Smith v. City of Glendale

This is an appeal from a judgment entered after sustaining a demurrer to plaintiff’s second amended complaint without leave to amend.

The City of Glendale is a municipal corporation organized and existing under a freeholders’ charter adopted under authority of sections 6 and 8 of article XI of the Constitution. This charter reserved to the city complete control of its municipal affairs. The individual defendants are officers of the City of Glendale.

The plaintiff is a citizen and resident of the City of Glendale and the owner of property assessed in and subject to taxation by the city.

This action is brought to enjoin the defendants from expending $20,000 from its water rights purchase fund, or any other of its funds, for the purchase of stock in the Verdugo Canon Water Company. While it only may be inferred from the complaint, it is not questioned in the briefs that the purpose of acquiring the stock is to furnish the City of Glendale an additional supply of domestic water for distribution to its citizens. We will therefore assume this to be true.

The charter of the City of Glendale (Stats. 1921, p. 2204; Stats. 1923, p. 1646; Stats. 1931, p. 2'693) contains the following…