Laycock v. Lake Chelan Reclamation District

Citations

• 124 Wash. 544
• 214 P. 1054
• 1923 Wash. LEXIS 926

Syllabus

<p>Waters (92) — Irrigation Districts — Assessments — Powers or Officers — Statutes. Under Rem. Comp. Stat., § 7436, requiring irrigation assessments to he made in proportion to the benefits, an irrigation district has no power to levy an assessment of $110 per acre on all lands in the district, and to credit the same amount to all stockholders of a corporation that had conveyed its water rights to the district, as the value of the rights transferred by such corporation and stockholders, leaving the assessment to stand only against landowners who had not held and surrendered stock or water rights.</p> <p>Same (92). Rem. Comp. Stat., §7428, giving irrigation directors power “generally to perform all such acts as shall be necessary to fully carry out the provisions of this chapter,” confers no power on the directors to levy an assessment not authorized by law.</p> <p>. Same (92). Since irrigation assessments must be made in accordance with the benefits received, the directors have no power to levy an assessment of $10 per acre upon all the land in the district for maintenance purposes, which was arrived at “by fixing the maximum that the people would be able to pay”; nor can a levy for maintenance purposes include any money to be used for construction purposes.</p> <p>Sam:e (92) — ’Assessments — Remedies of Landowner. Equity will entertain a landowner’s action to cancel void irrigation assessments, there being no provision in the law providing any other rejnedy and making it exclusive.</p>