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. requesting an opinion 

on the above subject matter is as follows: 

RI em writin you for 

to delinquent tax 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 officers herein 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 provided by 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 additional tract up to 

41, but said feeFin no ~(188 to exceed Five ($5.00) 

Dollars. And provided, that in any suit brought against 

2x 

individual or corporate owner, all past due taxes for 

pretiouo years on such tract or tracts shall be included; and provided further that where there are several 

lota in the same addltion.or eubdlviaion delinquent, belonging to the same owner, a.U. said delinquent lots &all 

be made the Bubject of a single wit. 

"All fees provided for the officers herein shall be 

treated as fees of office and accounted for aa such, and 

said officers shall not receive nor 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 inetancee where such delinquent taxes 

are collected under contra&n between the Commissioners' 

Court and others for the collection of such taxes, and 

in such instance8 the fee8 herein provided for such offioere shall not be aoaeaaed nor collected. 

ecoive a fee of Two ( ‘2.00) .I 

"The County Clerk shall receive One ($1.001 Dollar in 

full for his services in each case. 
rii--rrr ‘* I=’ 

-- 

67 

Hon. Farris Pirtle - Page 3 

nProvld8d, that the fees herein provided for in 

connection with delinquent tax suits shall constitute 

the only fees,that shall be charged by sa.$d officers 

for FeparilI& ffling, inetituting, and prosecuting 

suits on delinquent taxes and securing collection 

thereof 

repealeh. 

and al.+, laws in conflict herersith are hereby 

"In case the delinquent tax-payer shall. pay t,c 

the collector the amount of delinquent taxes for which he 

la liable together with accrued interest after the fillng of euit before judgment is taken against him 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., provides as followe: 

"In any.ineorporated city or town in which any 

tracts, lots, outlots or blocks of land, situated within 

the corporate limits 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 delinquents in the same 

manner as provided in this chapter, and such lists shall 

be certified to aa correct by the mayor of said city or 

town, if any, and if sdd city or town has no mayor, by 

the presidin& officer of the governing body. After said 

lists have been proper1 

of the city may cause 1 f 

certified to, the governing body 

sta of delinquents to be published 

in a newspa r as provided for State and county delinquent 

taxes in th r s law. bhen twenty days from the date of last 

publication of said Ust or lists of delinquents has 

elapsed, tho governing body of the city or town may direct 

the city attorney to file suits for collection of said 

taxes, or said governin body may employ 8ome other attorne 

K 

of the county to fi f 8 suits and the city attornoy or 

ot er attorney filing said suits shall be entitled to the 

same fees as allowed the county attorney or district attorney in &its for collectionof State and count taxes to be 

taxed as costs in the suit. Independent schoo P dfst&ts 

may collect their delinquent taxes aa above prtided for 

cities end townsi the school board prformiq the dutioe 

above described for the governin& body of cities -me tllc 

president of the school board 

t 

erforminy: the dutlas ubove 

prescribed for the rayor or ot er Residin& officer. The 

school board may, when the delinquent tax lists and records 
Hon. 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 instructs the county attorne to file 

said suits and he fails or refuses to do so w f thin 

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 independent school 

districts shah be entitled to 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 actually performed, and in that event he shall 

only receive such fees as are now allowed him by law for 

similar services in civil suita. The employment of an 

attorney to file suit for taxes for cities, towns or 

Independent school districts shall authorize said attorney to file said suits, swear to the petitions and perform 

such other acts as are necessary in the collection of 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 delinquent tax suits brought by 

Independent School Districts as are authorized in 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,subject and the established rules of law 

relating thereto, we conclude that 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 collected by.the District Clerk, 

Sheriff Constable or County Attorney, as compensation for 

any addItiona services rendered and occassioned by 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 intervene in the suit 

and the county attorney,doas file a plea of intervention 

for the state or county, he is entitled to the attorney's 

fees allowed on the percentage basis provided for in 

Section 6. In such an event, ha would not be entitled to 

the fees provided for in Article 7332, as emended. The 

fees there provided for him are for bringing the suit, While 

the percentage fees allowed to him in Section 6 are for 
\ . . 

69 

hon. Fsrris Pirtle - ?age 5 

anowering for a defendant or for iatervening for hia 

client, a taxin? unit v&ich the Xaw mIcea it his duty 

to represent. gho actual serviaes rendered am aubstantially the same, the purpose beiag.to obtain a 

il 

udgmnt against the taxpayer x3.th a foreclosure of 

en on the property Involved yet it aems that the 

Lagislabxe has Seen fit to 'd&inguLsh betvzmn the 

services rendered and prescribed a-different fee for 

each service. As heretofore noted, the percentage fee 

is allowed M the &,I leaded or Intervening tax unit, 

yet it is specLficaI. ff yau*thoriaad to bo collect& &8 

'attorney's fees,' and we belleva a reaso&3.e intarpretation of the statute ia tht t:io foe 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 Fe Johc Lieeva