Union Pacific Railway Co. v. Cheyenne, 113 U.S. 516 (1885), was an appeal from the Supreme Court of the Territory of Wyoming regarding a bill charging that the collection of an illegal tax would involve the plaintiff in a multiplicity of suits as to the title of lots being laid out and sold, which would prevent their sale, and which would cloud the title to all his real estate, states a case for relief in equity.

[1] An Act of the Legislature of Wyoming, passed December 13, 1879, required the state auditor to furnish to the territorial board of equalization a list for assessment and taxation of the roadbed, superstructure, and other enumerated property of every railroad and telegraph company in the territory when any portion of the property of such company was situated in more than one county, and required the board to value and assess the property of the corporation for each mile of its road or line, and to certify to the county clerks of the counties in which the property was situated the assessment per mile, specifying the number of miles and amount in each of the counties, and which required the county commissioners to decide and adjust the number of miles and amounts within each precinct, township, or school district within their respective counties and cause such amounts to be entered on the lists of taxable property returned by the assessors, withdrew the duty of assessing fractional parts of such railroad and the property of such companies from all local assessors in the territory, including its incorporated cities.

The bill in this case was filed by the Union Pacific Railway Company against the City of Cheyenne and its marshal, Ryan, to enjoin the collection of certain city taxes for the year 1880, which the railway company alleges were unlawfully assessed against it.

The main question raised by the bill is whether the Union Pacific Railroad, which passes through the whole length of Wyoming Territory, and in its course passes through the City of Cheyenne, with its accompanying telegraph, appurtenances, and rolling stock, is liable to be assessed and valued for the purposes of taxation in Cheyenne by the city authorities, or only by the territorial board of equalization.

As the court understood the facts stated by the bill (which, of course, the demurrer admits to be true), the complainant did pay to the city all the taxes which would be due upon the assessment and valuation made by the board of equalization, including taxes due on outside property of the company in the city.