City of Pasadena v. Union Trust Co.

138 Cal. App. 21
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 11, 1934
DocketCiv. No. 9329
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 138 Cal. App. 21 (City of Pasadena v. Union Trust Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Pasadena v. Union Trust Co., 138 Cal. App. 21 (Cal. Ct. App. 1934).

Opinion

SPENCE, J.

Plaintiff sought to condemn two parcels of land for use as part of a proposed dam and reservoir site in San Gabriel Canyon. The parcel designated as parcel number 2 belonged to the defendants Pollard, while the parcel designated number 5 belonged to the defendants O’Melveny. Upon a trial by the court sitting without a jury, plaintiff had judgment. The trial court found in part that the market value of said parcel number 2, belonging to the defendants Pollard, was the sum of $15,000 and [22]*22entered judgment accordingly. This appeal from the judgment has been taken solely by the defendants Pollard.

Appellants’ attack upon the judgment relates solely to the amount which they were awarded for said parcel number 2, which parcel consisted of 31.07 acres. The testimony relating to the market value of said parcel on February 23, 1932, which was stipulated as the proper date for the determination of market value, was voluminous. Several witnesses were called and their opinions on the market value of said parcel varied from $1389 to $75,000. Only two of the ten experts placed the figure at more than $20,000, while five of said experts placed the figure at less than $10,000. The reason for the wide variance between these figures is found in the fact that certain experts based their estimates of market value upon the availability of said parcel 2 for use as part of a dam and reservoir site consisting of over 400 acres, while other experts made their estimates of market value without considering the availability of said parcel 2 for use for such purposes. A great deal of the testimony of appellants’ witnesses was admitted over the-objections of respondent, who contended throughout the trial that the availability of said land for use as part of a dam and reservoir site could not be considered in fixing the market value for the reasons hereafter discussed. At the conclusion of the trial the court expressed dissatisfaction regarding the state of the testimony. During the discussion between court and counsel, the trial court said that “The only testimony that is at all satisfactory to the court is Mr. Sonderegger’s testimony, and he puts the value at $13,328.” The court further said, “As the evidence stands now, the Court is going to be compelled to find that the value of this particular property is just about the same for dam and reservoir purposes as it is for cabin sites. And I do not mind giving you the Court’s estimate of value now. ... It will be $15,000.00. ’ ’ The trial court therefore found as follows in finding number XI: “The court finds that the market value of the property of the defendant Grace Pollard sought to be condemned herein and heretofore in these Findings of Fact described, on the 23rd day of February, 1932, was $12,500.00; and that the value of all of the improvements thereon pertaining to the realty on said date was the sum of $2,500.00; that the land of the defend[23]*23ant Grace Pollard, sought to be condemned herein, consists of all of an entire parcel of land and that there is no damage to any remaining parcel; that the aggregate market value of said lands, and the improvements thereon, as of said date, was the sum of $15,000.”

It is apparent from what has been said that there is ample evidence to sustain said finding number XI relating to market value. The trial court, however, made certain further findings bearing upon this subject and it is upon certain portions of these further findings that appellants make their attack and thereby indirectly attack said finding number XI. We deem it advisable to set forth some of these further findings bearing upon the question of the market value of said parcel number 2.

Finding number VI reads: “The Court further finds that no one of the several parcels of land sought herein to be condemned is, when considered alone, useful or adaptable to use as a reservoir right of way or dam site; that prior to the commencement of this action, the plaintiff endeavored to purchase parcels of privately owned land in the reservoir right of way sought to be condemned herein and of which the land of the deféndant Grace Pollard hereinabove described is a part; that in endeavoring to acquire said parcels of land, the plaintiff City of Pasadena approached the owner of one of said-parcels (Parcel No. 5 herein), to-wit, H. W. O’Melveny, for the purpose of negotiating such purchase; and that the said H. W. O’Melveny thereupon refused to sell his said parcel of land and refused to name any price at which the City might acquire his said land; that without union with said Parcel No. 5 the highest available use of Parcel No. 2 is for cabin sites and like resort and residential purposes.”

Finding number VII reads: ‘1 The court further finds that on March 27, 1923, prior to the commencement of this action, the City of Pasadena, the plaintiff herein, filed with the Division of Water Eights of the Department of Public Works of the State of California, applications for the appropriation of unappropriated waters of the San Gabriel Eiver; that in response thereto there has been granted to the City of Pasadena by the said Division of Water Eights, a permit to appropriate 40,000 acre feet of such water per year, not [24]*24to exceed 30,000 acre feet per year over any five year period.”

Finding number VIII reads: “The court further finds that in 1925, and prior to the commencement of this action, the City of Pasadena acquired and now holds title to two parcels of property which lie within that part of San Gabriel Canyon embraced within the flow-line of any reservoir right of way which might be topographically available for lands in union with Parcel No. 2; that the City of • Pasadena heretofore has obtained an option on 139.81 acres of land belonging to the Southern California Edison Company and lying within that part of San Gabriel Canyon which would be embraced within the flow-line of any reservoir which might be topographically available for lands in union with Parcel No. 2.”

Finding number X reads: “The court further finds that the highest available use of the lands included within Parcel No. 2 is for cabin sites and like resort and residential purposes. ’'

Assuming, without deciding, that findings VI, VII, VIII and X were material findings, we shall proceed to a consideration of appellants’ contentions with respect thereto. Appellants state their contentions as follows: (1) “Adaptability of parcel for dam or reservoir purposes may be considered although it alone does not constitute an entire site and a complete site requires joining it to a number of other tracts belonging to different owners”; (2) “Commencement of eminent domain proceedings could not affect right to show adaptability for any purpose”; and (3) “The fact that the City of Pasadena had acquired certain rights to water, rights of way, etc., did not preclude the right to show the adaptability of parcel 2 for dam site and reservoir purposes.”

At first glance the above-mentioned points raised by appellants would seem to indicate that appellants were deprived of the opportunity of showing that parcel 2 was part of a larger tract, which larger tract was adaptable as a dam and reservoir site. On the contrary, appellants were given the widest latitude in making such showing and it appears that such adaptability was conceded by all parties. Said points would seem to indicate further that appellants’ experts were not permitted to consider the adaptability [25]*25of the entire site for dam and reservoir purposes in estimating the market value of parcel number 2. Such was not the case.

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Bluebook (online)
138 Cal. App. 21, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-pasadena-v-union-trust-co-calctapp-1934.