Hennick v. Kansas City Southern Railway Co.

269 S.W.2d 646, 364 Mo. 883, 1954 Mo. LEXIS 583
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedMay 10, 1954
Docket43899
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 269 S.W.2d 646 (Hennick v. Kansas City Southern Railway Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hennick v. Kansas City Southern Railway Co., 269 S.W.2d 646, 364 Mo. 883, 1954 Mo. LEXIS 583 (Mo. 1954).

Opinion

*886 COIL, C.

Respondents (called plaintiffs herein) brought an action to quiet title to a 40-foot strip of land which had been the south half of the 80-foot right-of-way of Missouri & Arkansas Railway Company (called M. & A. herein). Appellant (called defendant herein) contends it received an easement in the 80-foot strip for railroad purposes by a conveyance, executed June 21, 1950, from the stockholders’ trustees of the dissolved M. & A. The trial court adjudged title in plaintiffs free of any easement for railroad purposes.

The M. & A., prior to September 6, 1946, operated a railroad from Joplin, Missouri, to Helena, Arkansas; it used portions of the tracks of other railroads and used its own tracks between Neosho and Wayne, Missouri, and between Seligman, Missouri, and Helena, Arkansas. The particular segment of railroad here involved is that portion near or in Neosho beginning at a place a short distance southeast of McKinney Street and extending northwestwardly to the place where the M. & A. track joins defendant’s tracks in Neosho, a total distance of approximately one mile. More specifically, we are concerned with that portion of the former M. & A. right-of-way which abuts plaintiffs ’ land on the northeast.

The essential facts are stipulated or undisputed. There are two issues: whether plaintiffs have any title to the 40-foot strip, and, if so, whether the M. & A. stockholders’ trustees conveyed to defendant an easement to use the 80-foot right-of-way by their June 21, 1950, deed.

On September 2, 1920, the owner of the land (subject to M. & A.’s easement) known and referred to hereinafter as the “Clem Hawkins tract”, across which the right-of-way ran, conveyed to Clem Hawkins. In November 1940, Clem Hawkins’ heirs conveyed to two of such heirs, and thereafter those two heirs conveyed to plaintiffs, the part of the “Clem Hawkins tract” abutting the right-of-way on the southeast. The last two deeds described the land as: “That part of the ‘Clem Hawkins tract’ consisting of approximately two and one-half acres, more or less, which lies south (and slightly west) of the right-of-way of the Missouri and North Arkansas Railroad, the ‘Clem Hawkins tract’ from which the above land is cut off and conveyed is described as follows: * * * ” Then follows a description by metes and bounds of the ‘ ‘ Clem Hawkins tract. ’ ’ '

Defendant contends that the deed to plaintiffs conveyed no title to any part of the railroad right-of-way. Defendant agrees that Missouri is committed to the view that, in the absence of evidence to the contra *887 ry, the title to the fee (subject to the easement) in a railroad right-of-way is presumed to be in the abutting owners and the title of each extends to the center of the way. Brown v. Weare, 348 Mo. 135, 143 [7], 152 S. W. 2d 649, 654[14,15], But, defendant says, “The real question here is where parties own land on both sides of the right-of-way and later 'cut off’ and convey a small tract south of the right-of-way to two of the owners of the whole tract, was there an intention to convey to the center of the right-of-way. ’ ’

In other words, defendant argues that the deeds to plaintiffs’ immediate predecessor in title and to plaintiffs contained language which rebutted the presumption that plaintiffs ’ title as abutting owners extended to the center of the right-of-way subject to the M. & A.’s easement. Defendant points to the language describing the land conveyed as that part of the “Clem Hawkins tract” which lies southwest of the M. & A. right-of-way and “the ‘ Clem Hawkins tract’ from which the above land is cut off and conveyed is described as follows: * * (Italics ours.) Defendant says this language shows that the heirs of Clem Hawkins, when they conveyed to plaintiffs’ immediate predecessor in title, intended to retain title to the entire 80-foot right-of-way. We do not agree. The language of the deed referring to the particular portion of the Clem Hawkins tract cut off and conveyed are words of description and not words of reservation or exception. We find nothing in the conveyance from all the heirs of Clem Hawkins (who owned the entire tract, both north and south of and including the entire right-of-way) to two of those heirs, indicating an intention to reserve in the grantors (all of the heirs) the entire right-of-way subject to the railroad’s easement. There certainly was neither an express reservation of any rights to the strip nor any evidence adduced or circumstances shown sufficient to indicate an intention to reserve the strip to the grantors. Under the circumstances, the presumption obtains and the deed conveyed title to the center of the right-of-way subject to the easement. Brodrick v. Tyer, 239 Mo. App. 118, 121-123, 187 S.W. 2d 476, 477, 478 [4, 5],

It is necessary to make a detailed statement of facts which bear upon plaintiffs’ claim that the railroad’s easement was abandoned.

In 1908 the Missouri and North Arkansas Railway Company (called M. & N. A. herein) condemned an 80-foot right-of-way over the land in question and, on April 15, 1935, conveyed its rights to M. & A.

In July 1946, the stockholders authorized M. & A. ’s directors to file an application with the Interstate Commerce Commission for authority to abandon all corporate operations and the entire line of railroad.

On September 6 and 11, 1946, M. & A. employees went out on strike. All operations of the railroad were thereafter discontinued. A watchman cared for the corporate assets.

The application to the I.C.C. was filed September 23, 1946.

*888 On February 14,1947, the U.S. District Court, W.D. Ark., pursuant to a stockholders ’ application, appointed receivers to take charge of the assets and to preserve them until the further order of the court. On February 24,1947, the receivers were substituted in the I.C.C. application.

On August 9,1948, the I.C.C. made its findings and order permitting abandonment of the entire line, effective 60 days thereafter, “Provided, however, and this certificate is issued subject to the condition, that the receivers of the Missouri and Arkansas Railway Company sell the line or any portion thereof, including such tracks and other facilities and property of said company as may be essential to the continued operation of such line or portion thereof, to any responsible person, firm, or corporation offering, within 60 days from the date hereof, to purchase the same for continued operation and willing to pay not less than the net salvage value of the property which they may seek to acquire.” On October 8, 1948, the effective date of the certificate was extended to December 7, 1948.

On October 18, 1948, the Helena and Northwest Railway Company applied to the I.C.C. for- a certificate authorizing the acquisition and operation of a portion of the former M. & A.

In December 1948, a motion by the State of Arkansas, which had theretofore been filed for annulment of the certificate, was dismissed and the final effective date of the certificate permitting abandonment was extended to April 6, 1949.

On March 14, 1949, the Arkansas and Ozarks Railway Corporation applied (application amended April 11,1949) to the I.C.C.

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Bluebook (online)
269 S.W.2d 646, 364 Mo. 883, 1954 Mo. LEXIS 583, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hennick-v-kansas-city-southern-railway-co-mo-1954.