c 

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Hmiorable Riohard C. 8&ui 

oounty Attorney 

warhlngton county 

Branham, Texae /\ ‘

mar set Attenblonr Julian h. V&h 

mquestinCf an opus1 

material pOrtiOnB t 
1. i

Honor?bla Richard c, zpinn, Fego 2 

-+ + ‘I would l ppreoiata your oifloe felldorlng an opinion as to what amount would be 

proper an4 jurt ror Washington county to pay on 

the abovr mentioned oort bill as oomprnsatlon 

to the Commissioners .” 

Seotion 10 of Article 3284, Vernon’s Revised 

Civil Statutea, provides: 

When renlce of notloe has been perrootsd, the oo&miesIonerr shall at the tlnn an4 place 

appoInted or at any other time and place to whloh 

the hearing may be adjourned, proceed to h?ar the 

part1ee.m 

SeOtlon 3 or Article 3266, Vernon’s Fsvleed 

Civil Statutes, provI4ss: 

“Co55I&3sIoners shall reoelve for their se?- 

vloes three dollars for each day they may be engaged in the performan of their duties, and may 

withhold their decision until their fsse are paid.” 

Art.1010 3267 of such statutes, relating to the 

award of costs, provldee: 

*The oosta of the proceedings before the 

oomuilsslonere and in the oourt shall be determined as tollowe, to-wit: It the oomalselonere 

shall award greater damages than the plaintirr 

offered to pay beiorr the prooeedlngs oorcmenoed, 

or if objectiona are tiled to the deoislon in 

the county court under the provlalona of this 

title, and the jud&rient oi’ the court is ror a 

greater sum than the amount awarded by the oommissionerr, then the plaIntitS shall Pay all 

oorts; but if the amount awarded by the oomalssionero as dama .es or the judgment of the county 

court shall be f or ths same or leee amount of 

damages than the ar;ount offered before proceedlngs vere oomzenoed, then the oort.8 shall be 

paid by the owner of the property.’ 

The Three Dollars per day allowed the OOmmiSsiOllera under the foregoing statutes, are a part of the Costa, 

to be taxmd and paid as provided in ArtI 3267, supra. 

16 Texas zurleprudenoe, para. 146, P. 765. 
Honorable Riohard C. Splnn, Page 3 

By whatever term thle Three Dollarr per day nay 

be oalled, whether ooneldered as Seer or nagee, it 11 to 

be 4letlngulehe4 from the usual amount oharged asnooeteW 

an4 taxed l e ouch. Clearly, the per diem here la allowed 

for eervloee rendered an4 la not etrlotly epeaking, nooate* 

although it is paid by one or other of the psrtlee to the 

prooeedlnge. 

It has been he14 that rtatuter relating to ooete 

in ordinary 01~11 prooeedlnge do not apply. See Dolores 

No. 2 1. k C. co, v. Hartman, 17 Colo. 138, 29 Fao. 378; 

Dickens v. Amherst Bater Co., 139 xass. 210; Johnson v. A. 

S. Sutllse, 17 Neb. 423. 

*lOrdlnarIly day ie the spaoe of time which 

elapses while the earth makes a complete revolution on lte axis, but artIfIolally, It la the 

time between the rising and setting of the $un. 

And in oode, No. 3825, providing that the oomtiesloners of Insanity shall be allowed at the 

rate of Three Dollars per day eaoh, for the time 

actually employed ln the duties or their office, 

the term 1s not to be eo construed, and the 

atatute entitled the oomalsslonere to full oompensatlon whenever they perform services on a 

given day, regardless of the nutr.ber of hour8 

spent in such employment. Fite v. Dallao County, 

54. N. i5. 368, 369, 87 Iowa 563.* ?:ords and 

Phraser, Vol. 2, p. 1837. 

mStatute allowing appraiser8 0s eetates 

no t to l xoeed Five Dollare per ,!day* for eerrloea was not Intended to permit appraisers to 

oolleot plurality 0s appraleal se88 for name 

day’s work tmffi ffildnlght to midnight to perform 

~ ~:I ~~“~~.‘~egp,~~~~i~~~~~~~~ &&+?~d) 

I?ⅇ Fifth Se~leo;Vol. 2, p: 196. 

“If two oauses br,tween the same parties 

are investigated and decided by the same arbltratore at the 8au.e tine, they are entitled 

to be paid only for the number of day8 spent 

in the investigation of both oaeee, and oannot 

make a dlrtlnot oharge, for eaoh oaee. clrard 
Honorabls %lohard C. .ZpInn, Page 4 

v. Hutohlnson, 4 r;ergeant k Ran188 Reports (Pa,) 

81, .;ee also Buroher v. Soott, 1 Pa. L. J. Ii. 

311, 2 Pa. L. J. 287.” 8 Corpus Jurls, para. 427 

p. 174, note 9(a). 

In the abova oase “Chard v’. HutohInsonw, supra, 

the arbitrators met forty-two times and oharged for fortytwo days, opent in the lnvest~gatlon of each ease. The 

oourt doaided that theywere only entb-tle4 to be paid for 

forty-two days servloe as a whole, viz., twenty-one days 

In each Case, 

‘zhlle the prooedural statutcl: under Tit.16 52, Vernon’s Annotated fievlsed Civil Statutes, are singular In 

terais with reference to each prooeedlng being a separate 

and dlstlnot osse, it was never intended by the Leglslature that a plurality of Three Dollars per day coltpensatlon could be oolleoted In more than one day. The statutes are silent as to requiring 4lrferent oonmlssIoners 

to be appointed in each partloular oaae. ‘Se are unable 

to give a oonstructlon to Ahe statute and the provision 

“Three Dollars for each day they may be engage4 in the 

performance of their duties ,” as peralttlng &ore than the 

oou,pensatlon rate prescribed. 

Assuming, with reference to your request, that 

all awards were rendered on the fourth day and the oommlssloners during such four day period, in the perfonranoe 

of their duties, were slttlng in eaoh 0688, the faot that 

the oounty 1s charged with the ooets In all seven oases 

would authorize the proration of suoh co&pensatlon among 

the seven eases. 

It is, therefore, the opinion of this department 

that where three oonzIasloners, appointed under the provlslons of Artiole 3204, Vernon’o Annotated Revised civil 

Statutes, in the perforffianoe of their duties render seven 

awards during a period of four days, they would only be 

entitled to Three Dollars per day for the four days service 

rendered. 

ft 1s further our opinion that the:oounty, under 

t,ha facts subrtitted, would be entitled to prorate the sum 

of Thirty-six Dollars among the seven oases in whlcfi separate awards were rendered, no one oase requiring a day’s 

senioe. 
. 

. 

Eonorable Flahard C. gplnn, Fag8 3 

Trusting the above answers your request, we are 

Very truly yours 

ATTORNEY G~3IiA.L CF TEXAS 

BY