Hamilton v. County of San Diego

Citations

• 108 Cal. 273
• 41 P. 305
• 1895 Cal. LEXIS 855

Syllabus

<p>School District—Corporation de Facto—Organization by Supervisors in Unknown City Limits—Taxes Paid pop. Bonds not Recoverable—New School District.—Where a school district established by the supervisors was in fact within the territorial limits of a city, though supposed, in good faith, to be without its limits, and the district so organized exercised the powers and discharged the duties of a school district in the same manner as if its organization had been legally perfected, to the exclusion of any other school district, with the acquiescence of the city school district, and of the county and state authorities, and assumed corporate powers and privileges, and taxes were levied and collected, apportioned and expended in its behalf in like manner as other school districts, and the owners of property included in the district recognized its corporate existence by paying taxes for its use, such school district is a corporation de facto, whose existence cannot be collaterally impeached; and the taxpayers cannot recover back the taxes paid by them into its bond and interest fund; nor is a new school district thereafter regularly established entitled to any of the funds collected for the payment of the principal and interest of the bonds of the school district de facto, but the holders of the bonds are entitled to the taxes paid into the bond and interest fund, to the exclusion of the taxpayers and of the new district.</p>