the city may cause 1 certifiedto, the governingbody sta of delinquentsto be published in a newspa r as provided for State and county delinquent taxes in th

rs law. bhen twenty days from the date of last publicationof said Ust or lists of delinquents has elapsed,tho governingbody of the city or town may direct the city attorney to file suits for collectionof said taxes, or said governin body may employ 8ome other attorne K of the county to fi 8 suits and the city attornoy**or** f ot er attorney filing said suits shallbe entitled to the same fees as allowed the county attorney or districtattorney in &its for collectionof State and count taxes to be taxed as costs in the suit. Independentschoo P dfst&ts may collect their delinquenttaxes aa above prtided for cities end townsi the school board prformiq the dutioe above described for the governin&body of cities -me tllc presidentof the school board terforminy: the dutlas ubove prescribedfor the rayor or ot er Residin& officer.The schoolboard may, when the delinquenttax lists and recordsHon. Farris Pirtle - Page 4

are properly prepared and ready for suits to be filed, inetruct the county attorney to file said suits. If the school board instructsthe county attorne to file said suits and he fails or refuses to do so w thin f sixty days the school board may employ some other attorney of the county to file suit. The county attorney,or other attorney filing tax suits far independentschool districts shah be entitledto the same fees as provided by iaw In suits for State and county taxes. NQ other county officer shall receive any fees unless services are actuallyperformed,and in that event he shall only receive such fees as are now allowed him by law for similar services in civil suita. The employmentof an attorney to file suit for taxes for cities, towns or Independentschool districtsshall authorizesaid attorney to file said suits, swear to the petitionsand perform such other acts as are necessary in the collectionof said taxes. n (Underscoring

ours)

Commission

In the case of Duclos v. Harris County, 298 S.U, 417, the of Appeals held that under Article 7343 the District Clerk was entitled to the same fees in delinquenttax suits brought by IndependentSchool Districts as are authorizedin suits for State and county taxes by Article 7332.

We quote the following from our Opinion No, O-836:

"In view of the plain languwe of all the statutes pertinent to the,subjectand the establishedrules of law relating thereto,we concludethat the fees of the resgactive officers named in the question stated are fixed by Article 7332, as amended; that Article 7345b allows * no additional fees to be collectedby.theDistrict Clerk, Sheriff Constable or County Attorney,as compensationfor any addItiona servicesrendered and occassionedby said article. However, it appears that where the state or county is made a party defendant in a suit brought by some other ta;ting

unit, or if not made a party and it is nocessary for the state or county to intervenein the suit and the county attorney,doasfile a plea of intervention for the state or county,he is entitled to the attorney's fees allowed on the percentagebasis provided for in Section 6. In such an event,ha would not be entitledto the fees provided for in Article 7332, as emended. The fees there provided for him are for bringing the suit, While the percentagefees allowed to him in Section 6 are for

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hon. Fsrris Pirtle - ?age 5

anowering for a defendantor for iaterveningfor hia client, a taxin? unit v&ich the Xaw mIcea it his duty to represent. gho actual serviaesrendered am aubstantiallythe same, the purposebeiag.to obtain a il udgmnt against the taxpayerx3.th a foreclosureof en on the property Involved yet it aems that the Lagislabxe has Seen fit to 'd&inguLsh betvzmn the services rendered and prescribeda-differentfee for each service. As heretoforenoted, the percentagefee is allowed M the &,I leaded or Interveningtax unit, yet **it** is specLficaI. ff y au*thoriaad

to bo collect& &8 'attorney'sfees,' and we belleva a reaso&3.e intarpretation of the statute ia **tht** t:iofoe xx iSended to be given, &mn coLlected to t?ao attorney sq-rl-eaenting the taxing unit 6n the au1t.S
Under the facts a&t~.i~i';ted and in viax of the foregoiq authorities,it is the o@iiou of 'UhLs c1ep~~~~::r;r.t

*!?:tt t!ie district clerk is entitled LO a lee of <NO !.$?.~Y) do1I.?~ns

end the Sheriff is entitled to a fee of 'two($2.23)doU.ars io;* his aenices i.n

oath case.

BY 

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Johc Lieeva