Case Name: The People ex rel. The People's Trust Co., as Executor of Cornelius N. Hoagland, Deceased, Relator, v. Thomas L. Feitner et al., as Commissioners of Taxes, etc., Respondents
Court: New York Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1900-01
Citations: 30 Misc. 216
Docket Number: 
Parties: The People ex rel. The People’s Trust Co., as Executor of Cornelius N. Hoagland, Deceased, Relator, v. Thomas L. Feitner et al., as Commissioners of Taxes, etc., Respondents.
Judges: 
Reporter: New York Miscellaneous Reports
Volume: 30
Pages: 216–217

Head Matter:
The People ex rel. The People’s Trust Co., as Executor of Cornelius N. Hoagland, Deceased, Relator, v. Thomas L. Feitner et al., as Commissioners of Taxes, etc., Respondents.
(Supreme,Court, Kings Special Term,
January, 1900.)
1. Taxation — Inequality of assessments of personalty is not issuable under the Greater New York charter.
The Greater New York charter does not permit the question of inequality of assessments to be raised in the case of personalty, but only in that of realty.
8. Same — Taxation of bonds, secured by mortgages.
A valuation of bonds (secured by mortgages), at their face value, is not shown to be excessive by an allegation that not one-balf of the obligors are worth the face of" their bonds, there being no allegation that the securities as a whole are not worth their face value.
Cebtiobabi proceeding to review assessment of personal estate-for taxation in city of Hew York (borough of Brooklyn) for 1899..
The entire personal estate held by the relator as executor amounted to $522,000. Of this amount $309,800 represented bonds secured by mortgages upon real estate assessed at face value. The petition purported to allege two separate grounds of review, inequality and overvaluation.
Motion by respondents to dismiss the proceeding on the ground that no legal grievance had been alleged requiring any review by the court.
Wingate & Cullen (George W. Wingate, of counsel), for relator.
John Whalen, corporation counsel (George S. Coleman, of counsel), for respondents.

Opinion:
Smith, Wilmot M., J.
The relator seeks to review the assessment of personal property herein upon the grounds of inequality and overvaluation.
Section 906 of the Greater ¡New York charter permits the question of inequality to be raised only in case of real estate. A similar restriction in the old consolidation act was declared constitutional. People ex rel. Second Ave. R. R. Co. v. Coleman, 21 N. Y. St. Repr. 178.
Overvaluation is claimed because bonds secured by mortgages were valued at their face value and that not one-half of the obligors of such bonds are responsible for the amount thereof. There is no allegation that the securities as a whole are not worth their face value. A bond secured by a mortgage is personal property and that is the subject of assessment. The bond is not properly separable from the mortgage for the purpose of assessment.
The relator claims if the bond and mortgage are assessed together the result will be double taxation'as the real estate is assessable without regard to the encumbrances thereon. Such may be in some cases the practical result although one person is not assessed or taxed doubly for the same property.
But there is no constitutional limitation upon the legislative power to effect such a result. Upon the undisputed allegations of the petition the relator is not entitled to the relief sought.
Proceedings dismissed.