Civils v. Fulton County

134 S.E.2d 453, 108 Ga. App. 793, 1963 Ga. App. LEXIS 773
Court of Appeals of Georgia·Decided November 15, 1963·No. 40105·Published·Cited by 24 cases

Opinion

Bell, Presiding Judge.

This appeal was first brought to the Supreme Court where, by a full-bench decision, it was held that, “The contention in a case that portions of a charge of the court were erroneous for stated reasons and thus deprived movant of due process of law and equal protection of the laws in violation of stated provisions of the Constitution does not make it one of those eases ‘that involve the construction of the Constitution of the State of Georgia’ within the meaning of the Constitution, Art. VI, Sec. II, Par. IV (Code Ann. § 2-3704).” Civils v. Fulton County, 218 Ga. 705 (130 SE2d 220).

The forty-plus pages covering special grounds 4, 5, and 6 of the plaintiff in error’s motion for new trial involve only two essential contentions for determination although, as to be expected from so much verbiage, there are some variations on the themes. As we view the case, both the essentials and the variations are controlled by the holdings which we apply to the theories upon which they are all founded. These two basic theories arise from the error asserted on those portions of the trial court’s instructions regarding the manner in which the jury would be authorized to treat the effect of the zoning regulations of the City of College Park which instructions are quoted in full in the preceding factual summary of the case.

The first contention is that these instructions restricted the jury’s consideration, in determining value of the property taken, of possible uses to which the triangular portion of the property condemned could be applied.

The fallacy of this contention is that the condemnee seeks to sever a portion of the property from the whole parcel condemned and to theorize on the enhancement in value which the severed portion gained by reason of the taking of the remainder. This supposition cannot be sanctioned.

The whole parcel to be taken from the one owner in this one condemnation proceeding may not be subdivided after the commencing of the suit so as to invoke the benefit of a possible enhancement of value of the divided portions because of the general knowledge, which might be gained from the mere filing of *796 the action, that the whole may be taken for an improvement. Such a result is not within the purview of the rule considered in Hard v. Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta, 219 Ga. 74 (132 SE2d 25). Neither Hard nor Young v. Harrison, 17 Ga. 30 (1), nor Gate City Terminal Co. v. Thrower, 136 Ga. 456 (71 SE 903), nor Housing Authority of the City of Marietta v. York, 106 Ga. App. 41 (126 SE2d 246), implies this possibility or goes so far. The factual situation here is inversely different from that in State Hwy. Bd. v. Bridges, 60 Ga. App. 240 (3 SE2d 907), where a small strip of land of one owner was not included in a condemnation although the ruling here is in complete harmony with the one there. The just and adequate compensation required to be paid by the condemnor for the property taken means for all of it taken from the one owner in the one condemnation proceeding. The whole includes all of its parts.

It is unnecessary for us to consider the contentions based on this untenable premise.

The second basic contention raised by these grounds is that all of the property taken was suitable for public airport purposes, as shown by the evidence, and this purpose could not be subjected irretrievably to the zoning restrictions of the City of College Park. For this reason, it is urged, the trial court erred in charging the jury on the effect of the zoning regulations in the language quoted in our factual summary, as these instructions deprived the jury of the right to consider the use of the land being condemned for public airport purposes in fixing its value.

This contention has no merit for the simple reason that the trial court’s instructions did not have the restrictive effect urged.

This ruling upon the effect and consideration to be accorded by a jury upon municipal zoning regulations as they may bear upon market value in a condemnation proceeding is one of first impression in this jurisdiction.

It has long been the policy of the Georgia appellate courts to be liberal in allowing matters to be considered by the jury which might affect their collective mind in determining the just and adequate compensation to be paid the condemnee. In Georgia the condemnee is entitled to recover for the value of property based on its special adaptability for uses, Young v. Harrison, 17 *797 Ga. 30 (1), supra; Ga. Power Co. v. Carson, 46 Ga. App. 612 (167 SE 902); State Hwy. Bd. v. Shierling, 51 Ga. App. 935 (181 SE 885), and, unlike most jurisdictions, including those which can only be effectuated by an authority with the power of condemnation. Hard v. Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta, 219 Ga. 74, supra; Housing Authority of the City of Marietta v. York, 106 Ga. App. 41, supra. In short, the Georgia courts have permitted almost any possibility to be submitted to the jury which might shed light on the true value of the property, subject only to the limitations that the matter must not be merely remote or speculative and its consideration must be authorized by the evidence.

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Civils v. Fulton County, 134 S.E.2d 453, 108 Ga. App. 793, 1963 Ga. App. LEXIS 773 (Ga. Ct. App. 1963).

134 S.E.2d 453 (Civils v. Fulton County) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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