{ "id": 5278308, "name": "Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago Railway Co. v. The City of Chicago", "name_abbreviation": "Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago Railway Co. v. City of Chicago", "decision_date": "1869-09", "docket_number": "", "first_page": "80", "last_page": "83", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "53 Ill. 80" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "Ill.", "id": 8772, "name": "Illinois Supreme Court" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 29, "name_long": "Illinois", "name": "Ill." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "23 Ill. 521", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill.", "case_ids": [ 5804981 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill/23/0521-01" ] }, { "cite": "24 Ill. 222", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill.", "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "21 Ill. 143", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill.", "case_ids": [ 2602195 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill/21/0143-01" ] }, { "cite": "20 Ill. 338", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Ill.", "case_ids": [ 2597811 ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/ill/20/0338-01" ] } ], "analysis": { "cardinality": 284, "char_count": 5240, "ocr_confidence": 0.532, "pagerank": { "raw": 2.0689732680606987e-07, "percentile": 0.7574984101389695 }, "sha256": "3f99eb105aac1a1a76d70d505a1a9db5458d8a46d2e19757f754029276bfca6a", "simhash": "1:ebeb61032c5f0af4", "word_count": 892 }, "last_updated": "2023-07-14T20:54:19.479696+00:00", "provenance": { "date_added": "2019-08-29", "source": "Harvard", "batch": "2018" }, "casebody": { "judges": [], "parties": [ "Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago Railway Co. v. The City of Chicago." ], "opinions": [ { "text": "Mr. Justice Walker\ndelivered the opinion of the Court:\nThis was an application in the court below, made by the city collector, upon his report, and a special warrant issued for the collection of a special assessment previously made for curbing, filling and paving Canal street, from Twelfth to Sixteenth street, in Chicago. He gave ten days\u2019 notice by publication to all persons interested, of the receipt of the warrant, and had caused six days\u2019 notice, by a like publication, of his intention to apply for judgment against the delinquent lots and real estate for the amount of the assessment, damages and costs respectively due on the same. He returned that the schedule annexed to his report was a correct list of lots upon which the assessment had not been paid, and that the same was, in all respects, correct; and he therein prays judgment.\nAppended to his report, and filed with it, are the two notices referred to therein. The court below, after hearing the evidence, rendered judgment in the usual form, from which this appeal is prosecuted. It is insisted, that the judgment of the court below should be reversed, because it fails to find the sum of money due and unpaid on the assessment against the several lots owned by appellants, and returned by the collector in his report. The objections were overruled, and judgment was rendered, the substantial portion of which is this:\n\u201c And no owner having appeared to show sufficient cause why judgment should not be entered against said lands and other property, for the assessment, damages and costs due severally thereon; therefore it is considered by the court that judgment be and is hereby entered against all of the aforesaid lots, pieces or parcels of land, or other property mentioned and described in the foregoing report of the said city collector, in favor of the city of Chicago, for the assessment, damar ges and costs annexed\" to them severally, being the amounts due thereon.\u201d\nThus it will be seen that the judgment is for the several sums reported to have been due by the collector; and reference to that report, as contained in the transcript, fails to show, in any manner, the sums assessed against tlm several lots owned by appellants. It is true, there are various numerals opposite each of these lots, in columns variously headed. The heading to the first is, \u201c Amount duethe second, \u201c Costs, cents the third, \u201c Amount due.\u201d Under these headings, and- in the columns, are a number of numerals opposite the several lots, but there is neither at the head of the column, nor opposite the figures, any word, mark or character to indicate for what they were designed. \u00a1Nor do we' find at the foot of the columns any aggregate of the various numerals written above, with a dollar, or other mark, to determine their character or nature. It is thus apparent that the judgment fails, in terms, or by reference, to find the sums due against the several lots of appellants embraced in the report, and against which the court intended to render a judgment.\nThis court has repeatedly held that, in rendering a judgment against lands for taxes, it is fatally defective, unless there is some character or word which indicates the amount or sum for which numerals are employed in the collector\u2019s report upon which the judgment is rendered: Lawrence v. Fast, 20 Ill. 338; Lane v. Bommelmann, 21 Ill. 143 ; Dukes v. Rowley, 24 Ill. 222, and Eppinger v. Kirby, 23 Ill. 521. And a judgment for an assessment depends upon and must be governed by the same principles. All judgments for money must be certain, and find the sum for which they are rendered, and failing to do so they are fatally defective. For that reason, this judgment must be reversed and the cause remanded.\nJudgment reversed.", "type": "majority", "author": "Mr. Justice Walker" } ], "attorneys": [ "Messrs. Barker & Tuley, for the appellants.", "Mr. S. A. Irvih, for the appellee." ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago Railway Co. v. The City of Chicago.\n1. Judgments\u2014their requisites. All judgments for money must be certain, and find the sum for which they 8re rendered, and failing so to do, they are fatally defective..\n2. Same\u2014judgments for taxes and upon special assessments. It has been held, that a judgment against lands for non-payment of taxes is fatally defective, unless there is some character or word which indicates the amount or sum for which numerals are employed in the collector\u2019s report, upon which the judgment is rendered. The same rule governs in case of a judgment for a special assessment.\n3. In this case, which was an application for judgment against city lots for non-payment of a special assessment, in the collector\u2019s report there were various numerals in columns, opposite the several lots, and the columns were headed thus: the first, \u201c Amount duethe second, \u201c Costs, cents,\u201d and the third, \u201c Amount due.\u201d There was neither at the head of the columns, nor opposite the figures in the columns, any word, mark or character to indicate for what the figures were designed. The judgment itself contained nothing to indicate the amount, except by reference to the report: Held, the judgment was fatally defective, in failing to find the sum of money due.\nAppeal from the Superior Court of Chicago; the Hon. Joseph E. Gary, Judge, presiding.\nThe opinion states the case.\nMessrs. Barker & Tuley, for the appellants.\nMr. S. A. Irvih, for the appellee." }, "file_name": "0080-01", "first_page_order": 84, "last_page_order": 87 }