![Caution
As of: August 6, 2013 3:17 PM EDT
In re 1983-84 County Tax Levy by Butte County Bd. of Equalization
Supreme Court of Nebraska
September 27, 1985, Filed
No. 84-641
Reporter: 220 Neb. 897; 374 N.W.2d 235; 1985 Neb. LEXIS 1197
In re 1983-84 County Tax Levy by Box Butte County
Board of Equalization. Raymond E. Jesse et al., appellees
and cross-appellants, v. Box Butte County Board of
Equalization et al., appellees and cross-appellees, School
District of Hemingford, Box Butte County, Nebraska, et
al., appellants and cross-appellees
Prior History: [***1] Appeal from the District Court
for Box Butte County: Robert R. Moran, Judge.
Disposition: Reversed and remanded for further proceed-
ings.
Core Terms
levy, trial court, class action, high school education,
school district, prescribed
Headnotes/Syllabus
Headnotes
1. Final Orders: Appeal and Error. An order is final
and appealable when the substantial rights of the parties
to the action are determined, even though the cause is re-
tained for the determination of matters incidental thereto.
2. Statutes. A litigant who invokes the provisions of a
statute may not challenge its validity.
3. Schools and School Districts: Taxation: Appeal and
Error. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-4,102(3) (Cum. Supp.
1982) prescribes a specific method to review a levy
made for nonresident high school education.
Counsel: Thomas A. Danehey of Reddish, Curtiss,
Moravek and Danehey; Laurice M. Margheim; William
L. Howland of Bump, Howland and Watson; and G. Ran-
dolph Reed, for appellant School Districts.
Walter R. Metz, Jr., of Metz and Metz, for appellees
Jesse et al.
Kenneth W. Payne, Box Butte County Attorney, for appel-
lees Board of Equalization et al.
Neal E. Stenberg, for amicus curiae Nebraska Associa-
tion of School Boards.
David A. Domina of Domina & Gerrard, P.C., for am-
icus curiae Nebraska Council of School [***2] Adminis-
trators.
Judges: Krivosha, C.J., Boslaugh, White, Caporale, Sha-
nahan, and Grant, JJ., and Colwell, D.J., Retired.
Opinion by: BOSLAUGH
Opinion
[*898] [**236] This is an appeal from the levy for
nonresident high school education made by the county
board of equalization of Box Butte County, Nebraska, in
1983, pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-4, 102 (Cum.
Supp. 1982).
The plaintiffs are residents and taxpayers of Class I
school districts (K-8) in Box Butte County. The defen-
dants are the school districts of Alliance, Hemingford,
Crawford, and Mitchell, Nebraska, which are Class III
school districts (K-12) under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-102 (Re-
issue 1981). The county board of equalization, the
county treasurer, and the county superintendent of Box
Butte County, Nebraska, are also named as defendants.
Class I school districts by definition do not maintain high
schools. See § 79-102(1). Students who are residents of
Class I districts may obtain high school educations in
Class III districts. See Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-486 (Reis-
sue 1981). The cost of providing high school education
is then divided between the Class I ″sending″ districts and
the Class III ″receiving″ districts. Section [***3] 79-
4,102 prescribes a procedure by which a levy is deter-
mined, which is then applied to the taxable property in the
Class I districts.
Over the years the computation of the cost to be borne
by [*899] taxpayers in Class I districts has varied from
a flat rate, § 79-4, 102 (Cum. Supp. 1967), to per pupil
Walt Metz](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/inre1983-84countytaxlevy1-130907213039-/85/In-re-1983-84-county-tax-levy-1-2-320.jpg)
![costs, § 79-4, 102 (Reissue 1976), to the complex compu-
tation found in § 79-4,102 (Cum. Supp. 1982). Section 79
-4,102 was again amended in 1984. See § 79-4,102
(Cum. Supp. 1984).
The petition on appeal which was filed in the district
court on September 9, 1983, alleged that the action was
brought on behalf of all property owners in non-high-
school districts in Box Butte County who were similarly
situated; that the 1982 amendments to § 79-4,102
(1982 Neb. Laws, L.B. 933) were unconstitutional; that
the levy was in excess of the requirements of Box Butte
County; and that portions of the levy were for an unlaw-
ful and unnecessary purpose. The petition prayed that the
district court find that L.B. 933 was unconstitutional;
that the illegal and unauthorized [**237] portion of the
levy be determined; and that the county treasurer be di-
rected to reduce the taxes to be collected [***4] pursu-
ant to the levy by eliminating the unauthorized and ille-
gal portion of the levy. The petition also prayed for other
additional relief.
In a pretrial order the district court directed that the con-
stitutionality of L.B. 933 would be determined first and
that this would constitute ″a final order for purposes of ap-
peal to the supreme court.″ All remaining issues were
to be tried after the ″order in the first trial has become fi-
nal.″
The parties have stipulated that the levy was ″correctly
calculated and set in accordance with Section 79-4,102
R.S.Supp, 1982 (LB933).″
After a hearing on the constitutional issues only, the trial
court found that the action could be maintained as a
class action, that the plaintiffs were not estopped to main-
tain the action, and that L.B. 933 was unconstitutional
in its entirety. Notices of appeal to this court were then
filed by the four receiving districts.
Three of the appellees contend that the appeal should be
dismissed for lack of a final order because the trial
court determined only the constitutional issues and all
other issues raised by the pleadings remain undeter-
mined.
Ordinarily, when the trial court has reserved some of the
issues for [***5] final determination, an order determin-
ing only a part [*900] of the issues is not a final order,
and an appeal from such an order is premature. In this
case the trial court determined that L.B. 933 was uncon-
stitutional in its entirety. The effect of that order, in
the absence of an appeal, would be to require that non-
resident high school tuition be determined under the stat-
ute as it existed prior to the 1982 amendment. It would
require a calculation of per pupil costs by the various re-
ceiving districts, and there would be no further issues
to be determined by the trial court at this time. An order
is final and appealable when the substantial rights of
the parties to the action are determined, even though the
cause is retained for the determination of matters inci-
dental thereto. Dorshorst v. Dorshorst, 174 Neb. 886, 120
N.W.2d 32 (1963).
We conclude that the decree filed on August 2, 1984,
was a final order and this court has obtained jurisdiction
of the appeal.
The action was brought by the plaintiffs on behalf of
″themselves and for all of the other owners of property
in the non-high school districts of Box Butte County, Ne-
braska, similarly situated.″ The trial court [***6]
found that the action could be maintained as a class ac-
tion.
Although the plaintiffs did not specifically ask for a re-
fund of taxes, the petition refers to ″the funds created by
the declarations of the Court″ and prays that attorney
fees be paid from such a fund. The general rule is that
an action to recover taxes illegally assessed cannot be
maintained as a class action. Hansen v. County of Lin-
coln, 188 Neb. 461, 197 N.W.2d 651 (1972), supp. op. 188
Neb. 798, 197 N.W.2d 655.
There is also evidence of ″potentially conflicting inter-
ests within the class″ in that some members of the class
own property located in both the receiving districts
and in the sending districts. A class action must be for
the benefit of all members of the class and may be main-
tained only where there is no conflict of interest among
members of the class. Evans v. Metropolitan Utilities Dist.,
185 Neb. 464, 176 N.W.2d 679 (1970). Where the re-
cord shows the potentiality of conflict of interest among
the members of the class, the action may not be main-
tained as a class action. Blankenship v. Omaha P.P. Dist.,
195 Neb. 170, 237 N.W.2d 86 (1976).
[*901] The finding by the trial court that [***7] the ac-
tion could proceed as a class action was erroneous.
The appellants contend that the plaintiffs are estopped
from questioning the constitutionality of the statute in an
appeal from the levy, because the procedure for the ap-
peal is provided in the statute [**238] itself. The trial
court found for the plaintiffs on this issue.
″This court has held many times that a liti-
gant who invokes the provisions of a statute
may not challenge its validity; nor seek the
benefit and in the same action and at the same
time question its constitutionality.″ Alumni
Control Board v. City of Lincoln, 179 Neb.
194, 199, 137 N.W.2d 800, 804 (1965).
In re Dissolution of School Dist. No. 22, 216 Neb.
89, 91, 341 N.W.2d 918, 919 (1983). The court
further concluded:
″The plaintiffs in this action have availed
themselves of the remedy provided by the stat-
Page 2 of 3
220 Neb. 897, *899; 374 N.W.2d 235, **236; 1985 Neb. LEXIS 1197, ***3
Walt Metz](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/inre1983-84countytaxlevy1-130907213039-/85/In-re-1983-84-county-tax-levy-1-3-320.jpg)
![ute. They seek the benefit of the statute to ob-
tain a determination that the action of the
city was not authorized under the statute. They
are, therefore, prevented in this action from
questioning the constitutionality of the stat-
ute under which they have proceeded. . . .″
In re Dissolution of School Dist. No. 22, supra
[***8] at 91-92, 341 N.W.2d at 920, quoting
Shields v. City of Kearney, 179 Neb. 49, 136 N.W.2d
174 (1965).
The plaintiffs argue that the rule stated above should not
apply in this case because the appeal was brought pur-
suant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-1606 (Reissue 1981). Sec-
tion 77-1606 is a general statute which prescribes a pro-
cedure for taking an appeal from a levy made by the
county board.
Prior to L.B. 933, there was no special statute providing
for an appeal from a levy for nonresident high school
education. In 1982 the Legislature amended § 79-4,102
to provide that any taxpayer might appeal from the ac-
tion of the county board of equalization in resident
high school tuition ″in the manner provided in sections 77
-1606 to 77-1610.″ By this provision the Legislature pre-
scribed a specific method to review a levy made for
nonresident high school education. This provision of § 79
-4,102 is now a special statute relating to appeals from
such [*902] a levy. The fact that the Legislature chose the
procedure prescribed in Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 77-1606 to 77
-1610 (Reissue 1981) is of no more consequence than
if the procedure prescribed in some other statute had been
adopted by reference.
[***9] We conclude that the trial court was in error in
finding that the plaintiffs were not estopped from chal-
lenging the constitutionality of § 79-4,102 in an appeal
brought pursuant to subsection (3) of that section.
It is unnecessary to consider any of the other assign-
ments of error or the issues tendered by the cross-
appeal.
The judgment of the district court is reversed and the
cause remanded for further proceedings.
Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
Page 3 of 3
220 Neb. 897, *901; 374 N.W.2d 235, **238; 1985 Neb. LEXIS 1197, ***7
Walt Metz](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/inre1983-84countytaxlevy1-130907213039-/85/In-re-1983-84-county-tax-levy-1-4-320.jpg)
In re 1983 84 county tax levy [1]
- 1. User Name: Walt Metz Date and Time: 08/06/2013 3:17 PM EDT Job Number: 4113764 Document(1) 1. In re 1983-84 County Tax Levy by Butte County Bd. of Equalization, 220 Neb. 897 Client/matter: msc | About LexisNexis | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Copyright © 2013 LexisNexis. Walt Metz
- 2. Caution As of: August 6, 2013 3:17 PM EDT In re 1983-84 County Tax Levy by Butte County Bd. of Equalization Supreme Court of Nebraska September 27, 1985, Filed No. 84-641 Reporter: 220 Neb. 897; 374 N.W.2d 235; 1985 Neb. LEXIS 1197 In re 1983-84 County Tax Levy by Box Butte County Board of Equalization. Raymond E. Jesse et al., appellees and cross-appellants, v. Box Butte County Board of Equalization et al., appellees and cross-appellees, School District of Hemingford, Box Butte County, Nebraska, et al., appellants and cross-appellees Prior History: [***1] Appeal from the District Court for Box Butte County: Robert R. Moran, Judge. Disposition: Reversed and remanded for further proceed- ings. Core Terms levy, trial court, class action, high school education, school district, prescribed Headnotes/Syllabus Headnotes 1. Final Orders: Appeal and Error. An order is final and appealable when the substantial rights of the parties to the action are determined, even though the cause is re- tained for the determination of matters incidental thereto. 2. Statutes. A litigant who invokes the provisions of a statute may not challenge its validity. 3. Schools and School Districts: Taxation: Appeal and Error. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-4,102(3) (Cum. Supp. 1982) prescribes a specific method to review a levy made for nonresident high school education. Counsel: Thomas A. Danehey of Reddish, Curtiss, Moravek and Danehey; Laurice M. Margheim; William L. Howland of Bump, Howland and Watson; and G. Ran- dolph Reed, for appellant School Districts. Walter R. Metz, Jr., of Metz and Metz, for appellees Jesse et al. Kenneth W. Payne, Box Butte County Attorney, for appel- lees Board of Equalization et al. Neal E. Stenberg, for amicus curiae Nebraska Associa- tion of School Boards. David A. Domina of Domina & Gerrard, P.C., for am- icus curiae Nebraska Council of School [***2] Adminis- trators. Judges: Krivosha, C.J., Boslaugh, White, Caporale, Sha- nahan, and Grant, JJ., and Colwell, D.J., Retired. Opinion by: BOSLAUGH Opinion [*898] [**236] This is an appeal from the levy for nonresident high school education made by the county board of equalization of Box Butte County, Nebraska, in 1983, pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-4, 102 (Cum. Supp. 1982). The plaintiffs are residents and taxpayers of Class I school districts (K-8) in Box Butte County. The defen- dants are the school districts of Alliance, Hemingford, Crawford, and Mitchell, Nebraska, which are Class III school districts (K-12) under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-102 (Re- issue 1981). The county board of equalization, the county treasurer, and the county superintendent of Box Butte County, Nebraska, are also named as defendants. Class I school districts by definition do not maintain high schools. See § 79-102(1). Students who are residents of Class I districts may obtain high school educations in Class III districts. See Neb. Rev. Stat. § 79-486 (Reis- sue 1981). The cost of providing high school education is then divided between the Class I ″sending″ districts and the Class III ″receiving″ districts. Section [***3] 79- 4,102 prescribes a procedure by which a levy is deter- mined, which is then applied to the taxable property in the Class I districts. Over the years the computation of the cost to be borne by [*899] taxpayers in Class I districts has varied from a flat rate, § 79-4, 102 (Cum. Supp. 1967), to per pupil Walt Metz
- 3. costs, § 79-4, 102 (Reissue 1976), to the complex compu- tation found in § 79-4,102 (Cum. Supp. 1982). Section 79 -4,102 was again amended in 1984. See § 79-4,102 (Cum. Supp. 1984). The petition on appeal which was filed in the district court on September 9, 1983, alleged that the action was brought on behalf of all property owners in non-high- school districts in Box Butte County who were similarly situated; that the 1982 amendments to § 79-4,102 (1982 Neb. Laws, L.B. 933) were unconstitutional; that the levy was in excess of the requirements of Box Butte County; and that portions of the levy were for an unlaw- ful and unnecessary purpose. The petition prayed that the district court find that L.B. 933 was unconstitutional; that the illegal and unauthorized [**237] portion of the levy be determined; and that the county treasurer be di- rected to reduce the taxes to be collected [***4] pursu- ant to the levy by eliminating the unauthorized and ille- gal portion of the levy. The petition also prayed for other additional relief. In a pretrial order the district court directed that the con- stitutionality of L.B. 933 would be determined first and that this would constitute ″a final order for purposes of ap- peal to the supreme court.″ All remaining issues were to be tried after the ″order in the first trial has become fi- nal.″ The parties have stipulated that the levy was ″correctly calculated and set in accordance with Section 79-4,102 R.S.Supp, 1982 (LB933).″ After a hearing on the constitutional issues only, the trial court found that the action could be maintained as a class action, that the plaintiffs were not estopped to main- tain the action, and that L.B. 933 was unconstitutional in its entirety. Notices of appeal to this court were then filed by the four receiving districts. Three of the appellees contend that the appeal should be dismissed for lack of a final order because the trial court determined only the constitutional issues and all other issues raised by the pleadings remain undeter- mined. Ordinarily, when the trial court has reserved some of the issues for [***5] final determination, an order determin- ing only a part [*900] of the issues is not a final order, and an appeal from such an order is premature. In this case the trial court determined that L.B. 933 was uncon- stitutional in its entirety. The effect of that order, in the absence of an appeal, would be to require that non- resident high school tuition be determined under the stat- ute as it existed prior to the 1982 amendment. It would require a calculation of per pupil costs by the various re- ceiving districts, and there would be no further issues to be determined by the trial court at this time. An order is final and appealable when the substantial rights of the parties to the action are determined, even though the cause is retained for the determination of matters inci- dental thereto. Dorshorst v. Dorshorst, 174 Neb. 886, 120 N.W.2d 32 (1963). We conclude that the decree filed on August 2, 1984, was a final order and this court has obtained jurisdiction of the appeal. The action was brought by the plaintiffs on behalf of ″themselves and for all of the other owners of property in the non-high school districts of Box Butte County, Ne- braska, similarly situated.″ The trial court [***6] found that the action could be maintained as a class ac- tion. Although the plaintiffs did not specifically ask for a re- fund of taxes, the petition refers to ″the funds created by the declarations of the Court″ and prays that attorney fees be paid from such a fund. The general rule is that an action to recover taxes illegally assessed cannot be maintained as a class action. Hansen v. County of Lin- coln, 188 Neb. 461, 197 N.W.2d 651 (1972), supp. op. 188 Neb. 798, 197 N.W.2d 655. There is also evidence of ″potentially conflicting inter- ests within the class″ in that some members of the class own property located in both the receiving districts and in the sending districts. A class action must be for the benefit of all members of the class and may be main- tained only where there is no conflict of interest among members of the class. Evans v. Metropolitan Utilities Dist., 185 Neb. 464, 176 N.W.2d 679 (1970). Where the re- cord shows the potentiality of conflict of interest among the members of the class, the action may not be main- tained as a class action. Blankenship v. Omaha P.P. Dist., 195 Neb. 170, 237 N.W.2d 86 (1976). [*901] The finding by the trial court that [***7] the ac- tion could proceed as a class action was erroneous. The appellants contend that the plaintiffs are estopped from questioning the constitutionality of the statute in an appeal from the levy, because the procedure for the ap- peal is provided in the statute [**238] itself. The trial court found for the plaintiffs on this issue. ″This court has held many times that a liti- gant who invokes the provisions of a statute may not challenge its validity; nor seek the benefit and in the same action and at the same time question its constitutionality.″ Alumni Control Board v. City of Lincoln, 179 Neb. 194, 199, 137 N.W.2d 800, 804 (1965). In re Dissolution of School Dist. No. 22, 216 Neb. 89, 91, 341 N.W.2d 918, 919 (1983). The court further concluded: ″The plaintiffs in this action have availed themselves of the remedy provided by the stat- Page 2 of 3 220 Neb. 897, *899; 374 N.W.2d 235, **236; 1985 Neb. LEXIS 1197, ***3 Walt Metz
- 4. ute. They seek the benefit of the statute to ob- tain a determination that the action of the city was not authorized under the statute. They are, therefore, prevented in this action from questioning the constitutionality of the stat- ute under which they have proceeded. . . .″ In re Dissolution of School Dist. No. 22, supra [***8] at 91-92, 341 N.W.2d at 920, quoting Shields v. City of Kearney, 179 Neb. 49, 136 N.W.2d 174 (1965). The plaintiffs argue that the rule stated above should not apply in this case because the appeal was brought pur- suant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 77-1606 (Reissue 1981). Sec- tion 77-1606 is a general statute which prescribes a pro- cedure for taking an appeal from a levy made by the county board. Prior to L.B. 933, there was no special statute providing for an appeal from a levy for nonresident high school education. In 1982 the Legislature amended § 79-4,102 to provide that any taxpayer might appeal from the ac- tion of the county board of equalization in resident high school tuition ″in the manner provided in sections 77 -1606 to 77-1610.″ By this provision the Legislature pre- scribed a specific method to review a levy made for nonresident high school education. This provision of § 79 -4,102 is now a special statute relating to appeals from such [*902] a levy. The fact that the Legislature chose the procedure prescribed in Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 77-1606 to 77 -1610 (Reissue 1981) is of no more consequence than if the procedure prescribed in some other statute had been adopted by reference. [***9] We conclude that the trial court was in error in finding that the plaintiffs were not estopped from chal- lenging the constitutionality of § 79-4,102 in an appeal brought pursuant to subsection (3) of that section. It is unnecessary to consider any of the other assign- ments of error or the issues tendered by the cross- appeal. The judgment of the district court is reversed and the cause remanded for further proceedings. Reversed and remanded for further proceedings. Page 3 of 3 220 Neb. 897, *901; 374 N.W.2d 235, **238; 1985 Neb. LEXIS 1197, ***7 Walt Metz