Opinion ID: 1672652
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: estoppel as to killebrew

Text: Killebrew claims that he acted on the representation of the Caledonia Mayor, Walton Willis, in locating his store where he did. Because a municipality may act only through its minutes, ordinarily the unauthorized acts of one of its officials does not estop a municipality from acting in its governmental capacity. Reliance Manufacturing Co. v. Barr, 245 Miss. 86, 146 So.2d 569 (1962); Colle Towing Co. v. Harrison County, 213 Miss. 442, 57 So.2d 171 (1952); American Oil Co. v. Marion County, 187 Miss. 148, 192 So. 296 (1939); Lancaster v. City of Columbus, 333 F. Supp. 1012 (N.D.Miss. 1971). Both Mayor Willis and Tom Wiggins, an alderman and vice-mayor, testified that Willis had been given no authority from the town board of aldermen to single handedly grant exemptions from the town zoning ordinances. Therefore the chancellor correctly ruled that Killebrew could not rely on the mayor's comment to him that the sale of beer was only required to be a reasonable distance away from churches and that in the mayor's opinion Killebrew's business was such a distance away. Because Killebrew could not validly rely on the mayor's comments we agree with the chancellor that there is no factual foundation to support the application of the doctrine of estoppel as to Killebrew.