State ex rel. Hubert v. Mayor of New Orleans

Citations

• 119 La. 624
• 44 So. 321
• 1907 La. LEXIS 532

Syllabus

<p>1. Municipal Corporations — Contracts — Police Taxes — Accounting by City.</p> <p>_ Contracts result from agreements, express or implied, and not from proceedings in invitum, whether legislative or judicial; and the fact that the state organized a metropolitan police and created a board for its governance, with authority to demand and receive from the city of New Orleans certain taxes, to be levied and collected by the city for the maintenance of such police, “imposed” no contract and no obligation upon the city which the board can enforce, by any right of its own, or for any use or purpose beyond that for which it was created. Hence, the state having abolished both the police and the board, the functions of the latter ceased with its existence, and the only standing which a receiver could have in a proceeding to compel the city to levy a special tax, by way of accounting for police taxes collected by it, would be as the representative of third persons with whom the board, exercising the power then vested in it, may have made contracts which depend upon such collected taxes for their fulfillment.</p> <p>2. Same — System of Police — Taxation for Support.</p> <p>The city of New Orleans, having been specifically authorized and required to levy and collect a tax for the maintenance of a system of police, established for it in common with other political subdivisions of the state, and having levied and collected such tax, has exhausted the taxing power conferred for that purpose, and cannot be compelled, either by invoking the special power of taxation s.o conferred, or by invoking a power of taxation conferred for other and different purposes, to levy an additional tax in order to make good its failure to turn over the police tax so levied and collected.</p> <p>8. Same — Actions — Judgment — Enforcement.</p> <p>Unless a judgment against the city of New Orleans is shown to be predicated upon a contract, express or implied, which gives to the creditor the right to invo