Chap. 238.—An ACT to amend and re-enact section 2389 of the Code of Vir-
ginia. [H B 219]
Approved March 16, 1920.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That sec-
tion twenty-three hundred and eighty-nine of the Code of Virginia
be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows:

Sec. 2389. Redress against erroneous assessment of levies and
local taxes.—Any person assessed with county or city levies and other
local taxes, on land or other property, aggrieved by any such assess-
ment,.may, unless otherwise specially provided by law, within two
years from the first day of September, of the year in which such as-
sessment is made, apply for relief to the circuit court of the county,
or corporation court of the city, wherein such assessment was made;
and thereupon the court shall order’ that he be exonerated from the
payment of so much as is improperly assessed, if not already paid,
and if paid, that it be refunded to him by the treasurer, who shall have
credit for the same in his settlement; except, that where it is shown
to the satisfaction of the court that there has been a double assess-
ment of the same property in any case, one of which assessments is
proper, and the other erroneous, and that a proper single tax has
been paid thereon, but that the erroneous tax has not been paid, the
court may order that the applicant be exonerated from the payment of
such erroneous assessments, even though the application be not made
within two years as hereinbefore required. The Commonwealth’s at-
torney for such county or city, as the case may be, shall defend the
application; and no order made in favor of the applicant shall have
any validity unless it is stated therein that such attorney did so defend,
or that after notice of such application failed or refused to defend, in
which event the court shall appoint a practicing attorney of the county
or city to defend such motion; that the commissioner making the
assessment or his successor was examined as a witness touching the
application, and. the facts proved to be certified.