City of Huntington v. Bacon
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
473 S.E.2d 743 (1996)

- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
The City of Huntington (plaintiff) charged building owners in the city a fee to defray the cost of fire- and flood-protection services. The fee charged was an annual rate plus a percentage based on the building’s square footage. The city sued John and Carole Bacon (defendants) and other building owners in the city, seeking to collect the fee. The Bacons argued that the charge was a tax that violated the West Virginia Constitution. The circuit court granted the city summary judgment. The Bacons appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (McHugh, C.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 814,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.