495
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Honorable Gee. H. au3ppmr4
Comptroller of Yublta Aaaounta
auotlc, "iaxee A
, +s roqw8t of thla
th8 wwwwat ror
afa~lanfI* in Potter
em lqatlanal Or&n Gorporatioa
d In muaretioa tlsemwith pu
the rects and olrwwtanow
erty, awl the respef~tlte
8 in regaz-4 to its taxixtioa.
fully stated in attaahed lett&r to pU
* county &ttorwy, Potter county, from
lor to 1936 the Farmerr Watloaal
tlon, wbleh vi) unnderrtmod %a a oub-
arwre Xatimi4L Grain Corporat$on,
survey 137
Blook B, AB&&1~4~ in Potter Gouaty, Texas, aai fall
taxes hmd been paid up to &s%dfn~lrrdirrg 1MM. State
an4 County tarw were aawwad againat thie property
for the year 1930 in the nmta si t&e m?iiQ aorpcrratioa,
496
Eon. ho. %. rt+ppard, page 9
the reaord title owner am or the date of aasaestramt.
vubseq,ueAtlp, it haa been claimed that the tit18
to this property had been traASferred to tha 'Jnltsd
-rtates. k statsment of the Taut6 Up011 whloh the
Gorexnmnt relies Is aontainad IA a letter frox hr.
Yeyton X. Evans, General Counnel of the Yaw Credit
Mmfnlatratlon, to the &aessor and Collector 0r
Taxes of this aounty, dated July 90, 1937, aa rol-
lovaa:
**S'he Parsers Watlonal ksln Corporation was
Indebted to the yederal ;raW fjaard (to Whose rune-
tions the Yarm Credit idmiAletratloA euooeedsd
under the terms of an exeoutlre order of the
President of the United fjtatea 8xeauted Karah 87,
1933) iA a larp ImouAt 0r lUOA87, an4 OA June x3,
1634 it was agreed between the yala?ere htfOAa1
Grain Corporation and the Zarfi Credit Adrtinistra-
tion to trawrar a large part of tka Corpomti~*~
asset.6 and those or lta subeldlarleri to the united
States Governmeat (farm Credit idminlstratloa) In
partial extlngulshmnt of the then exlstlng indebt-
Sdn46S. This agrwment was eub)eot to the appmral
or the Saoretary of the Treawry. The approval of
the Saaretary was obtaSnad en Roteabber 7, 1936
EIowwor, a blanket a8slgnment or all or the
;&e& oovered by the m&pwmeAt aovered by tha
agreement of Juw le, 1956 was exeouted by tha
Farmars hatloasl Grain CorpOratlOn on October 31,
1936. This awfgawnt contained wordr or grant
and aonveymnoe aob lnaluded both real and peraenal
property . . . Separate t3onveyaaces 0r partiaular
properties bars been 13 preparation ror a period
of some m&ha, and smq of them have been de-
lirere8, but all have not been put OA reoord. #8
do not consider, however, that the date8 of mmh
aonveyanoer or the data& or their raoordatloa are
material iA rWpe8t t0 the CUeStfOa Of tie right
or the states or their poUtlOa1 8ubdiVlslon6 to
Impwe t~axes thereon.*
*The property In qwrtl6n was eonveYsd by daed rrom the
Partners National tiprehouse Gorporatloh to the WIted
sttttw exaoutad 'all as or octaber 31, 19Sd, but actually
on this the 84th day of Fabntarf, 1997,' which deed wmt
iion.Gee. il.L’hopperd. peg@ 3
fiba for record on Gecmber 17, 1937, ena re00raed in
Wolume 850, page 42, of tte Deed iiecordeof Potter
county.
*'Thisproperty was all arbitrarily asiesaee for taxa-
tion on January 1, 1937, for the year 1937. he find
in the file OS tke a8aaaoor and aollector of taxea for
Potter County a printed notice *that on Eovembar 7,
193A, the United State6 of breerioa beoam the ownar of
411 real estate,* 4na other propertlen 0r this aorpora-
tion. Thie notloe le dated DcoarrberEQ, 1936, but bate
OS reoaipt le not ahown.”
Xo question is prasantea here of the immunity,or property
owned and held by the Unitad titatee of kmarioa, from atat taxa-
tion of any kind, beoauee it ha6 1onA bean settled beyond dim-
puts that such property, whether ouned and held for governmental
purposes or othexwlee, la exampt, or more properly, not aubjeet
to the taxes lerfea by a State, exoapt by Congraealonal conaent.
The only queetio,n presented here la whether or not the proparty
Involved was aotually owned and held by the UnitaA Stats6 OS
America on January 1, 1987, the bate fixed by statute for datar-
rinlng ownerehlp of property for tax purpose6 for the year.
Upon this Issue oi ?aot regarding ovnerehip oi the land
%n queatfon on January 1, 1939, that Is, whether or not earn wan
ownod and held by ~armera Batlonal Grain Corporation an that data
or by the pa= credit Mmlnistratlon, a6 an inatrumantality OT
agency of the UnlteA state4 of %rloa, we find; ev8n in the
etatements mede by repreeentatlvee of the Unit& @tat64 of
&erloa, a eoniliet of pe4ltlona and iraats. tiesme,‘16cannot
answer your qmestlon aategorloelly but 6re aonstrainadto answer
aam up& tha aaaumption that one or the other atate of faotr
la true.
In thla oonneotion, it should be stated that we do not
have the becetit OS a copy of any deeA, aoel~ent or other al-
leged muniment of title pae8ing between the ]Parmere lFaflon61
Or4in Corporation and the United Statea, and referred to In at-
taehsd aorrosponAanoa,but muat aeeume that the raota and atate-
manta made in regard thereto correctly reflaet the tenor, affect
and reading of such in6truma~ts. icitb thie in mind, wa oall
yvmr attentlcn to the 8tataBlant eontalned in letter from Mr.
Pagton k. Evarm, General Counsel of the Pam Credit Mmlnfstra-
tton, to the ~aeeeor~Collaetor oi Tares for Potter County,
dated duly ZO, 1939, and &areinabove eet out aa patt of the
Hon. Coo. 8. Sheppard, pace 4
quoted letter tc you by said ~~seeu6or-Collector of Taxea. It 16
stated therein that the ~armar8 Eational Grain Corporation be-
ing lnaabtad to ttia ~edaral Iant Board end its 6ucoeanor, the
Sarm Credit Adxilulatratio~, agreed, OELJune 18, 1936, to transfer
a large part of ita aareta and thoae of lta aubdUariea to
the raid fan Cradlt &l&4.nlatratlon tn partial artlnguIahmant
or the then axlatIkg 1nA#bte&e66, which agreemer;t was eubjeot
to the approval of the bacretary of the Treasury. UlEder the
Statutes of ~axaa governing conveyanolng and t&e paaaage of
tltia to real eatate, ouch uneer&anAlng and agreanzent
would
not aufflos to transfer title to real aatete, but the atatexent
la further made thnt *a blanket aaalgnasnt of all of the aaaeta
ooverad by the agreement of June 18, 1986, was exaouta4 by the
@#mar8 Xational Greln Corporation on Uatober 31, 1936, rhloh
aaalgmsent contslned worda ot 6-t and conveyance and Ineluded
both real 4Aa personal property."
X6 are not able to 6ey thatthe above deaorlba4 Inotru-
aent did not vest in the United State8 of SMrIoa, throqh the
Paw We&it AAmInIatratlon. tltle to the realty In queatlon here,
upon It6 approval by the kuratary of the l’reaauq. W are net
wvoindful ot the fact that the utual anA eustosary mAe of
tranaferrhg title to real eatata ln %xea la by general warrenty
deed, ln the fern?praacrlbedby etatutu, cPantainlng the usual
formal oosqmneat part8 of pramiaest habandun;, tanenAum, reAAenAum,
warranty and tastimbnium alauara. And ft such inatrumnt or
dee4 us6 the alne qua noli to poemage OS tltLa In Teraa, then we
wouid’ay that t&e property hare wouiA be aubjeat to %iata and
county ad vsloran tax66 for the year 1959, beeauea aueh dead,
In thIa usual atetutory form, was not axeouted until the Mth
day of February, A. 0. 1939. Sor would our aoncluslon bs
altered ‘by the toot t&at raid doe4 purported to relete baok,
wall a6 of Ootober 31, lQSA,” beeauee, In our opinion, the lo tua i
na o uM govern.
Ante c t e x a eutlo w
3ut it la a rule of law too well e6tabllrbsA to require
elaboration here, tkat tltla to raai e~rtate In ‘isxaa may pas6
by say writtec instrumentwhich otmtaimo expreae word&! oi &rant
or aonvayanoe, thereby evldanoing en Intent between the partlea
to effect a transfer of title, aad lb It not neeeaaary that the
forpp of general warranty Bead, ruggeataA by the lar mkar8, be
literally followeA k, acocmpliah this purpose. lo beve before
us the unpualliled atatemeat that on Qotobes 31, l@S, e written
blanket asaignreent, covering ammg othsr aeoeto and propertlas,
t&e real eetate fnvolv6A In the Inetant inqtiry,, waa Auiy exeouteA
499
Eon. GaQ. E. Sh4ppard, peg4 5
by and between the ~arxzcrnAatitnal Grain Corporation aad tba Sam
Credit iidrololstrstlon, purporting to ccnvey said gropcrty, end
oonteining rords of grant end ccnveyerce to tbie end, and being
in oonnummatlon of sn agreesent a&e on June IS, 1938, between
t&e parties to make suck transfer. It is further eteted that the
neeanrary approval of the Secretary of the Tresaury was obtained
on 8ovember 7, 1936. Kot bavia6 e copy of this eesigmaent be-
fore ~8, and glring full oredenoe to the aforeaald statements,
we me ippelled to the oonoluslon that not only the equitable,
but the legal title es wall, t+ the real estate in question,
wes vested in the United ~tatar, through the ysrm Credit Ad-
minlutratlon, before January 1, 1937, end, consequently, under
lMtte4 prlnoiples of law, was not rubjeet to State and eountp
taxetloa for the yser 1939.
On the other band, we are oonfrontcrd with a statement
iron another represeotetlve of the United States ot hlrerloe
or one of its duly oonstituted inntrumantelltler and a6encier,
which presents 8, different aspeat upon the queetion oE the essot
date, with referones to January 1, 1939, that title to this reel
entatu maed from the bmmers Kitlonnl &in Corporetton to the
United Statee. This statement is in the ?or?a oi a letter from
Bonoreble rC. E. Daly, &rletsnt tc Oenerel Counsel, Bedersl Land
Bank o,f Bouston, to Elss Jewel Davidson, Aeeeroor-Colleetor,
Potter County, oi datd.June 39, 1939, a& we quote the pertinent
parts tbenoi es follon8:
*Rerererme fe mede to your letter8 of b&y 88th
end June Z4 regarding the traourer or owawahip of
oertaln properties ia Potter County frala the Farmers
Satloan %rebouse Corporation tom the United States
of +merieu.
-1 have in my pouseeelon a d06aexecuted under
date of February 84th. 1939, by tbe Pmeer8 Betloxml
';.erehoase Corporation, conveyin& to the Or&ted Stetelr
02 emsrice the following deroribed propertyt
. . .
“This deed has net 84tU4llr been aooeQted, and
negotletions are now pending *hfeb will in all pro-
bability result in the seoegtenoe of the da&. Wmn
thiu trsnsaotlon is txmmua?rrstaQ tke deed will, of
courma, be forwarded to Potter Countg for r40or&ing.~
Should full faith end oredit be eoaorde& to tba foregoing
Statammt frort an euthorizsd repreeentatkvs ot the grantee of tbe
500
Eou. ho. II. 3bep,-ard, $%!4 6
property here, the . ikited States of hmrica, tbmu,yb t2.e ?erk
men
credit hdffilnistratlon, our answer would be dle~etrloally
opposite to that heretorare (tlver. It is settled law in Texas
that a deed or eny other lnsfru!wmt, purportlng~to oonv4y realty,
does not divest title out of t&a grantor and vest 6eEe in the
ereritte, until there baa been en setuel eoceptacee of such deed
or other inet~rucrent by said grantem. The laws of the State
where property ie looeted govern exolueively the oonstruo,t~lon
md effect of all instnmente intended to oorvey it. KeTLoe, if,
at tbe writing at t&e above quoted letter, to-wit June 39, 1930,
the trenseotlan described herein bad not been consummated by
eooeptnnae, either expressly or tsrplledly, of the deed or other
lnstrtumnt purportLag to 00~~4~ title to t&Is realty, then title
thereto would, cm thet date,~remainin the &rmrs ,*latienel
Grain Corporstion, e private corporation, &Ad rOllid be aubjeet
to Xate and county ad valorem taxes assessed against saw for
the year 1937.
se realize that this opinion osnnot Be useful to you
until the aonfliatln~ iactual e~atmneuat sppearlng here Is
reaolve6 one wry or th4 otber,~ anO to thte enb, we mg$est that
you further eevelop the facts fn the li*t oi the foregoing
discussion kod be goveme thereby in yeWilndin$e.
Your* very truly
A'l'%RBEY&i'&WiL OF TDAS