Durant v. Eaton
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort against the assessors and collector of taxes of the town of Haverhill, and a deputy of the sheriff of Essex, for arrest and imprisonment of the plaintiff by the deputy on a warrant issued by the collector for a tax contained on a list committed to him by the assessors with their warrant for its collection.
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Tort against the assessors and collector of taxes of the town of Haverhill, and a deputy of the sheriff of Essex, for arrest and imprisonment of the plaintiff by the deputy on a warrant issued by the collector for a tax contained on a list committed to him by the assessors with their warrant for its collection. At the trial in the superior court, the fact of the arrest and imprisonment was proved, but no question was made by the plaintiff as to the regularity of the proceedings, provided that he was an inhabitant of Haverhill at the time of the assessment of the tax. In the writ he described…
1Opinion of the CourtChapman, J.
The case of Baker v. Allen, 21 Pick. 382, is decisive of this case. See also Griffin v. Rising, 11 Met. 345. The statute which protects assessors from responsibility except for the want of integrity and fidelity on their own part (Gen. Sts. c. 11, § 51) throws the exclusive responsibility upon the town of Haverhill, and makes it responsible to the plaintiff if he can establish his case. If the town had had no legal existence, the case would have been like that of Dickinson v. Billings, 4 Gray, 42, and the statute would not have protected the defendants. Exceptions overruled.
2Cited by7 opinions
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- Williams v. County Court of Grant Co.West Virginia Supreme Court · 1885
- Equitable Guarantee & Trust Co. v. DonahoeCourt of Chancery of Delaware · 1899
- Alger v. Inhabitants of EastonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1875
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