Cincinnati Union Terminal Co. v. Banning

27 Ohio N.P. (n.s.) 548, 1929 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1387
CourtCourt of Common Pleas of Ohio, Hamilton County
DecidedDecember 13, 1929
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 27 Ohio N.P. (n.s.) 548 (Cincinnati Union Terminal Co. v. Banning) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Common Pleas of Ohio, Hamilton County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cincinnati Union Terminal Co. v. Banning, 27 Ohio N.P. (n.s.) 548, 1929 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1387 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1929).

Opinion

Bell, J.

This is a condemnation proceeding brought by the plaintiff against the defendant, which resulted in a verdict in favor of the defendant, and is now before the court on defendant’s motion for a new trial. Many assignments [550]*550of error are made in the motion, the brief and the argument.

The record is very voluminous and in a trial lasting for six weeks undoubtedly some errors were committed. Whether or not any of the errors committed were prejudicial to the rights of the defendant which would warrant the granting of the motion, is the question to be determined. In an attempt to assist counsel, and if this case is reviewed, the reviewing court or courts, each assignment of error will be considered and disposed of as briefly as possible.

First is the overruling of two challenges for cause against two jurors, one by the name of Charles H. Kelly, and the other by the name of Ella Seibel. While the record does not disclose the examination of the prospective jurors, the court will take judicial notice of what occurred and dispose of the claim as though it was raised by the record.

The voir dire examination of Ella Seibel disclosed that she is a married woman whose husband at the time of the trial was an employee of one of the seven railroads entering the city of Cincinnati, and that the railroad which employed her husband owned some stock of the Cincinnati Union Terminal Company, the plaintiff in the case.

The voir dire examination of Charles H. Kelly disclosed that he at one time had been employed by one of the seven railroad companies running into the city of Cincinnati. At the time of the trial he was retired and was on the pension list of the railroad for which he had worked and that that railroad owned stock in the Cincinnati Union Terminal Company.

The qualification of jurors in a condemnation proceeding is provided by Section 11051 G. C., and provides that the person called for service in such case is disqualified if he is interested in the corporation which filed the petition, either as owner, stockholder, agent, attorney or otherwise, and it is further provided in Section 11052 that after the box is filled both parties shall have the right of peremptory challenge and challenge for cause.

[551]*551Section 11437, G. C., provides for challenge of persons called as jurors, Section 5, of Section 11437 — “That he is the employer, employee, counselor, agent, steward or attorney of either party.”

It is well settled that no challenge for cause can be sustained other than those enumerated in the statute. Neither of these persons come within any of the disqualifications in either of these sections, and keeping in mind that both prospective jurors said that they could render a fair and impartial verdict, and the further fact that this verdict was unanimous, the conclusion cannot be reached that defendant was denied a fair and impartial trial by reason of these two jurors remaining on the jury.

Next it is claimed that the court failed to permit the jury to be taken to view other property than the property sought to be appropriated in the proceeding, and that this action of the court was error.

This, like the complaint with reference to the jurors, is not disclosed by the record, but will be considered and be passed upon.

After the jury was impaneled and sworn, counsel for the defendant requested the court that the jury be sent to view property other than that described in the petition. This request was refused and is now assigned as error.

The authority for view in a condemnation case is found in Section 11054, G. C., and the language of that section is that a writ to the sheriff issued by the court shall command him to conduct the twelve jurors named in the panel to this writ annexed, to view the property or premises sought to be appropriated. No authority is found in that section for the jury to view any property other than that sought to be appropriated. It may be claimed, however, that Section 11448, G. C., would authorize the granting of a request such as made in this case. This section provides that the jury may be sent to view the property the subject of litigation, or to any place where a material fact occurred. This section does not in any wise aid the defendant. The property which the defendant sought to have the jury view, was property owned by some one else in [552]*552close proximity, not similar to the property in question, and the reason for the request was that defendant knew, or claimed to have known, that certain witnesses of the plaintiff were going to testify as to the availability of such property. If the claim of the defendant is well taken, there would be no limit to the number of properties which might be viewed, many of which might never even be mentioned in the evidence. No authority has been cited by the defendant for such procedure and it is not warranted by the language of either section of the General Code.

Many errors as to the introduction and the exclusion of evidence have been raised.

The defendant called as a witness one J. H. Doppes. This witness was called after certain evidence had been introduced that the property which the plaintiff desired to take was available for lumber yard purposes. Mr. Doppes, who was a lumber man in the lumber business, was asked whether or not he could express an opinion as to the value of this ground for lumber yard purposes, and answered that he could. He was permitted to express such opinion and upon motion by counsel for the plaintiff, this evidence was later excluded.

Counsel for defendant now claims that this was prejudicial error. In support of this position he cites one case from Oklahoma, reported in 31 Okla., 458, in which the Supreme Court of Oklahoma held that in a condemnation proceeding where it had been testified that the most available use of the land was for farming, that it was not reversible error for the court to permit evidence as to the value of the land for that particular use. No authority has been cited, and the court has been able to find none where it has been held that the defendant has a right to introduce evidence of the value of the ground for every particular use for which it is available, and this seems especially true in view of the many pronouncements of the courts of this state that the test is the fair market value; but even assuming that this evidence should have been admitted and should have been permitted to remain in the record, considering the fact that the defendant was [553]*553permitted to introduce eleven other witnesses on this question of value, can it be said that the failure to permit this evidence to remain was such prejudicial error as to warrant a new trial ? I do not think so.

A bitter complaint is made by counsel for the defendant to the admission of testimony of one C. W. Baker, Jr., who was called as a witness by the plaintiff. Prior to Mr. Baker taking the witness stand, Mr. Banning had been called as a witness in his own behalf and had given in evidence his opinion as to the value of the land which the plaintiff sought to appropriate. He stated that the value of the land sought to be appropriated was between three ‘and one-half and five dollars per square foot, placing : different values, between those two amounts, on different parcels described in the.petition.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
27 Ohio N.P. (n.s.) 548, 1929 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1387, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cincinnati-union-terminal-co-v-banning-ohctcomplhamilt-1929.