Tacoma's Water and Light Bonds Survive Their Day in Court
Judge Stallcup's suit to invalidate the city's light and water bond issue was dismissed in superior court; the case will go to the state Supreme Court.
Tacoma, April 3.—Special.—Judge Stallcup’s suit against the city to invalidate the light and water bond issue was today dismissed in the superior court. Judge Parker sustained the demurrer to the complaint. The decision will be immediately appealed to the supreme court.
The demurrer was based on the following grounds: that the court had no jurisdiction of the subject matter of the action; that the plaintiff had no legal capacity to sue; that there is a defect of parties defendant; and that the complaint does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action.
The decision is a lengthy one and covers thirty-four pages of closely written typewritten matter.
“The decision will be immediately appealed to the supreme court.”
Municipal utilities and the debt used to build them remain a live civic battleground; then as now, a lawsuit could delay or undo a city’s plans. Tacoma’s water and light bonds were not just infrastructure—they were a claim on the city’s future revenue and a question of who had standing to challenge it.
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