McCoy v. Briant

Citations

• 53 Cal. 247

Syllabus

<p>Power of Municipal Corporation.—A municipal corporation can only-act in the cases and in the mode prescribed by its charter.</p> <p>Municipal Contracts.—All persons contracting with a municipal corporation must, at their peril, inquire into the power of the corporation or its officers to make the contract, and a contract beyond the scope of the corporate power is void, although it he under the seal of the corporation.</p> <p>Illegal Exercise of Corporate Power. — Where the Legislature authorized a municipal corporation to issue \bonds “ at such time or times as the Board of Trustees may \by resolution direct,” and bonds of the city were issued under the corporate seal, but without the passage of a resolution authorizing the issue: held, that the bonds were void.</p> <p>Illegal Bonds—Enjoining their Circulation.—Bonds of a municipal corporation that are void in the hands of an innocent holder are not a charge against the public, and their circulation cannot be enjoined at the suit of a tax payer.</p>