Any owner of land, or any interest in land, within a drainage district, who claims that his land in said district is exempt from liability for, or lien of any assessment for cost of construction or repairs, or any additional assessment by said commissioners levied against the same whether said assessments be the first or any subsequent assessment or questions the legality of such assessment, may at any time within thirty days after such assessment shall have been made and on ten days' notice to such drainage commissioners appear before the court having jurisdiction and show cause why said land should not be bound by all drainage assessments in any report or reports of the commissioners of said district assessed against the same. The presumption shall be in favor of the regularity of such assessments, and they shall stand as valid assessments unless the owner of such land, or some interest therein shall show that said assessment is inequitable, or is void because the lands were not subject to assessment in the first instance.

History: Laws 1912, ch. 84, § 62; Code 1915, § 1938; C.S. 1929, § 40-167; 1941 Comp., § 77-1923; 1953 Comp., § 75-20-23.

Complainant must follow statutory procedures. — Complaint to exonerate land from lien of drainage assessment on alleged ground that drain constructed was not that designated in survey was demurrable for failure to show that plaintiff availed himself of opportunities afforded by the drainage statute to protect his interests in the drainage proceeding. Strickland v. Elliott, 1921-NMSC-056, 27 N.M. 238, 199 P. 1016.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 25 Am. Jur. 2d Drains and Drainage Districts § 44 et seq.

Loss of right to contest assessment in drainage proceedings by waiver, estoppel or the like, 9 A.L.R. 842.

Exemption of religious body or society from tax as exempting it from special assessment for drain, 17 A.L.R. 1060, 168 A.L.R. 1222.

Remedy provided by statute or ordinance, failure of property owner to avail himself of, as precluding attack based on improper inclusion of property in, or exclusion of property from, assessment, 100 A.L.R. 1296.

28 C.J.S. Drains § 102.