The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1910-02-05
ATTORNEY GENERAL
RENDERS OPINION
Interesting Letter From Mr..
Clancy on Collection of
Delinquent Taxes.
ARE COMMUNITY SUITS

An interesting opinion ~ TO fees
In tax eases aud allied matters has
been handed down by Attorney Gen.
crai y. W. Clancy in response 90 an
inquiry from the district attorney OF
Socorro county The letter follows:
Honorable John H. Grinith, District
Attorney, Socorro, y. NJ.
Dear Sir; Your letter of the ssth
inst. was received here on the goth
aud forwarded 10 me at Santa Fe,
whore ! received IL yesterday. think
that the statutory provision rs to
which tho clerk of your court de-.
sircs nm opinion. il not 40 clear as 70
admit Of uo dispute or doubt as TO its
meaning, hut, after careful consider.
alton aud reflection, have reached
the following opinion;
The section referred to Is section
go Of Chapter 22, Of the laws OF 1879.
aud il a. follows:
60 In entering up judgment In all such
eases the clerk shall add 10 tho
amount of tax, penalties and costs, as
shown by such delinquent tax list, Ave
per centum of the amount due from
each person. or upon each lot or par
eel OF property described, which Eve
per centum shall be the costs Of such
proceedings. aud when collected shall
be paid over 10 the treasurer Of said
county for the credit Of the court
fund
II will br seen that in endesvoring
TO reach conclusion as 10 ths appli
cability of this provision, which il an
exception 10 the general rules with re-.
gard 20 costs, both rs TO amount aud
to disposition, We must ascertain
what is meant by the phrase lin sll
such eases. An examination of the
whole statute shows that II WAS In.
tended To rcvOlutionize the general
practice as TO suits for the collection
OF delinquent taxes, and. instead OF
suing delinquent Taxpayers separate
". to include them IN n general list,
which should be advertised, and. with
the proof of publication, forming the
basis FOR au omnibus suit covering ev
orything contained IN the delinquent
tax list, whore the taxes were more
than twenty-five dollars. This Great.
cd Il new class of eases. different
from anything previously existing, and
II seems REASONABLE. TO believe that
the Legislature. IN making new stat
utory provision a. to the anJunt and
disposition of costs. was legislating
only with regard to this new class Of
eases. II II true that IN section IL OF
the act there j. a proyiso as to sep
arnte suits under the provisions Of the
district court, aud II might be argu-
"d that the phrase " IN all such cases -
was intended to refer Ia all such
cases ~ are mentioned or provided
for anywhere IN the act no matter
what kind, but such proviso as the
WV "''Hh H'l'hla'' HhAN uh IN
cepiion tn the rest of the law sppli.
cable To special cases, aud the sub.
iect matter of the proviso is not with.
IN the general purpose Of the act. This
view il in harmony with the well-set.
tied rules of construction Of statutes,
in accordance with which Il IL held
that s.proViso or exception usually re.
iatcs only To the paragraph or matter
Immediately preceding II, as you will
see by reference to 20 a. 4 r.. Enoyc,
of Law, 67s ct see.
Separate suits against individual tax.
payers must, therefore, be considered
like any other civil suits against in
dividuRls, and the same rules as TO
costs aud what shall he done with
them, should apply, IN in all other
eases, except those based upon the de-
linqucnt tax lists. II would be the
duty of the clerk to collect and ae.
count for costs in such cases, the same
as the codes In other eases. -
Yours truly.
FRANK w CLANCY