Central Trust Co. of New York v. Louisville, St. L. & T. Ry. Co.

81 F. 772, 1897 U.S. App. LEXIS 2685
CourtU.S. Circuit Court for the District of Kentucky
DecidedJune 1, 1897
DocketNos. 6,345, 6,346
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 81 F. 772 (Central Trust Co. of New York v. Louisville, St. L. & T. Ry. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Central Trust Co. of New York v. Louisville, St. L. & T. Ry. Co., 81 F. 772, 1897 U.S. App. LEXIS 2685 (circtdky 1897).

Opinion

BARR, District Judge.

The court, on demurrer to the intervening petition, filed hy Mrs. Hennen herein, indicated in a general way its view of the law as applicable to her claim. The case has come before me again, as the parties do not seem to have agreed upon what are their respective rights, and from the briefs filed "there is an indication that both the petitioner and the railroad company are not quite satisfied wiih the law which the court thought applicable in the opinion heretofore rendered.

[773]*773The ease is, briefly, this: Mrs. Heimen had a residence adjoining the town of llawesville, but not within the limits of the town. Her lot contained about four acres of land, upon which she had a handsome residence, and where she and her family lived. At the time of her purchase, some years ago, ihere was a public highway along the entire front of her lot, — some 315 feet. On the back of flu: lot there was. a precipitous cliff, which prevented any access from that direction, and on either side were lots owned by other parties. This public highway seems to have been the only mode of egress and ingress to her residence and property. This highway was the road running between Hawesville and Oloverport, both on the Ohio river, and is called in the evidence the “State Road.” The defendant railroad built its line on this highway, and in doing so made an embankment in front of the plaintiff’s lot and residence of some 5 or G feet in height. This embankment was some 35 or 60 feet from the residence of the petitioner, and perhaps about 120 feet from the Ohio river. Previous to the building of the railroad, the space between what was called the “State Road,” which, ran from Hawesville to Oloverport, and (he Ohio river, was open and unfenced, and was used as a skiff landing by the petitioner; and trees had been planted upon it by the petitioner for the purpose of improving the view from the front of her residence. A short time before the construction of the railroad the Hancock comity court, by a proceeding taken in that court, discontinued so much of this state road as commenced at the town limits of Hawesville, and ran to a place called “Price’s Store.” The precise distance is not stated in the record, but presumably, from other facts, only a short distance. There is nothing in the record indicating that there was any other road or highway established by the county court, or any oiher provision made for those fronting upon this old state road to get egress and ingress from their property and homes. The homestead of the petitioner was part of an 80-acre tract which belonged originally to one of the Trabue heirs, and the 80 acres itself was part of a tract much larger,- — probably 200 and odd acres, — which belonged to Trabue. After the di,«continuance of that part of the state road, a proceeding of condemnation was had against the Trabue heirs, and. what was formerly the state road was condemned under this proceeding instituted by the railroad company, and $500 paid for the strip of land originally the state road, and the distance of which is not stated in the record, but was the frontage of 205 acres of land which was originally owned by Trabue. This proceeding was had upon the theory that the fee of the old state road, when discontinued, reverted to 1 lie Trabue heirs, and that it was only necessary to take condemnation proceedings against them. Mrs. Hennen, in October, 1889, sued the defendant railroad for damages done her property by the construe!ion of its road and the embankment immediately adjoining her homestead. The damage claimed was the destruction or impairment of her egress and ingress, and for causing water to stand on her lot. ¡Subsequently she amended,, and claimed for injury done for the impairment of her view, and for the soot and smoke which was caused by the passing trains, and also [774]*774for the injury done by the shaking of her walls. The case was most earnestly fought, and three jury trials were had. - The first jury found for the defendant, and its verdict was set aside upon a motion for a new trial. The second jury found for the plaintiff in $1,800 damages. The defendant road took the case to the superior court, and it was reversed by that court because of some instructions which were given on motion of the plaintiff, and some refused which were asked by the defendant. The case went back to the circuit court of Hancock county, and was retried, and again a jury found for the plaintiff in the sum of $1,800 damages. The case was again taken to the superior court of the state, and affirmed, and after this litigation in the state court Mrs. Hennen intervened by petition, and asked that her judgment should be a preferential claim to that of the bondholders. In the litigation in the state courts the trustees of neither of the mortgages were before the court; and it is now insisted by the defendant railroad that the bondholders are not bound by the judgment in the state court, and that this court should consider the claim as an original one, and dispose of it as such.

The first mortgage on this road was made anterior to the building of the road, and the second mortgage after the road was completed. We think, if any of this recovery shall be considered in the nature of a taking of private property for public use, then the bondholders, though not parties to the litigation, are bound to the extent which may be regarded as a taking. As to the prior mortgagee, we think this is clearly so, because the bondholders took by reason of the future-acquired property clause, and would take subject to the purchase money, whether that would be in the nature of condemnation proceedings or by contract. As to the last mortgage, we think it is also to be bound because of the constitutional provision that private property cannot be taken for public uses without just compensation previously made. The right and title of property taken, whether by an entry without condemnation proceedings or whether by an entry under condemnation proceedings, should not vest in the mortgagor until the just compensation is actually paid. The Hennen suit was pending in the state court against the railroad company when it executed this mortgage. The case of Hassall v. Wilcox, 130 U. S. 494, 9 Sup. Ct. 590, cited by counsel, is entirely consistent with this view. If we are right in thinking that the bondholders are bound by the adjudication in the state courts, then the contention of the counsel that Mrs. Hennen had no right of ingress or egress after the discontinuance of the state road in front of her lot, and that according to the Kentucky law she had no right to damages for the destruction of the egress and ingress to her property, is not applicable, since it is quite clear that the superior court decided that she had a right of egress and ingress to her property, notwithstanding the discontinuance of the state road, and that she had a right to recover damages for the destruction or impairment thereof; and the case was returned, and tried upon that distinct adjudication. The court says, in its opinion:

“It is shown that the plaintiff’s title extended only to the edge ol the highway, but it is also shown that she derived her title from the persons whom the de[775]*775fondant claims to have been tlie owners o£ the highway. The boundary of the property was fixed by the conveyance to the edge of the public road, and the road lias been used as such by the plaintiff and the owners before her under similar conveyances for more than ,'50 years. They had no possible way of ingress or egress to the property except over this highway.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
81 F. 772, 1897 U.S. App. LEXIS 2685, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/central-trust-co-of-new-york-v-louisville-st-l-t-ry-co-circtdky-1897.