County of Los Angeles v. Pan American Development Corp.

303 P.2d 61, 146 Cal. App. 2d 15, 1956 Cal. App. LEXIS 1416
California Court of Appeal·Decided November 14, 1956·No. Civ. 21601·Published·Cited by 6 cases

Opinion

WOOD (Parker), J.

Proceeding in eminent domain. In a former appeal in this case by defendants, judgment was reversed for the reason that the court erred in instructing the jury to disregard the evidence as to severance damages. (County of Los Angeles v. Beverley, 126 Cal.App.2d 89 [271 P.2d 965].) After the first trial defendant Beverley assigned his interest in the action to Pan American Development Corporation which was substituted as a defendant in place of Beverley. In the second trial (involved here) it was stipulated that the only issue to be submitted to the jury was the amount of severance damage, if any. (The parties also stipulated, with reference to the issue as to the value of the land *17 taken, that judgment should be for $13,500 which was the amount awarded for the land by the jury at the first trial.) The verdict in the present trial was that there was no severance damage. Judgment of condemnation was entered, allowing as compensation for the land taken the amount agreed upon by the parties, and disallowing severance damage in accordance with the verdict of the jury. Defendants appeal from the judgment and the verdict.

Appellants contend that the court erred in instructing the jury that inconvenience was not an element of damage; in permitting the jury to view the premises; and in sustaining plaintiff’s objection to defendants’ offer of testimony.

In lieu of a reporter’s transcript, the oral proceedings of the trial are presented on appeal by a settled statement.

The land sought to be taken by condemnation consisted of two lots at the north east corner of the intersection of Eastern Avenue and East First Street in Los Angeles County. Those lots were fenced. At the time of the commencement of the action, Mr. Beverley, who was formerly a defendant herein, owned those two lots, and he also owned four lots (not sought to be condemned) which were at the northwesi corner of that intersection. (Apparently, he transferred his interest in the six lots to defendant Pan American Development Corporation.) Prior to and at the time of the commencement of the action, the six lots were leased to defendant Pacific Coast Cheese, Inc.

Eastern Avenue, which is between the parcel of two lots and the parcel of four lots, is 60 feet wide.

On the northerly two lots of the four lots (on the west side of Eastern Avenue) there were two buildings—a cheese factory building and an office building. On the southerly two lots of the four lots there were an incinerator and a cold storage building. The four lots were fenced. The fence on the Eastern Avenue side of the northerly two lots (of the four lots) is back about 20 feet from the street. At the first trial, Mr. Hagan, the owner-manager of the cheese factory, testified that he parked his trucks on that 20-foot setback.

On the two lots (on the east side of Eastern Avenue), which were sought to be taken by condemnation, there were an old shed, incinerator, and trailer bed or body. At the time of the first trial, the shed was used as a repair shop; the trailer bed was used for storing old bolts and scrap iron; the two lots were covered with junk, such as old machinery, *18 scrap iron, scrap lumber, cans, tables, and old motors. At the time of the first trial those two lots “were so piled up” with old machinery and junk that only one automobile could be parked on the lots. At the time of the second trial those lots had been “somewhat cleaned up,” and some of the junk had been removed to the southerly two lots (of the four lots) on the west side of the street and the junk had been “loosely spread” over those lots. When the jury viewed the premises, at the second trial, three or four trucks were parked on the two lots on the east side of the street (the lots from which junk had been removed after the first trial.)

Mr. Hagan, the owner-manager of the cheese factory, testified that the severance damage was 20 per cent of the value of the six lots as improved. Mr. Stone, an expert appraiser of real property, testified that the severance damage was 20 per cent of such value. Mr. Allen, another such expert, testified that the severance damage was 15 per cent of such value. Those expert witnesses considered the six lots as one parcel. Those witnesses, in giving their reasons for their opinions as to severance damage, stated that the defendants would be deprived of the use of the two lots on the east side of the street for parking purposes.

Mr. Hall and Mr. Wood, expert appraisers of real estate, called as witnesses for plaintiff, testified that there was no severance damage. They also considered the six lots as one parcel. In giving their reasons for their opinions, they stated that there was ample space on the southerly two lots on the west side of the street for a repair shop and for storage of materials necessary in connection with the operation of the cheese factory, and that it would be more convenient to have the repair shop and materials on the same side of the street the factory was on.

At the request of plaintiff, the following instruction was given: “You are instructed that mere inconvenience is not a compensable item of damage. The test is whether the market value of the remaining property has been lessened by the taking of the property here in question. If the remaining property will sell for as much in the open market after the taking as it would before the taking and being a part of the whole then there is no severance damage. ’ ’ Appellants argue that the first sentence of the instruction was erroneous for the reason that inconvenience is a proper item of severance damage; that the error was emphasized because the word “inconvenience” was not defined; and that, by such instruc *19 tion, the judge told the jury that inconvenience was not to be considered in determining market value. Appellants concede that inconvenience (resulting from condemnation) which causes loss of profits in business is not compensable. They assert, however, that inconvenience or convenience in the use of property (sought to be condemned) is an element to be considered in determining market value.

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County of Los Angeles v. Pan American Development Corp., 303 P.2d 61, 146 Cal. App. 2d 15, 1956 Cal. App. LEXIS 1416 (Cal. Ct. App. 1956).

303 P.2d 61 (County of Los Angeles v. Pan American Development Corp.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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