City of Houston v. West

514 S.W.2d 299, 1974 Tex. App. LEXIS 2548
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 8, 1974
DocketNo. 16355
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 514 S.W.2d 299 (City of Houston v. West) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Houston v. West, 514 S.W.2d 299, 1974 Tex. App. LEXIS 2548 (Tex. Ct. App. 1974).

Opinion

PEDEN, Justice.

This is an eminent domain proceeding brought by the City of Houston in Harris County Court at Law to condemn a 20.699 acre tract of land within the security fence of William P. Hobby Airport. Mr. and Mrs. Wesley West, owners of the property, timely filed their objections to the award of the special commissioners. The City’s right to condemn the property was stipulated to, and the only contested fact issue was the value of the land taken. Upon final hearing the jury awarded the Wests $901,647 for the land.

By its first point of error the City alleges that the trial court should have granted its motion to transfer the case to a district court because defendant’s exhibit No. 2 was an instrument affecting title to the land being acquired and the county court at law has no jurisdiction to determine title to land or pass on the admissibility of instruments affecting title to land. The City’s second and third points of error contend that the trial court erred in admitting defendants’ exhibit No. 2 because it is an unfulfilled agreement between the City, John Mecom and the Wests, because the Wests did not perform their obligations as required by the contract, and such obligations amounted to a condition precedent to the granting of the easement in question, because the instrument granted no easement and because it violated the rule against perpetuities.

Under the provisions of the contract admitted in evidence as defendants’ exhibit No. 2, Mr. Mecom and the Wests had agreed in 1966 to convey “Tract One” to the City for $66,000, had consented to the abandonment of Avenue A and the parties had agreed to exchange certain other tracts in the area; in addition the City had agreed to grant to Mecom-West a 60 foot roadway easement over “Tract Five” and agreed that the City would construct and permit the nonexclusive use by Mecom-West of a public taxi way from the Mecom-West property to Hobby Airport’s runway system, subject to certain provisions set out in the agreement. The provisions concerning the construction of the taxiway were:

II.
“Mecom-West agrees to contribute to the City the total payment received by Mecom-West from the City for Tract One, and in consideration of such contribution, the City agrees to construct a taxiway located as hereinafter stated and meeting the general standard specifications established by the Department of Public Works & Engineering for taxiways at the Houston International Airport. The City is not required to commence construction of said taxiway until it receives written notice from Mecom-West, addressed to the City’s Director of Aviation and Director of the Department of Public Works & Engineering advising the City that, either or both, Mecom-West are ready to commence and will commence within sixty (60) days after construction of said taxiway, and will proceed with diligence to complete the construction of facilities on land herein described as Tract Two and/or Tract Four, which facilities will utilize said [302]*302taxiway, and upon receipt of such notice, together with the contribution by Mecom-West of the net consideration received from the City for payment of Tract One, the City of Houston shall within ninety days subsequent to such receipt of such notice commence the construction of such taxiway and diligently prosecute the same to completion. Said taxiway shall be not less than fifty (50) feet in width and shall connect the present taxiway designated as ‘J.’ on the William P. Hobby (Houston International) Airport, with the aforesaid property of Mecom-West at a location approximately fifty-five (55) feet west of the northeast corner of Lot 3, of Orange Dale Subdivision.
“Upon the completion of said taxiway, said taxiway may then be used for ingress and egress to the said airports for aircraft patronizing businesses and business establishments and receiving services located on Tract Two and/or Tract Four, herein described, and for no other purpose, and to serve no other land not owned by the City, except with the written consent of City Council.”

The contract further provided :

“For so long as taxiway access is permitted and used under the terms of this agreement from TRACTS TWO and FOUR to the Airport and as a covenant running with said land, MECOM-WEST hereby agree with respect to the use of TRACTS TWO and FOUR and any other properties now or hereafter owned by MECOM-WEST (or their successors in interest to TRACTS TWO and FOUR) within the property constituting the William P. Hobby (Houston International) Airport, as follows: . . .”

Among the items listed were provisions that a) all rules, regulations and orders of the Federal Aviation Agency applicable to use of the airport shall be applicable to the lands of Mecom-West, b) Mecom-West will pay to the City all fees and taxes due on their property and applicable generally to users of the airport and c) certain types of business shall not be conducted on their property.

Article VII of the contract provided that the City had the option to suspend the right of use of the taxiway by Mecom-West or by any of their tenants, lessees or users of the land in question in the event of a continuing breach of the provisions of the contract after notice.

Article VIII provided:

“MECOM and WEST shall have the right to use said taxiway for a period of thirty (30) years from the date that said taxiway is completed and accepted by the CITY as having been completed in accordance with the plans and specifications for the construction thereof, subject to suspension as above provided in Article VII. The CITY shall maintain said taxiway as any other taxiway on said airport. Such taxiway shall not be used by MECOM or WEST, or any as-signee, sublessee, licensee or permitee of MECOM or WEST for any purpose or use prohibited either expressly or impliedly under the provisions hereof.”

It was established that prior to the institution of these condemnation proceedings the parties had executed conveyances and had substantially performed their obligations under the contract. The only provisions which had not been performed were those pertaining to the construction and use of the taxiway.

Prior to institution of these proceedings, Mr. Mecom and the Wests had divided Tract Two, and.the subject property constitutes the easterly half of it. Mr. Me-com had conveyed^ the westerly half of Tract Two to the City.

The City contends that there is a controversy regarding a genuine issue of title to land that would require transfer of the case to the district court under Section 4 of Article 3266a, Vernon’s Ann.Texas Civil Statutes, which provides :

“In any eminent domain case pending in the county court at law, whenever the [303]*303judge of the court determines that the controversy involves a genuine issue of title or any other matter which cannot be fully adjudicated in county court at law, he shall transfer the case to the district court.” (emphasis added)

The title to the land being acquired by condemnation was not in controversy. The contract had been substantially performed and apparently was in full force and effect until the City undertook to condemn the Wests’ property. It was not shown that any steps had been taken to have the contract terminated or rescinded by agreement or by court action.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
514 S.W.2d 299, 1974 Tex. App. LEXIS 2548, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-houston-v-west-texapp-1974.