Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Ogden City

I respectfully dissent. Ogden concedes that if the statute had given it the power, the contracts with these utilities would have been perfectly valid, except for the city’s gratuity that they could not be for too long a period of time,1 — but that is not its point on appeal. Its point on appeal is that the city “in the absence of express statutory authority from the legislature, may not contract away its power of taxation.” This concedes that it could contract away its power of taxation if the legislature gives it that power. Such a conclusion pretty clearly is reflected in-173 A.L.R. 25, et…