Roper v. McWhorter

Citations

• 77 Va. 214
• 1883 Va. LEXIS 50

Syllabus

<p>1. Corporations—Tax-payers—Injunctions.—The right of tax-payers to resort to equity to restrain municipal corporations.and their officers, and quasi corporate bodies and their officers from transcending their lawful powers or violating their lawful duties in any way injuriously affecting the tax-payers, such as making unauthorized appropriations of the corporate funds or an illegal disposition of the corporate property, is well established.</p> <p>2. Idem—Alienation of franchises.—Without legislative authority they cannot lease or alien any franchise necessary to perform its obligations and duties to the state. „</p> <p>3. Idem—Construction of charters.—It is a well settled rule of construction of legislative grants to public or private corporations, that they can exercise only such powers as are conferred expressly or impliedly by the act, and that in all cases of ambiguity, the doubts shall be resolved in favor of the public.</p> <p>4. Idem.—Franchises in this state have always been granted with a view to ' subserve the public, and are deemed public trusts, to be regulated and</p> <p>managed by the legislature through its different agents.</p> <p>5. Idem—Case at bar.—In September, 1881, the board of supervisors of Norfolk county and the council of the city of Portsmouth leased to R., for twelve years, the Norfolk county ferries at $13,000 per annum.</p> <p>Held:</p> <p>1. Neither under the general or statutory laws of this state did the said board and council, or either of them, possess the authority to lease the said ferries.</p> <p>2. The jus disponendi is not incident to the ownership of property as a public trust. '</p> <p>3. The boards of supervisors, like other corporate bodies, are the creatures of the statute, and have no other powers than those conferred expressly or by necessary implication. .</p> <p>4. No powers devolved on those boards as the successors of the county courts.</p> <p>6. Idem—Idem.—Even had the power existed in the board and council to