Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad v. Cogswell

44 Ill. App. 388, 1892 Ill. App. LEXIS 622
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided May 16, 1892·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

Watebmax, P. J.

In 1880, appellee was the owner of a ten-acre tract of land in the toAvn of Cicero, Cook county, Illinois, AAdiich Avas bounded on the north by Madison street, on the south by the center line of Jackson street, extended, and on the Avest by what Avould have been the center line of West 46th. street, if West 46th street had been extended south of Madison street.

Appellee’s land, including streets, was 333 feet east and west, by 1,320 feet north and south. Appellant, being a railroad company, had, under an ordinance of the town of Cicero granting it the right so to do, constructed and was operating a surface railroad, which ran north and south, immediately west of and adjoining the west line of appellee’s land. While thus operating said railroad, and while, under the ordinances of the town of Cicero, said railroad was permitted to cross Madison street—keeping and maintaining all street crossings in good condition, and so that the same might be easily crossed in all directions without danger to persons or property, the railroad company condemned the west thirty-three feet (or one acre) of appellee’s land for the purpose of its right of way, thus making its right of way sixty-six feet wide. At the time of the trial of the condemnation case in 1884 a jury was waived, and the judge viewed the premises; the surface road was there and in operation at that time; the finding awarded the value of one acre, and declared the remaining nine acres would not be damaged; judgment was entered on the finding, the money was paid, and the appellant went into possession. In 1885, the appellant procured a new ordinance granting it the right to erect a viaduct over Madison street and to construct its approach thereto from the south, and it 1885 it so constructed said viaduct and approach, that the structure was about eighteen feet high at Madison street and about eight feet high at the south line of appellee’s land. Appellee claims there was no authority of law at the time of the condemnation proceeding to consider the damages to the remainder by reason of an elevated structure, and that this is such a change of plans as authorizes, under the law, the recovery of such additional damages as the evidence shows was caused by such change.

The questions presented in this record, briefly stated, are: Where, in condemnation proceedings instituted by a railroad, the damage to property not taken has once been judicially ascertained, and thereafter the grade of the road opposite such property is raised from eight to seventeen feet, and thereby the value of the property is lessened, is the owner of such property entitled to additional compensation, Avit-liout Avhich the statute proAÚdes that priArate property shall not be taken for public use ?

That a recovery may be had for damages caused by a change in the plan of construction Avitli respect to aaTlícIi damages Avere originally assessed, is established both upon principle and authority. The reason is obvious. The property OAvner is entitled, in the absence of anything showing Iioav the road is to be constructed or used, to such damages as it is reasonably probable Avill ensue from the construction and operation of the road. C., B. & N. R. R. Co. v. Bowman, 122 Ill. 595.

If the road desires to stipulate for any particular mode of construction or operation, and have an assessment of damages limited to such mode, it has a right to do so. C. & A. R. R. Co. v. J. L. & A. Ry. Co., 105 Ill. 388; Jacksonville & Savanna R. R. Co. v. Kidder, 21 Ill. 131; Hayes v. Ottawa, Oswego & Fox River Valley R. R. Co., 51 Ill. 373.

Manifestly, then, damages having been assessed upon the basis of a certain plan of construction, if a change is made to another mode the property owner is entitled to such additional damages, if any, as arise from a manner of construction concerning AA'hich there has been no assessment or payment of damages. Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Ry. v. McDougall, 118 Ill. 229-238; same v. same, 126 Ill. 111-120; C. & A. R. R. Co. v. J. L. & A. Ry. Co., 105 Ill. 388; Peoria & C. Rock Island Ry. Co. v. Birkett, 62 Ill. 332.

It folloAvs, therefore, that damages done to land, not taken, luiving once been assessed, when additional damages are claimed upon the allegation that the assessment aaúiícIi has been had \Aras upon the basis of a special mode of construction or operation which has since been departed from, the first question for determination is, to what especial kind of construction or operation AA'ere the damages in the first litiga^ tion had Í In other Avords, Avhat are the sources from AA'hich the damages, once awarded, sprang ? If in the former proceeding there was no restriction whatever, if damages were then assessed for everything which it was reasonably probable would ensue from the taking and use of certain land for railroad purposes, then there can be no additional damage from the use, for the same purpose, of the same land.

It does not appear that in the former proceeding any particular mode of construction was stipulated for, or that any special plan was submitted; but it is shown that the judge before whom the cause was tried, a jury having been waived, inspected the premises and saw that the road was then constructed and passed the premises now under consideration, at about the natural surface of the ground. Were, then, the damages in the former proceeding assessed with a view to the existence of a surface road only ?

In St. Louis, Jacksonville & Chicago Ry. Co. v. Mitchell, 47 Ill. 165, it was held in a proceeding to obtain the right of way across certain lands for the purpose of reducing the damages, evidence should have been admitted to show that the company had contracted for the building of a fence through the land and had provided the lumber therefor. It would seem from this that if the jury had visited the premises and found a fence already constructed by the company, they would have been bound to take such fact into consideration in arriving at their verdict.

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Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad v. Cogswell, 44 Ill. App. 388, 1892 Ill. App. LEXIS 622 (Ill. Ct. App. 1892).

44 Ill. App. 388 (Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad v. Cogswell) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Osburn v. City of Chicago
105 Ill. App. 217 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1902)
Chicago & Western Indiana R. R. Co. v. Cogswell
94 Ill. App. 127 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1901)
Kotz v. City of Chicago & Illinois Central R. R.
70 Ill. App. 284 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1897)