The appellant owned land that was leased to a third party for farming.
The municipal and school authorities valued and taxed the land as ordinary immovables, ignoring the special tax provisions for land under cultivation in s. 523 of the Cities and Towns Act.
The appellant brought direct actions in nullity to set aside the valuation and collection rolls and to recover the taxes paid in error.
The Supreme Court of Canada held that the land was land under cultivation and that the authorities had acted ultra vires by ignoring the statutory exemption.
The Court allowed the direct actions in nullity, but found that the claim for recovery of municipal taxes for the first two years was prescribed by the five-year limitation period.
