Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-13
|SUITS FOR UNPAID
TAXES THROWN OUT
Arlington Court Also SuStains
Woman Voters Demurrer
to Damage Suit.
nr a stan correspondent Of The star.

BY stan Correspondent of The Star.
/ ARLINGTON COUNTY COURT
HOUSE, August 13-Demurrers to two
! important suits instituted in the local
| Circuit Court were today sustained by
| Judge Walter T. Mccarthy in closing
the minutes Of the present session.
The most important of these is the
demurrer to the suit fed by the State,
! through Commonwealth Attorney Will
liam c. Cloth. for the collection of ap-
proximately half a million dollars in
DELINQUENT real estate taxes.
The second decision was to sustain
the demurrer filed by Burnett Miller,
attorney for seven members of the
! Organized Women Voters of Arlington
County in the 100000 damage suit in
stituted against them by the Arlington
Investment Corporation.
Cannot Collect Taxes.
Bv action in the former case. Judge
Mccarthy has made it practically inn
possible, It is claimed to collect delin-
ouent real estate taxes through suit
This is the second demurrer of this
type that has been sustained in the
local Circuit Court within the past
three years.
Judge Howard w Smith when he was
on the bench, sustained a demurrer to
suits against the same defendants that
was filed by Cloth in the name of the
Board of County Supervisors, counsel
for the defense being sustained in their
argument that local governments were
prohibited by the constitution from col
lecting taxes by suit.
When efforts at collection failed in
this respect Cloth took the matter up
with c. H. Morrisett. State tax commits
sioner, who authorized him to bring the
suits in the name of the State, under
section 403 of the tax code. There were
more than 1000 suits filed, involving
$500. 900 in delinquent taxes.
Law Is Changed.
A demurrer to the latter suits was
filed by Attorneys Jesse, Phillips and
Klinge. in which they claimed that the
suits were unconstitutional because of
an act Of the last General Assembly
which assigned the delinquent taxes be-
longing to the State to the various juris-
dictions in which the properties were
located. Hence it was claimed in the
demurrer the State had no ownership
in the taxes. and If they were allowed
to participate in their collection the
county might then sue and collect them
over again.
Cloth stated today that the form Of
the bill of complaint under which the
suits were brought had been approved
by Morrisett and that the latter had
stated that he would carry the cases
to the Supreme Court of Appeals of
the State.
In the case Of the Organized Woman
Voters, suit was brought against them
several months ago by the Arlington
Investment Corporation for damages al
legged to have been caused the latter as
the result of the recent unsuccessful
impeachment proceedings against Su-
pervisor B. M. Hedrick.
Claimed Business Damaged.
The suit alleged that since Hedrick
at the time of the impeachment pro-
ceedings was managing director Of the
Arlington Investment Corporation and
that the name of the concern was
brought into the proceedings that their
business was damaged as a result
In his demurrer, Burnett Miller Of
Culpeper, attorney for Mrs. Ruby G.
Simpson and other members of the
women's organization. claimed that
there was no libel in so far as the
Arlington Investment Corporation was
concerned and that as a result they
were not entitled 70 recovery. This
view of the matter was also taken by
the court.
Edgar w. Humphrey, attorney for the
investment corporation, was unable to
say whether an appeal would be taken.