Devco, Ltd. v. Murray

705 S.W.2d 836, 1986 Tex. App. LEXIS 12281
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 27, 1986
DocketNo. 11-85-239-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 705 S.W.2d 836 (Devco, Ltd. v. Murray) 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
Devco, Ltd. v. Murray, 705 S.W.2d 836, 1986 Tex. App. LEXIS 12281 (Tex. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

OPINION

DICKENSON, Justice.

This condemnation case1 involves four separate proceedings which were consolidated for trial. The principal issue is whether the condemnor should have been permitted to dismiss two of the proceedings when it discovered that there was an error in the metes and bounds description of the gas pipeline easements.

Background Facts

The landowners2 own two tracts of land which are involved in these four proceedings. The condemnor3 owns an oil and gas lease which covers both tracts. The lease allows gas gathering lines for production from the gas unit into which the two tracts have been unitized. After the gas gathering lines had been built, Devco’s predecessor decided to transport gas from other production in the field. The decision to transport “off unit” gas caused these condemnation proceedings. On November 9, 1981, the first two condemnation proceedings were filed: No. 81-749 and No. 81-750. When it was discovered that the surveyor’s metes and bounds description was incorrect and that the gas lines were not located on the easements described in the first two proceedings, the second proceedings were filed on August 23, 1982, being: No. 82-544 and No. 82-545.

The trial court overruled condemnor’s motion to dismiss the first two proceedings on February 7, 1983. The four trial court proceedings were consolidated on April 30, 1984. The case was tried by jury, and judgment was rendered on the jury’s verdict on June 20, 1984, awarding the landowners a recovery for all four of the proceedings. The condemnor appeals. We affirm the trial court’s judgment as to the proceedings originally filed as No. 82-544 and No. 82-545; we reverse the trial court’s judgment as to the proceedings originally filed as No. 81-749 and No. 81-750, remanding those causes with instructions to dismiss those proceedings after a hearing in compliance with TEX.PROP. CODE ANN. section 21.019 (Vernon 1984).

Verdict of the Jury
IA. The cash market value of the .39-acre strip (out of the 95-acre tract) on November 9, 1981, before the taking was $1500 per acre;
IB. After the taking, $100 per acre;
IC. The remainder of the 95-acre tract had a cash market value of $1200 per acre on November 9,1981, before the taking; and
ID. After the taking, $1150 per acre.
2A. The cash market value of the .65-acre strip (out of the 45-acre tract) on November 9, 1981, before the taking was $2500 per acre;
2B. After the taking, $100 per acre;
2C. The remainder of the 45-acre tract had a cash market value of $1400 per acre on November 9,1981, before the taking; and
[838]*8382D. After the taking, $1350 per acre.
3A. The cash market value of the .44-acre strip (out of the 45-acre tract) on August 23, 1982, before the taking was $2500 per acre;
3B. After the taking, $100 per acre;
3C. The remainder of the 45-acre tract had a cash market value of $1400 per acre on August 23, 1982, before the taking; and
3D. After the taking, $1300 per acre.
4A. The cash market value of the .59-acre strip (out of the 95-acre tract) on August 23, 1982, before the taking was $2000 per acre;
4B. After the taking, $100 per acre;
4C. The remainder of the 95-acre tract had a cash market value of $1200 per acre on August 23, 1982, before the taking; and
4D. After the taking, $1150 per acre.
Judgment of the District Court
No. 81-749 (issues 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D). The landowners were awarded $4,006.65, which is the total of: (a) $977.50 damages in addition to the Commissioners’ Award of $2,800.00; (b) $229.15 interest in the amount of 9% per annum from November 9, 1981, to date of judgment on the $977.50; and (c) $2,800.00 which had been deposited in the registry of the court.
No. 81-750 (issues 1A, IB, 1C and ID). The landowners were awarded $6,161.79, which is the total of: (a) $3,776.50 damages in addition to the Commissioners’ Award of $1,500.00; (b) $885.29 interest in the amount of 9% per annum from November 9, 1981, to date of judgment on $3,776.50; and $1,500.00 which had been deposited in the registry of the court.
No. 82-544 (issues 4A, 4B, 4C and 4D). The landowners were awarded $7,210.87, which is the total of: (a) $5,841.50 damages and (b) $1,369.37 interest at 9% per annum from August 23, 1982, to date of judgment.
No. 82-545 (issues 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D). The landowners were awarded $6,804.13, which is the total of: (a) $5,512.00 damages and (b) $1,292.13 interest at 9% per annum from date of taking to date of judgment.

Appellant has briefed six points of error. First, appellant argues that the trial court erred in overruling its motion to dismiss Cause No. 81-749 and Cause No. 81-750. We sustain this point. The Texas Property Code which became effective on January 1, 1984, prior to the trial of this consolidated lawsuit, was enacted as “a nonsubstantive revision of the statutes relating to property.” See Acts 1983, 68th Leg., ch. 576, p. 3475. Section 21.019, supra, expressly states:

(a) A party that files a condemnation petition may move to dismiss the proceedings, and the court shall conduct a hearing on the motion. However, after the special commissioners have made an award, in an effort to obtain a lower award a condemnor may not dismiss the condemnation proceedings merely to institute new proceedings that involve substantially the same condemnation against the same property owner. (Emphasis added)
(b) A court that hears a motion to dismiss a condemnation proceeding shall make an allowance to the property owner for reasonable and necessary fees for attorneys, appraisers, and photographers and for the other expenses incurred by the property owner to the date of the hearing.

In the trial court, the landowners opposed the dismissal of the two 1981 proceedings on the basis that the 1982 proceedings “involve substantially the same condemnation against the same property owner.” On appeal, the landowners argue that there is no double recovery of damages. These are inconsistent positions. The record clearly shows: (1) the 1982 proceedings do not involve “substantially the same” property; and (2) the second proceedings were not instituted in an effort to secure lower awards. The trial court erred in refusing to allow a dismissal of the 1981 proceedings which contained the erroneous metes [839]*839and bounds description. The judgment of the trial court is reversed as to the 1981 proceedings, and those causes are remanded for dismissal after a hearing in which landowners shall be allowed an opportunity to prove their “reasonable and necessary fees for attorneys, appraisers, and photographers and for the other expenses incurred by the property owner(s)” in connection with the 1981 proceedings.

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Related

Tyra Ann Whitney v. State
396 S.W.3d 696 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2013)
Murray v. Devco, Ltd.
731 S.W.2d 555 (Texas Supreme Court, 1987)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
705 S.W.2d 836, 1986 Tex. App. LEXIS 12281, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/devco-ltd-v-murray-texapp-1986.