Brazos River Gas Co. v. Brazos River Conservation & Reclamation Dist.

150 S.W.2d 350, 1941 Tex. App. LEXIS 305
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided April 4, 1941·No. No. 2204.·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

GRISSOM, Justice.

The Brazos River Gas Company, a corporation, instituted this suit in the District Court of Palo Pinto County against Brazos River Conservation and Reclamation District, its Board of Directors and Engineer, .and the Construction Company engaged in the construction of Possum Kingdom Dam. It was alleged that plaintiff owned and •operated a natural gas distributing system in Graford, Mineral Wells, Weather-ford, Palo Pinto, Bennetts and Millsap and furnished natural gas and gas service to the inhabitants thereof. That in connection with its system it owned gas wells, leases, franchises, pipelines, lands and other properties, tangible and intangible, necessary to constitute a complete natural gas distributing system; that plaintiff owned a gas pipe line extending from the Bryson oil field in Jack County in and through Young, Palo Pinto and Parker Counties; that it had no other way of furnishing gas to said towns except through said pipe line; that more than 10,000 feet of said pipe line were within the basin of the Possum Kingdom Dam being erected by defendants; that defendants were threatening to flood the dam and thereby destroy plaintiff’s distributing system, together with its franchises, easements and real and personal property, and other property, tangible and intangible; that there were temporary openings in said dam which prevented the flood waters from accumulating; that said openings were being closed and would be closed and plaintiff’s pipe line would be inundated and destroyed unless defendants were enjoined from closing them. That such taking by the defendant District of plaintiff’s pipe line and gas system “by condemnation proceedings” will violate plaintiff’s right under Art. 1, sec. 17, of the Constitution of Texas, Vernon’s Ann.St. That the law creating the Brazos River District contained no adequate provision of a method of procedure for condemning property of this kind. That the taking of plaintiff’s pipe line within the basin of the dam and “the dead ends adjacent thereto” will seriously endanger plaintiff’s business as a public utility and render its entire gas transportation and distribution system, contracts, franchises, easements and properties practically worthless, etc. Wherefore, the Gas Company prayed for a writ of injunction restraining defendants from closing the openings in the dam and flooding plaintiff’s right of way, pipe line and other properties. Defendants filed answers to said petition and said District also filed a cross-action seeking condemnation of an easement across plaintiff’s land.

Upon the filing of plaintiff’s petition, the judge of the District Court of Palo Pinto County issued notices to defendants to appear and show cause why the temporary injunction should not be issued. On the date fixed, the District appeared and filed its answer and cross-bill seeking to condemn plaintiff’s property and the other defendants appeared and answered. Whereupon, the judgment recites, the court “considered said sworn petition and argument *353 of counsel for both sides and having considered the law * * * and the argument having been concluded on the 8th day of June, 1940. Thereupon, the trial judge announced as follows: ‘ * * * and in line with suggestions I have already made, it is my purpose to grant the plaintiff an injunction. Providing for a hond in the sum of $30,000 believing that $70,000 would be a sufficient amount to indemnify the plaintiff for any damage it may sustain resulting from the closing of the dam in question, the defendant will be given the privilege of depositing that amount in trust and thereby staying such injunction, such deposit to remain in trust for the purpose of paying off any judgment that may be awarded plaintiff when the matter is either settled with defendant or adjudicated in court. That will be my ruling at this time.’ ” This judgment was not placed of record. On January 25, 1941, counsel for plaintiff and defendants appeared before the court to consider and 'have entered the judgment theretofore announced, whereupon, the judgment recites: “The court is of the opinion and finds that plaintiff is entitled to a temporary injunction as theretofore announced on the 8th day of June, 1940, by the court restraining the defendant as prayed for in plaintiff’s petition upon its giving bond in the sum of $30,000; and the court further finds that $70,000 will reasonably protect the plaintiff in its damages in the premises; and it further appearing to the court at this time that plaintiff has heretofore given bond as required in this order, and thereafter the Brazos River Conservation and Reclamation District has put up the $70,000 * * * to the credit of J. E. Hall, District Clerk * * * subject to the order of this court;

“Now therefore, it is ordered, adjudged and decreed by the court a temporary injunction is hereby granted as prayed for in plaintiff’s petition upon the plaintiff’s giving bond in the sum of $30,000 aforesaid, and plaintiff having given said bond, and the defendant District having thereafter put up the $70,000 * * * in the name of J. E. Hall, Clerk of the District Court * * * and his successors in office, as a special fund to be held in said bank as such special fund, and as a guaranty that upon a final hearing of this cause on its merits and determination thereof, of whatever amount may be recovered by plaintiff against the defendant District, to be paid out on the order of the District Court of Palo Pinto County, Texas, after this cause has finally been determined on its merits or by agreement of plaintiff and defendant Brazos River Conservation and Reclamation District. It is further ordered that the temporary injunction granted herein be and the same is hereby in all things dissolved.”

The plaintiff excepted and has appealed to'this court.

The plaintiff’s (Brazos River Gas Company) assignments of error, briefly stated, present the following contentions:

(1) That the Gas Company’s pipe line and right of way, being devoted to a public use, is not subject to condemnation by the District, until it is shown that the new enterprise is of paramount importance to the public and its purposes cannot be practically accomplished in any other way, regardless of cost to the District.

(2) That the facts stated above must be alleged and proved by the District.

(3) That the law is inadequate and does not set up a sufficient standard and procedure for ascertaining in a condemnation case, the compensation due appellant for its property.

(4) That the Gas Company’s pipe line is personal property and the law does not establish an adequate standard and procedure. for condemnation of personal property.

(5) That the law provides no standard or procedure by.which the damages that will be occasioned to the Gas Company by reason of the destruction of its pipe line may be determined, since its pipe line is part of a transmission system.

(6) That because the District placed the $70,000 deposit to the credit of the clerk of the District Court prior to the time the order therefor was entered in the minutes of the court, the order is a nullity, and a judgment in favor of the Gas Company for damages to its right of way and pipe line could not be collected therefrom, and that said sum cannot be subjected to any judgment that may hereafter be obtained against the District by reason of condemnation of the pipe line.

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Brazos River Gas Co. v. Brazos River Conservation & Reclamation Dist., 150 S.W.2d 350, 1941 Tex. App. LEXIS 305 (Tex. Ct. App. 1941).

150 S.W.2d 350 (Brazos River Gas Co. v. Brazos River Conservation & Reclamation Dist.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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