The Tax Bill Seattle Couldn't Defend
Kate Evans wins a default judgment over an illegal Twelfth Street grade assessment, exposing a $75,000 civic liability as the abandoned improvement heads back to the Supreme Court.
In the superior court yesterday Kate Evans obtained a judgment by default against the city for $141.38, an illegal assessment for the improvement of Twelfth Street. The tax was paid February 17, 1894, after the city had threatened to sell the property, but afterward the entire improvement was abandoned on the decision of the Supreme Court affirming a judgment against the city obtained by George H. Halach.
The question as to the validity of the assessment is shortly to be brought before the Supreme Court in a near form. About $75,000 is involved.
“About $75,000 is involved.”
Seattle still argues over who pays when a street project goes wrong, and the Evans case shows the bill can outlast the pavement. Then as now, a single taxpayer's small judgment can expose a much larger public liability.
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