Hornblower v. Duden

Citations

• 35 Cal. 664
• 1868 Cal. LEXIS 139

Syllabus

<p>Powers of Boards of Supervisors.—Boards of Supervisors possess the power, as incidental to that of buying, selling, and leasing of property, and the management, care, and preservation thereof, as conferred by statute, (Stats. 1855, Sec. 9, p. 51,) to take all legal measures necessary to that end, by suit or otherwise, and therein are vested with large discretionary powers.</p> <p>Idem—Exercise of Discretion.—If, in the exercise of their judgment and discretion, the Board of Supervisors conceive that the interests of the county are involved in a certain question, and thereupon take legal measures, by suit or otherwise, to advance or protect those interests, the expense thus incurred becomes a legal charge against the county, notwithstanding the Courts might ultimately hold that the Board had adopted the wrong remedy, or were entitled to no remedy whatever.</p> <p>Management of Railroad Stock owned by a County.—A county owning stock in a railroad company is directly interested, like any other stockholder, in the conduct and management of its affairs, and, as a consequence, in the selection of its officers. The county would have a right, through her Board of Supervisors, to contest the election of such officers, if deemed to have been illegal, and to that end to adopt any remedy she might be advised was legal, and the expense thus incurred would become a legal charge against the county. Courts can exercise no control over the judgment and discretion possessed by Boards of Supervisors in such cases.</p> <p>Idem—Employment of Counsel.—Boards of Supervisors have power to employ other counsel than the District Attorney to assist in or to conduct the prosecution or defense of any suit to which the county is a party, which power extends equally to suits to which she is a party upon the record and to those in the prosecution or defense of which she has or is supposed to have some interest. The judgment and discretion of the Board in the exercise of this power arc not open