Board of Harbor Commissioners v. Excelsior Redwood Co.

This is an action to recover a penalty of five hundred dollars imposed by the plaintiff upon the defendant, for the violation of certain rules and regulations made by plaintiff.

Section 2568 of the Political Code provides that “ the board of harbor commissioners of the port of Eureka are authorized and empowered to make such rules and regulations, and take such action, as may be necessary for the protection of navigation in Humboldt Bay.”

Section 2569, subdivision 6, provides: “Impose penalties for violation of such rules and regulations, not exceeding, for any one violation, the sum of five hundred dollars, to be recovered by action.”

Section 5 of the rules and regulations made by plain *493 tiff, in pursuance of the above sections of the code, imposes a penalty in the sum of five hundred dollars for the violation of certain of these rules.

We do not believe the plaintiff has the power to impose a penalty as provided in the rule just mentioned.

The imposition of a penalty is in the nature of a quasi criminal proceeding, as it only follows from the violation of some law.

In United States v. Montell, Taney, 52 , referring to the character and object of penalties, we find this…