Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-04-17
Bonp CASE.
Decision Of Bond Coupon case-The City
Wins the FIRST Contest.

pAJH Jul u II t%tsJs Liz CVutt ISAu5e
TO issue Its mandate, aod the holding is tbs
.he bondholder has no remedy to enforce psJ
ment. Below the RECORD UNION present
sylIsbi Of the decision for the convenience
the reader:
Defendants sre the Trustees OF the City OF Sacr
nento, and the prayer Of the complaint Is tn.
| they be required 10 lay 275 per cent OF certai
| wafer rates collected Of rate payers into slnk1n
sndinterest fund, from which certain sums shout
be- paid 10 plaintiff as the holder Of interest col
pons on bonds issued by Sacramento. 1t Il a
I legged that the city should pay into the fun
| SIS, $50 and the Treasurer should p9y 70 piaintl
| S23, 100 due coupons.
Defendants demur that there is a misjoinder OF d:
PENDANTS and OF causes OF action, and that n
| sufficient cause Of action is stated.
From 1851 TO 1855 there was for Sacramento
Mayor and Common Council. April q, 1858, tn
| Legislature repeale the corporate Act and passe
| another consolidating the city and county OF sac
| ramento and authorized the issuance OF coupo
bonds for past Indebtedness OF the city, and ais
| OF the county, and the Supervisors were give
! power to levy tax, within city limits, OF IL
cents on each 500 Ct assessed values 1t provide
| that 55 per cent. OF all taxes, Licenses, harbo
| dues water rents and fines inside the city limit
90 20 a sinking and interest fund, to pay interes
and principal on the coupons and bonds. 1t wa
provided also that the city and county should no
| be sued nor its property be liable to attachment
| and levy etc. Under the act the bonds plaintiff
I holds were issued.
| By Act Of April, 1868, the city and county wer
| severed and the corporation OF the city erected
with three Trustees as the governing authority
| The Act prohibits greater property tax than s
on the SlG0 OF assessed values, and provides tina
| So per cent. Of all taxes, licenses, harbor dues
net water rates and fines 60 to payment of thu
bond interest created under the Act of 1855 aut
the excess to redemption Of the principal. b.
this Act the city may be held on any bond, agree
ment, etc, II entered into after the passage o
the Act but that no levy or attachment shall b.
made on the property of the city under any pro
cess whatever.
Held: There is misjoinder Of parties defendant ant
OF causes OF action. The failure of the Trustees
to set aside into the fund does not affect the CITY
Treasurer. N.Tis he who should psy it III affected
by the failure OF another to pay it out.
Held Also as plaintiff claims but S39 $50 due him
AMI there are 100000 in the fund, he has NJ
legal right to any money not IN the fund. 1t il
error TO fail to aleSe that the money collected fol
water rents and not paid in is the net revenue
from water rents. The Legislature had the right
to alter the terms and obligations OF the compact
changing the revenue system or abolishing it a.
TO water rents, etc. There is no cause of action
therefore, even if the act Of 1858 had provided
remedy, and the Act OF 1868 had taken it away
The Act OF 1858 in fact provided remedy.
Held The Court will not usurp the functions o.
the Trustees, VINO alone can order the Treasurer
to pay over. AS the revenues Of the city are not
to be subject to ANY process whatever" there
fore mandate can issue to the City Treasurer
He can pay no demands except on the school
fund, except on an order of the Trustees.
In Superior Court, county of Sacramento,
State of California No. 1898 Daniel
Meyer, plaintiff, Us. W. Gutenbsrger ct al
defendants-This is petition for q writ q
mandate; and it mas been submitted upon
demurrers TO the petition or complaint.
The complaint alleges that the defendants,
Gutenberger. Ryan and Brown, are Trustees,
~ ,jofa AEcKaa 80
That the defendant Chamberlain is Treasurer,
Of the city Of Sacramento and it prays thaG
the said Trustees be ordered to psY into acsr.
tsin interest and sinking fund an additional
275 per cent. OF certain water rents, amount
ing to $40 80, sud that the said Treasurer be
ordered to pay the plaintiff out of said fund
the SUM of $50. $50, alleged TO be due upon
the interest coupons of certsin bends held by
plaintiff. The Auditor is also made party
defendant, but nothing seems to be paVticu-
lsrly demanded OF him.
Tho defendants demur separately upon
several grounds. They ire sll, however, sub
stantislly included in these three causes Of
demurrer First, there is misjoinder of
parties defendant. Second, there is a mis-
joinder OF causes Of action. And third, the
complaint does not state facts sufficient to
constitute cause of scti9n.
The statutory history Of tho city of Sacre-
mento, so far as it affects these demurrers, is
subs antislly as follows From the year 1851
to the 24th day Of April, 1858, there was
municipal corporation called the Mayor and
Common Council OF the City of Sacramento"
embracing the inhabitants Of certain part of
the county of Sacramento. On the said 245h
day o. April. 1858, an Act of the Legislature
of the State was approved which repealed the
Act Incorporating The Mayer and Common
Council of the City of Sacramento" ard Gre
ated another corporation called 1.-THE City
and County Of Sacramento" which included
the whole Of the county of Sacramento in
one general municipal corporation. (Stst. 1858,
p. 267). This ACT provid d for the Issuance
OF certain coupon bonds by the said City
and County of Sacramento for the past in
debtedness of the former city government,
aud also of the former county government.
Tae Supervisors who were the governing
power of the corporation, were given power
to levy within the old city limits tax of
ere hundred cents On the one hundred
dollars worth Of property for municipal pur.
poses, and it was provided that 6fty-dve per
cent. Of all taxes, Licences, harbor dues, water
rents and fines within the old city limits
should be set apart to an interest and sinking
fund. to be app,iad TO the payment Of tie an.
nual interest and final redemption of the
bonds that should be Issued for the city in
debtedness. (Secs. 81, 50 Il was also pro-
vided that " the city and county shall not be
sued in any action whateV er, nor shall any Of
its lands, buildings, improvements, property,
franchises, taxes, revenues, actions, chooses in
action and offsets ibe subject to any attach
ment levy or sale, or any process whatever,
either mesne or fnzl" (Sec. 1 Under this
Acs a large number of bends w5re issued for
said city indebtedness. Plaintiff is the owner
Of some Of these bonds, and bases this action
upon overdue and unpaid interest coupons
which were attached thereto. All Of them
were executed by TIE "city and couaty Of
Sacramento" who il the obiigor and pIomisor
therein.
By an Act of the Legislature, entitled
" An Act to incorporate the City Of Sacra.
mento," approved April %, 1868, the said
Act of 1858 Incorporating the "City and
County of Sacramento was repealed, and
new municipal corporation was created called
the "City of Sacramento" (Stat. 1868, p.
415. Sec 60) This last named corporation
embraces substantially the same part of Sac
ramento county as the former corporation of
1.-THE Mayor and Common Council of the
for a Board of three Trustees, who ara pro-
hibited from levying greater property tax
annually than 81 on every 500 of property.
(Sec. 25) It also provides that So per cent.
of all "taxes, licenses. hsrbor dues, net
water rents, and fines" shall be appropriated
to an interest and sinking fund, TO be applied
to the payment of the annual interest OF
bonds legally issued for city Indebtedness I'M
der the said Act of 1858, and the excess to
the redemption Of the bonds. (Sec. 26). By
this Act the city may be sued upon any
"hord, covenant, agreement, contract, mat
ter or thing whatever of which the Courts Of
law or equity have jurisdiction /; provided,
however, that such bond, covenant, agree.
ment, contract, matter or thing that is the
cause Of action has been made or entered
into after tee passage Ct this Act"
It further provides that "none of the
lands, tenements, bereditsments, sppurts-
nances, taxes, revenues, franchises, actions,
choses in action, property or effects OF any
kind or nature whatsoever of said city, or of
either or any of its trusts or uses, shall be
attached, levied upon or sold, in any process,
whatever, either original, mesne, or final.
(Sec. IL
The foregoing ars all the statutory pro-
visions necessary st present to notice. (Fnere
have bsen some amendments to this Act, but
my attention has not been called to sBy at
fecting the merits of this case.)
In my judgment, the two objections that
there is a misjoinder Of defendants and of
causes Of action, are both well taken. Plain
tiff only claims s23 100; and he alleges that
there are 100000 in the fund The Code
Of Civil Procedure, after dividing causes Of
actions into certain classes and providing
that certain Of them may be united, procseds
as follows 1.-THE causes of action so
united must all belong to one only of
these classes and must affect Sill thu par