Court Opinion

ID: 9559316
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 17:26:32.836518+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:10:35.630882
License: Public Domain

Petition eor Behearing
LUSK, J.
Plaintiffs have filed a petition for a rehearing based solely upon the ground that this court made a mistake on a question of elementary grammar. Apparently plaintiffs have abandoned their contention that in the phrase “real property * * * held under a lease heretofore executed * * *” the word “heretofore” modifies “held” instead of “executed”. Counsel for plaintiffs, being good grammarians as well as good lawyers, would, of course, not adhere to such a position once the error was pointed out to them. They now shift their ground to the word “held”, and assert that the Supreme Court of Iowa erred in holding in Starr v. Case, 59 Ia 491, 13 NW 645, that “participles have no reference to time”, and that we erred in following the Iowa court. Counsel tell us that Welch’s Analysis of the English Sentence (referred to by the Iowa court) is not available to them, “apparently having been out of print for some little time”, and they bring the matter up to date by relying on Webster’s New International Dictionary (2d ed) 1947 and A Grammar of *582Living English by McKnight, Haber and Hatfield (1939), which is not available to us. While English usage changes from time to time, and what was frowned upon 50 years ago may be approved today, just as words of common utterance in the past may now be obsolete (for which see any dictionary), we venture to express a doubt whether there have been radical changes in the rules of elementary grammar during, say, the last century. Be that as it may, if we assume that Welch’s text is of ancient vintage, if perchance it belongs to the era when counsel and the members of this court were in the primary grades and grammar was really taught, nevertheless, at least so far as perfect participles are concerned — and counsel and the court are agreed that the word “held” is a perfect participle —we find on examination no difference between Welch and Webster.
Welch, as quoted by the Iowa court, said: “Participles have no reference to time, they simply show the action, being or state of the verb from which they are derived as finished or unfinished.” Webster defines a participle as “A word that partakes of the nature of both verb and adjective; a verbal adjective, modifying a noun, but sharing the adjuncts and construction of the verb from which it is derived.” We believe that there is no difference among the authorities on grammar as to the correctness of this definition. Webster proceeds: “The English verb has two participles: (1) the present, ending in-ing * * * (2) the perfect, ending for the most part in -ed, -d, -t, -en, or -n (I saw the note written and posted). These tense forms refer to the state of the action or occurrence as in progress or complete, rather than to its time of happening, which depends on the time expressed by the verb of the clause it occurs in (he climbed the stairs, sviiling to himself — *583in -which, sentence smiling refers to the same time as climbed).” It seems to us that Webster and Welch are saying the same thing in somewhat different language.
It is not to be assumed, however, that this is a rule of universal application, for the time of happening may be otherwise expressed than by a verb in the clause in which the participle occurs. An example is found in the phrase “in a lease heretofore executed”, which has no verb. The time of the perfect participle “executed” is fixed by the adverb “heretofore”. The phrase is elliptical, the words “which was” being implied before “executed”.
So, of the perfect participle “held”, as used in the statute. First it is provided that property of a city held under a lease by a person whose real property is taxable shall be subject to taxation. Everyone agrees (at least no one has had the hardihood to assert the contrary) that this means held under a lease in the future, and, of course, at the time a tax is levied. If this were not so the statute would have no point whatever. Next it is provided that property held under a lease heretofore executed shall not become subject to taxation for the fiscal years 1947-1948,1948-1949. Now, this also means held under a lease in the future, to wit, the two fiscal years specified during which the exemption is to continue. In each provision we find the elliptical phrase “held under a lease”, with nothing to indicate the time of held (unless it be the verb shall in the phrase ‘ ‘ shall not become subject to assessment”, etc.) other than the context of the act, its sense and meaning, and the object in view. The sole difference between the two provisions lies in the fact that a particular class of lease — that is, one heretofore executed— is the subject of the later provision.
*584Quoting further from Webster, counsel say that the perfect tense is “that designating or pertaining to a form or forms of verb or verbal expressing the action or state as completed at a time denoted as either the time of speaking or a time spoken of.” Counsel construe the foregoing to mean that the perfect participle held “retains the tense attributes of the verb”, and conclude that it “refers to ‘the action or state as completed at * * * the time of speaking’, i.e., at the moment the act became effective” (meaning by “act”, .we assume, the statute under construction). We think counsel have misunderstood Webster’s meaning. The author here was speaking both of verbs and verbals. A participle is a verbal. A verb in the perfect tense does express the action or state as completed at the time of speaking, as, for example, in “he held the land under a lease”. A verbal does not, as Webster plainly says in writing about the perfect participle.
Let us give our attention now to the opening phrase of the clause of the statute under consideration, “provided, however, that real property owned by any city or town”, etc. “Owned” is a perfect participle. According to counsel’s view, as just outlined, it must refer to, “the action or state as completed * * * at the time of speaking, i.e., at the moment the act became effective.” This compels the conclusion that the legislature intended to provide that thereafter real property held under a lease by a person whose property is taxable should be taxed if it was owned by a city on July 5,1947, and regardless of its ownership at the time of levy of the tax. We know that learned counsel for the plaintiffs would not vouch for an absurdity of that sort; but we are not aware of any justification for distinguishing between past participles when it comes to applying a rule of grammar. There is, however, no *585such difficulty, for there is no such rule as counsel contend for.
In the concluding part of their brief in support of the petition, counsel for plaintiffs give their interpretation of the exemption granted in ch 382, Oregon Laws 1947, saying that it “is extended to property which was held at the time of the effective date of the act under the terms of a lease entered into prior to the effective date of the act.”
This appears to be a tacit concession, despite assertions heretofore made to the contrary, that the statute is ambiguous and requires construction. For ourselves, after re-examination of the matter in the light of this discussion of the nature of a perfect participle, while we still think the statute is ambiguous, yet it is only slightly so. There is in it. what we might term an unambiguous ambiguity, which vanishes entirely when we give our attention to the rules of grammar properly understood and to the legislative purpose, namely, to subject to taxation publicly owned property when held in private hands under lease and to relieve such property from taxation during the two fiscal years following passage of the act if such a lease was entered into prior to the time the act took effect. The reason for the exception respecting preexisting leases is stated in our former opinion, has not been questioned, and need not be repeated.
The petition for rehearing is denied.
KOSSMAN, J.
I agree that the petition for a rehearing should be denied. Further argument would serve no useful purpose. I adhere, however, to the views expressed in the dissenting opinion which was delivered at the time of the original disposition of this cause.
TOOZE, J., concurs in this opinion.