Opinion ID: 2085939
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Subrogation to the City's Rights.

Text: It is conceded that the plaintiff's election to have the curbs, gutters, and street work done privately was completely voluntary. The ordinances of the city of Madison permit a land developer to have such improvements installed under a private contract. Having made such choice without compulsion, can the plaintiff recover from the landowners by being subrogated to the right which the city possesses to collect in full from the individual owners? It should be noted that the plaintiff does not claim the right to make an assessment as such; rather it seeks to recover the full amount by way of a judgment in its favor. Having paid for the same work which the city could have charged to the owners, the plaintiff insists an equitable principle of subrogation should be available to award it a judgment for the amount reasonably expended. Restatement, Restitution, p. 653, sec. 162. The only authorities cited in support of this contention are Kennedy-Ingalls Corp. v. Meissner (1958), 5 Wis. (2d) 100, 105, 92 N. W. (2d) 247, and the Restatement of Restitution. In our opinion, neither citation supports the plaintiff's position. Both authorities are concerned with unjust enrichment but do not suggest a separate grounds of recovery based on subrogation to a municipality's right to collect. The power of a municipality to levy an assessment against a private owner is one which exists by right of statute, and the restrictions of the statute must be met if the assessment is to be deemed valid. In Thomas v. Waukesha (1963), 19 Wis. (2d) 243, 250, 120 N. W. (2d) 58, 62, this court, in interpreting the provisions of sec. 66.60, Stats., said: . . . the procedural steps of sec. 66.60, Stats., are jurisdictional and failure to conform to the procedural steps of the statutes is fatal to the exercise of the police power. The court there also quoted 14 McQuillin, Mun. Corp. (3d ed.), p. 57, sec. 38.07, as follows: `The nature and extent of such power must be determined from the express grant, and municipal authorities must adhere strictly to its terms, for any material departure therefrom especially of a jurisdictional nature, is fatal to the validity of the assessment. This is to say that, in levying special assessments or taxes due observance of all mandatory and jurisdictional provisions of the applicable law is indispensable. All limitations expressed or implied therein must be strictly observed. If the applicable law prescribes the mode of exercising the power, the mode prescribed must be followed, or the assessment will be void; . . .' The necessity for full compliance with the procedural requirements of the statutes compels our rejection of the plaintiff's claim that it is somehow entitled to be subrogated to the city's rights. In reality, this argument on the part of the plaintiff is that it should recover on the basis of unjust enrichment, which we shall next examine.