Hibben v. Smith

Background

A property owner in an Indiana town challenged a state law that let the city’s common council or board of trustees calculate and levy assessments for a street improvement, often using a front-foot rule as a starting point. The owner argued the method and the makeup of the board — including members who were taxpayers and some who owned lots next to the work — made the process unfair and violated the Federal Constitution. The Indiana Supreme Court upheld the statute, and the case came to the United States Supreme Court.

Reasoning

The Court focused on whether the law and the board’s actions denied federal due process. It accepted the Indiana court’s interpretation that the front-foot figure is only a prima facie rule and that the council or trustees must review and can change assessments based on actual special benefits. The Court held that a hearing before the body that levies the assessment satisfies due process and that the legislature may make that body’s decision final. The fact that board members were taxpayers, or even owned abutting lots, did not automatically void the assessment; at most it could be voidable and not subject to a collateral attack in federal court.

Real world impact

The ruling means local governments in similar circumstances can rely on their statutes to assess and collect improvement costs after the required hearing. Property owners’ challenges are generally limited to the state remedies and direct attacks rather than collateral federal claims. The Supreme Court affirmed the Indiana court’s judgment.