City of Oakland v. Pacific Coast Lumber & Mill Co.

156 P. 468, 172 Cal. 332, 1916 Cal. LEXIS 535
CourtCalifornia Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 16, 1916
DocketS. F. No. 6250. In Bank.
StatusPublished
Cited by34 cases

This text of 156 P. 468 (City of Oakland v. Pacific Coast Lumber & Mill Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Oakland v. Pacific Coast Lumber & Mill Co., 156 P. 468, 172 Cal. 332, 1916 Cal. LEXIS 535 (Cal. 1916).

Opinion

ANGELLOTTI, C. J.

This was an action in eminent domain. The jury’s award of damages was not acceptable to defendant, which appealed from the judgment of the superior court, and the order denying its motion for a new trial. On December 6, 1915, the judgment and order were affirmed by this court. The judgment by this court gave no direction as to costs. In the remittitur issued by the clerk of this court on January 6, 1916, there was inserted, as is done where there is no reversal or modification by this court of the judgment or order appealed from, and there is no direction by this court to the contrary, the words “respondent to recover costs of appeal.” We have here a motion for an order recalling this remittitur, striking therefrom the words “respondent to recover costs of appeal, ’ ’ and inserting in lieu thereof a direction that the appellant have and recover its costs on appeal. The ground of the motion is substantially that the provision as to costs, inserted by the clerk without any special express direction by the court, is in violation of the constitution of the state, particularly of section 14 of article I thereof, and in contravention of the laws of the state of California. This claim is based on the fact that the action is one for the condemnation of private property of appellant for public use, on account of which it is urged that appellant is entitled as a matter of right to its costs on appeal, notwithstanding that such appeal was held to be without merit.

• It is settled law in this state that, in view of the provision of section 14 of article I of our constitution that “private property shall not be taken or damaged for public use without just compensation having first been made to, or paid into court *334 for, the owner,” the owner whose property is thus sought to be taken cannot be required to pay any portion of his reasonable costs necessarily incidental to the trial of the' issues on his part, or any part of the costs of the. plaintiff, for to require him to do this would reduce the just compensation awarded by .the jury by a sum equal to that paid by him for such costs. This was held to be the rule as to the costs in the superior court in the case of San Francisco v. Collins et al., 98 Cal. 259, [33 Pac. 56], where the trial court, following the provisions of section 1255 of the Code of Civil Procedure, had apportioned such costs between the parties on adverse sides. Said section 1255, specially applicable to actions in eminent domain, provided as it still provides, that “costs may be allowed or not, and if allowed, may be apportioned between the parties on the same or adverse sides, in the discretion of the court.” It was held that this section was limited in its effect by the provision of section 14 of article I of the constitution, hereinbefore set forth, and the order of the superior court was reversed. It is not questioned that this ruling was in accord with the decisions in other states, and its correctness has never been doubted. In San Joaqmn & Kings River etc. Co. v. Stevinson, 165 Cal. 540, [132 Pac. 1021], it was held that on a successful appeal by the party seeking to condemn, the judgment in favor of the owner being reversed, the constitutional provision precluded the recovery by the party seeking to condemn of its costs of appeal. This ruling was in accord with the overwhelming weight of authority in other jurisdictions, and we see no reason to doubt its correctness. But it does not determine the question presented on this motion, viz., whether on an appeal by the owner to an appellate court, which is entirely unsuccessful, the costs of the appeal may be imposed on the owner, in view of the constitutional provision referred to. This precise question has never been determined by this court, as we read the opinions.

Section 1027 of the Code of Civil Procedure, one of the general provisions of our law relative to costs, provides that" “the prevailing party on appeal shall be entitled to his costs excepting when judgment is modified, and in that event the matter of costs is within the discretion of the appellate court.” This provision is applicable to all appeals, except in so far as it may be inconsistent with other provisions of our law applicable to certain proceedings, and except also as it may *335 be limited in its application to proceedings in eminent domain by the constitutional provision already referred to. We have already quoted section 1255 of the Code of Civil Procedure, specially applicable to such proceedings, the effect of which it may be conceded, in view of the decision in San Diego Land etc. Co. v. Neale, 88 Cal. 50, 67, [11 L. R. A. 604, 25 Pac. 977], is to authorize an appellate court, in its discretion, to require the condemning party, on an unsuccessful appeal by the land owner, to pay the costs of the appeal. In that case the court said: “Whatever may be the constitutional rights of the parties, we think, in this case, under section 1255, that it will be a proper exercise of discretion to require the company to pay costs,” and it was accordingly ordered, in affirming the order appealed from, that the court below tax the costs of the appeal against the condemning party. There may be some ground to doubt whether section 1255 of the Code of Civil Procedure, was intended to apply to costs other than those incurred in the trial court. This question does not appear to have been discussed in the case last cited. We assume, however, in view of the decision in that case, that it does authorize such action as was had therein. But in the absence of any direction by the appellate court as to costs, in the absence of any exercise of its discretionary power to make a special provision as to costs, it is plain that the general rule enunciated in section 1027 of the Code of Civil Procedure, that the prevailing party on appeal shall be entitled to his costs excepting when judgment is modified, 'obtains, in so far as it is not limited by the constitutional provision relied on.

We have, then, a statute purporting to allow the party seeking condemnation his costs on appeal, if such party prevails on the appeal and the judgment is not modified, and the appellate court makes no special direction as to costs. Is this violative of the constitutional provision in a case like the one before us, a case where the owner appeals and his appeal is entirely unsuccessful?

In his work on Eminent Domain (3d ed., see. 812), Mr. Lewis states the rule adopted by the overwhelming weight of authority as to the effect of such a constitutional provision in this regard, as follows: “When the compensation has once been ascertained by a competent tribunal, at the expense of the condemning party, the law has done all for the owner *336 which the constitution requires. If the owner is given a right of appeal or review, it may be upon such terms as to costs as the legislature may deem just. But if the statute gives the condemning party a right of appeal, it cannot cast the costs upon the owner if the assessment is reduced.” Again, he says: “Where the owner is dissatisfied with.the amount of damages awarded him in the first instance, and takes an appeal or other proceeding to have a re-assessment of the damages, it is usual to.

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Bluebook (online)
156 P. 468, 172 Cal. 332, 1916 Cal. LEXIS 535, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-oakland-v-pacific-coast-lumber-mill-co-cal-1916.