Lufkin v. City of Galveston

Citations

• 56 Tex. 522
• 1882 Tex. LEXIS 65

Syllabus

<p>1. Burden op proof—City assessment.— An ordinance of the city of Galveston required the city engineer, where certain preliminary notices had been given, to proceed to fill up lots designated by the health officer of the city, and to make a list of the lots so filled, entering opposite each lot its proper portion of the cost. Upon the approval of that list by the city council, the amount placed opposite to each lot was made an assessment against the same and a lien thereon. In a suit to enforce such assessment and lien, held, .</p> <p>(1) That the burden of showing clearly, from the proceedings of the city council, that the assessment sought to be enforced was embraced in a list reported by the engineer and approved by the council, devolved upon the city.</p> <p>(2) That the approval of the council must be based on the report or list of the engineer, and where the proceedings showed no list embracing the assessment dated and sworn to on August 17th, and the action of the council was predicated on the report of a committee to examine reports, of the engineer, which committee reported on August 3d, that it did not appear that the approval of the council embraced the work done on the lots in question.</p> <p>(3) That the proceedings of the council in this case failed to show a valid assessment.</p> <p>2. See this case for the views of Associate Justice Stayton as to the want of power in the city council, under the charter, to authorize the health officer to designate lots to be filled, so as to make the cost of filling a lien on the lots.</p>