The San Francisco call., 1898-08-03
SUIT AGAINST
 AN ASSESSOR Charged With OverValu-
 ing Property. ALLEGATIONS MADE OF FRAUD BAILEY DISSATISFIED WITH
 HIS ASSESSMENT.
ALLEGATIONS MADE OF FRAUD
The Defendant Contends That the Revenue-Producing Quality of Property Is the Standard
 Value.

A peculiar case one of the first of the kind ever noted in this State, in which the Assessor of county Is sued for dam ages for the alleged fraudulent over assessing of a piece of property IS no" on trial In the United States Circuit Court in this city,
 The defendant is Thomas H. Berkey Assessor of Sacramento County ana the plaintiff Is James Bailey, owner of the old Postofflce building, on the corner or Fourth and K streets, in the city of sac ramento. Bailey alleges that Berkey fraudulently over-assessed the property, and asks for $1O 900 damages. He IS rep resented by Catlin & Mhoon, and BerKey is defended by Elwood Bruner.
 Before Berkey took office the old Post office building had been assessed Tor $zI'- t00. The University of California has a mortgage on it for $50 900. Berkey did not deduct the mortgage, but placed the as sessment against the property.
 Bailey did not pay the taxes on Lhls assessment, and when Sherln ana la. Tax Collector Frank Johnson sought to collect by the usual legal methods the amount due, Bailey brought suit against Johnson to restrain him.
 had inquired into the revenue producing quality of the property, and had learned that 1t produced a net rental or S4oOO per annum over and above repairsi taxes,
  interest on the mortgage. This income, II was alleged in court, was fair ana usual rate of interest-namely. upward of per cent net-on a valuation of $G0, 900.
 On the first Monday in March, 1896 Berkey assessed the property at $5O,O which, deducting the amount or the mort gage. left $20 900, on which Bailey was re- quired to pay taxes. Bailey appealed to the Board of Equalization, but the board sustained the Assessor Bailey then brought the present suit. alleging that Berkey had not only made an incorrect assessment. but a fraudulent one.
 On behalf of the defendant letters were produced in court from E. K. Alsip, Bal ley's agent, and from A. D. Bowley. a real estate agent of Sacramento. These letters were addressed to the Board of Regents of the University of California at the time Bailey was making applica- tion for the s30,00O loan. In one of the letters Alsip wrote that the property was producing a net income of per cent on $75 ,000 valuation, and that the property would be worth S125,0 in a few years Alsip followed this letter with another in which he wrote that a conservative valuation of the property would be s65,- 00G spot cash. MT. Bowley corroborated this statement. and Albert Gallatin wrote that taking it's income basis of value the property was worth $60, 900.
 On behalf of Bailey 1t was alleged that Berkey had assessed the Odd Fellows building on the corner of Ninth and K streets, and the Farmers and Mechanics Bank building on the corner of Fourth and I streets at a much lower figure, al- though the bank property was Of the the and the Odd Fellows building had twenty feet more frontage than had the old post office property.
 MT. Bruner argued to the court and jury that the Assessor had been and should be guided in his estimates of val ues by taking into consideration the rev. enue or rental producing quality of the property. The case will be given to the Jury this morning.