Southern California Telephone Co. v. County of Los Angeles

This is an appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County.

Southern California Telephone Company and Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company, operating in and around Los Angeles County, brought actions against the county to recover taxes paid under protest. Five actions were brought, in all of which judgments were rendered for the plaintiffs. The essential facts in each case are substantially the same, and the single question of law presented in each is identical. They were accordingly consolidated on appeal and will be considered together in this opinion.

In each of-the cases the plaintiff owned land upon which it was constructing a building to be equipped and used as an exchange building, a part of its telephone system. The work of construction proceeded with due diligence, and the buildings were eventually completed and are now in operation. However, at noon on the first Monday in March, 1925, none of the buildings had as yet been completed. Plaintiffs listed said buildings in their return to the state board of equalization as “operative property”. Upon the protest of the county assessor, the state board held that the property was “nonoperative”, and it…