County of Erie v. City of Erie
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Error to the Court of Common Pleas of ¡Erie county: Of January Term 1886, No. 459. Case stated wherein the county of Erie was plaintiff and the city of Erie was defendant, as follows: 1. That the city of Erie is a municipal corporation, duly incorporated by an Act of Assembly, approved April 14th, 1851, P. L. 631, and others, amendatory thereof, and supplementary thereto, and is located in the county of Erie. 2. That the said city is the owner of a piece of land in the Third…
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Error to the Court of Common Pleas of ¡Erie county: Of January Term 1886, No. 459. Case stated wherein the county of Erie was plaintiff and the city of Erie was defendant, as follows: 1. That the city of Erie is a municipal corporation, duly incorporated by an Act of Assembly, approved April 14th, 1851, P. L. 631, and others, amendatory thereof, and supplementary thereto, and is located in the county of Erie. 2. That the said city is the owner of a piece of land in the Third ward of said city, upon which is erected an engine house; that said engine house is used exclusively for fire purposes,…
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Green
The property concerning which the present question arises is public property used for public purposes. It belongs to a municipality. Prior to the adoption of the constitution of 1874 it undoubtedly was not subject to taxation.
The reason for this rested in the character of its onwership rather than in the character of the property. It consists of a house and lot and some horses. Houses and lands and horses are taxable and have been so for a long time. But when these are held and used for the purpose of extinguishing fires and are owned by a city or borough they become of a public character and…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Inhabitants of Worcester County v. Mayor of WorcesterMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1874
- People v. Doe G. 1,034California Supreme Court · 1868
3Cited by31 opinions
- Dornan v. Philadelphia Housing AuthoritySupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1938
- Commonwealth State Emp. Ret. System v. Dau. Co.Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1939
- Philadelphia v. BarberSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1894
- Southwest Delaware County Municipal Authority v. Aston TownshipSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1964
- Pittsburg v. Sterrett Subdistrict SchoolSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1903
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