United States v. City of New Britain et al. (347 U.S. 81)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided February 1, 1954 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 347 U.S. 81 · 74 S. Ct. 367
- Docket
- No. 92
- Argued
- December 1, 1953
- Decided
- February 1, 1954
- Term
- October Term 1953
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Minton
- Issue area
- Federal Taxation
- Disposition
- Vacated
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
How the Justices voted
- Majority
- Chief Justice Warren, Justice Black, Justice Douglas, Justice Clark, Justice Frankfurter, Justice Burton, Justice Reed, Justice Minton (wrote), Justice R. H. Jackson
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Minton delivered the opinion of the Court. The question presented by this writ involves the relative priority of statutory federal and municipal liens to the proceeds of a mortgage foreclosure sale of the property to which' the liens attached. Two mortgages on the real property of a corporation located in the City of New Britain, Connecticut, were foreclosed by judgment sale in the Superior Court of Hartford County, and a gross sum of $28,071.24 was realized. Against this fund, there were claims of some $31,000, including expenses of the sale, the two mortgages, a judgment of record, and various statutory liens asserted by the City and by the United States. The federal liens, securing unpaid withholding and unemployment taxes and insurance contributions totaling $8,475.13, were created by § 3670 of the Internal Revenue Code. They arose at the times the assessment lists were received in the office of the Collector of Internal Revenue for Connecticut on various dates between April 26, 1948, and September 21, 1950. The City’s liens, which attached to the specific real estate sold in the total sum of $3,587.71, are for delinquent real-estate taxes and water rent. The real-estate taxes became due on various dates in 1947 through 1951, the liens attaching in each case as of October 1 or other assessment date of the prior year; the water-rent liens arose upon failure to…
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