Harris v. United States. Thomas

With provisos not having any present material bearing, section 2, article 22, of the Constitution of Oklahoma provides among other things that no corporation doing business in the state shall buy, acquire, trade, or deal in real estate for any purpose except such as may be located in cities and towns and in additions thereto, and except such as shall be necessary and proper for carrying on the business for which the corporation was chartered or licensed. The Business Corporation Act of Oklahoma was enacted in 1947. Section 20 of the Act, 18 O.S.1951 § 1.20, provides that no corporation of any sort, whether coming within the general scope of the Act or not, shall, except as therein provided, take, hold, or own any real estate located in the state outside of any incorporated city, town, or addition thereto. The section further provides that nothing contained in the Act shall be construed as prohibiting the taking, holding, or owning of such real estate as is necessary and proper for carrying on the business for which any corporation was lawfully formed or domesticated in the state. And the section contains other provisions but they are not material here. Section 21, 18 O.S.1951 § 1.21, provides that any person who shall take or hold any real estate for the use or benefit of any corporation with the intent of evading the provisions of section 20 shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished as therein specified; and that any corporation which shall fail or refuse to file a statement as required by section 22 shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished as therein specified. Section 22, 18 O.S.1951 § 1.22, provides among other things that on or before the first day of April of each year every corporation holding or owning any real estate in contravention of the provisions of the Act shall file in the office of the county clerk of each county in which such real estate is located, a statement in duplicate containing the legal description of each tract, piece, or parcel of the land so owned and acquired; and that the statement shall be verified by the oath of an officer or duly appointed agent of the corporation. Section 23, 18 O.S.1951 § 1.23 provides that any corporation owning or holding any real estate in violation of the provisions of sections 20 and 21 shall, in addition to other penalties provided by the Act, be required to pay, for each year, or fraction thereof, during which such title or interest is unlawfully held or owned certain civil penalties computed on the basis of a specified per centum of the assessed value of such real estate; that the state shall have a lien against any such piece, parcel, or tract of land unlawfully held or owned to secure the payment of the penalties, interest, and fees; and that upon collection, the penalties shall be paid into the Permanent School Fund of the state. And sections 24 and 25, 18 O.S.1951 §§ 1.24, 1.25 relate to the foreclosure of such liens.