New York ex rel. Schurz v. Cook

by Howell Edmunds Jackson

United States Supreme Court

148 U.S. 397

New York ex rel. Schurz  v.  Cook

This writ of error is brought to review a judgment of the supreme court of the state of New York, adopting and entering a decision of the court of appeals of said state in pursuance of a remittitur therefrom, on the ground that it gave effect to and enforced a law of the state, which, in violation of the constitution of the United States, impairs pairs the obligation of a contract. Whether there is a contract, and whether its obligation has been impaired, as claimed by plaintiffs in error, are questions which arise and are to be determined upon the following state of facts: Several railroad corporations, properly organized under the laws of New York and Pennsylvania, after duly executing mortgages upon their respective properties and franchises to secure the payment of bonds lawfully issued by them, were consolidated, under legislative authority from those states, into one company, which was incorporated February 14, 1883, under the name of the Buffalo, New York & Philadelphia Railroad Company. This new company, in pursuance of proper authority, also executed a mortgage upon its properties and franchises to secure the payment of bonds issued by it. Default was made in the payment of the bonds issued under and secured by each of these various mortgages, and foreclosure proceedings were instituted thereon, and the mortgages duly foreclosed, and the entire property and feanchises of all the companies, constituent and consolidated, were regularly sold under such foreclosure proceedings, and bid in by the plaintiffs in error as the representatives of the security holders, in pursuance of a scheme of reorganization previously agreed upon. The properties and franchises so sold and purchased were duly conveyed to the purchasers September 28, 1887, who thereupon adopted and executed articles of association under and in conformity with the provisions of the reorganization acts of the state, (chapter 430, Laws 1874, as amended by chapter 446, Laws 1876,) and having prepared a certificate of incorporation, as provided by said acts, setting forth, among other things not material to be noticed, that they had associated themselves together as a corporation to be known as the Western New York & Pennsylvania Railway Company, with a maximum capital stock of $15,000,000, divided into 150,000 shares, they presented said certificate to Frederick Cook, secretary of state, with the request to file the same in his office, such filing being required before the parties forming the organization could become a body corporate. They tendered the secretary of state, at the time of applying to have the certificate filed, the sum of $45 as the proper amount of fees for recording the same. The secretary refused to permit it to be filed, basing his refusal upon the provision of an act of the legislature known as chapter 143 of the Laws of 1886, which provided that any corporation incorporated under any general or special law of the state, having capital stock divided into shares, should pay to the state treasurer, for the use of the state, a tax of one eighth of 1 per centum upon the amount of capital stock which the corporation was authorized to have. The act further provided that 'the said tax shall be due and payable upon the incorporation of said corporation, or upon the increase of the capital stock thereof; and no such corporation shall have or exercise any corporate power until the said tax shall have been paid; and the secretary of state and any county clerk shall not file and certificate of incorporation or association until he is satisfied that the said tax has been paid to the state theasurer; and no such company incorporated by any special act of the legislature shall go into operation or exercise any corporate powers or privileges until said tax has been paid as aforesaid.' This act took effect immediately upon its passage. When the plaintiffs in error presented their certificate of incorporation to the secretary or state for filing, the taximposed by this act, amounting to $18,000, had not been paid or tendered to the state treasurer, and for this reason the secretary refused to file the certificate. Thereupon the plaintiffs in error applied to the supreme court of the state of New York, at special term, for a peremptory writ of mandamus to compel the secretary of state to file said certificate. The petition set out in detail the foregoing proceedings. In response to the order to show cause why the writ should not be granted, the secretary of state made return, stating, among other objections not material to this case, that the said Western New York & Pennsylvania Railway Company of New York, sought to be incorporated as a corporation, had neglected and refused to pay the incorporation tax imposed by the law of 1886, and that he could not be required to file the certificate until said tax had been paid. The special term denied the motion for a mandamus. From this order the relators appealed to the general term of the supreme court, which affirmed the action of the special term. 47 Hun, 467. The relators then appealed from the decision of the general term to the court of appeals, which affirmed the order of the former, (110 N. Y. 443, 18 N. E. Rep. 113,) and remitted the cause to the supreme court of the state, where judgment was entered in conformity with the decision of the court of appeals.

• George Zabriskie, for plaintiffs in error.

[Argument of Counsel from pages 400-404 intentionally omitted]

S. W. Rosendale, for defendant in error.

Mr. Justice JACKSON delivered the opinion of the court.

Notes