Puget Sound Power & Light Co. v. King County, 264 U.S. 22 (1924)

Puget Sound Power & Light Co. v. King County

No. 138

Motion to dismiss or affirm submitted January 2, 1924
Decided February 18, 1924
264 U.S. 22

ERROR TO THE SUPREME COURT

OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

Syllabus

1. The time allowed by the Act of September 6, 1916, for a writ of error from this Court to review a judgment of a state court begins to run from entry of the formal judgment of record in the state court, and not from the previous filing of the court’s opinion and decision. Procedure in the State of Washington considered. P. 23.

2. A party who did not raise a federal question in the state courts cannot come here by assigning error jointly with another party who raised it. P. 25.

3. The property of a street railway company, in view of its peculiar character, may be classified differently from property of commercial steam railways for state taxation without violating the Fourteenth Amendment. P. 26.

4. A law of Washington providing for taxation of all the operating property of street railways as personalty, though consisting partly of real estate, and thereby depriving the owner of certain advantages as to time of payment, rate of interest, and redemption allowed other owners of realty held not arbitrary. Id.

5. The Fourteenth Amendment does not impose on state taxation requirement of equality so rigid that the legislature may not adjust its measures in view of the practical, as well as theoretical, incidence of taxation. P. 28.

117 Wash. 351 affirmed.

Error to a judgment of the Supreme Court of Washington which affirmed a judgment of a lower court dismissing the complaint of the Puget Sound Power & Light Company and the cross-complaint filed by City of Seattle against its codefendants in a suit by the Power & Light Company to enjoin collection of taxes on its street railway property.