Lake County v. Vickers

36 Fla. Supp. 61
CourtCircuit Court of the 5th Judicial Circuit of Florida, Lake County
DecidedApril 26, 1971
DocketNo. 7351
StatusPublished

This text of 36 Fla. Supp. 61 (Lake County v. Vickers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Circuit Court of the 5th Judicial Circuit of Florida, Lake County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lake County v. Vickers, 36 Fla. Supp. 61 (Fla. Super. Ct. 1971).

Opinion

W. TROY HALL, Jr., Circuit Judge.

Order on necessity of taking and order of taking on easement: On July 28, 1965 there was filed in this cause a notice of eminent domain proceeding, declaration of taking and a petition in eminent domain. A report of appraisers was filed on August 20, 1965, and on August 25th the defendants, through their attorney, filed written defenses and a motion to dismiss.

On September 2, 1965, this court entered its order based primarily on stipulation of counsel that “no Order of Taking shall be entered in said cause at the present time, and shall be considered further only upon further hearing with due notice to the parties.”

There were two parcels of land sought to be condemned in this proceeding. The first parcel was designated parcel no. 1 and is owned by Ila A. Vickers. Parcel no. 2, which is the parcel now involved in this proceeding, was at the time suit was filed owned by Ralph Jones and wife and James Q. Spillers and wife. This parcel no. 2 was eventually sold to the present defendants, George A. Fountain and wife, Lucy C. Fountain.

Nothing further occurred as far as pleadings are concerned until September 3, 1969, at which time the petitioner added parties defendant and petitioned the court for a temporary injunction. In the sworn petition it was alleged that the land had been sold on September 2, 1969, and that the new owners, the parties added as defendants, immediately began clearing the land for development purposes, and that said clearing was rapidly extending toward the property sought to be condemned in the present suit.

As to both parcel no. 1 and parcel no. 2, the petitioner sought to condemn a strip of land one hundred seventy feet in depth from the centerline of the Dora Canal as to each entire parcel except the man-made canal running from the Dora Canal across each parcel in an easterly-westerly direction. The man-made canal contained in each of parcel no. 1 and parcel no. 2 was excluded from the condemnation proceeding by stipulation of the parties.

During the year 1969 or 1970 the parties settled the matters involved in this suit as to parcel no. 1, and the petitioner excluded from the property sought to be condemned all of the property contained in parcel no. 1 lying north of the south boundary line of the man-made perpendicular canal. Parcel no. 1 lies at the extreme north end of the Dora Canal, immediately south of the railroad bridge and the Federal Highway 441 bridge which crosses the canal at the north end at the mouth of Lake Eustis.

[63]*63Parcel no. 2, which is involved in this proceeding, lies at the extreme south end of the portion of the Dora Canal sought to be preserved in this suit and lies immediately north of the concrete bridge on Highway 19.

This court, on September 3, 1969, entered a temporary injunction, temporarily enjoining the defendants from removing or destroying any of the natural growth within a strip of land measured 170' westerly from the centerline of the Dora Canal, the land sought to be condemned.

On January 16, 1970, the defendants, George A. Fountain and wife, Lucy C. Fountain, through their attorneys, filed a motion to dissolve temporary injunction and filed a notice of hearing. On January 23, 1970, the petitioner filed its motion for entry of order of taking. The cause came on for hearing on January 23, 1970 on defendants’ motion and notice. No testimony was produced at said hearing by the defendants or the petitioner, but briefs were submitted and this court ordered an evidentiary hearing by its interlocutory order entered the 17th day of April 1970. The interlocutory order stated that the matters presented basically were of factual determination and evidence was needed to make a final determination.

The evidentiary hearing was held on July 2, 1970, pursuant to a notice of hearing filed by the petitioner. The factual hearing lasted the entire day and was continued to the 6th day of July.

On the 6th day of July, the petitioner rested and the defendants immediately rested. The court ordered briefs filed by the parties and each filed briefs. The defendants called the matter up for final oral argument on August 13, 1970. Final argument took approximately three hours. On August 18, 1970 defendants made a motion to re-open the case for the purpose of taking additional evidence.

Upon due and regular hearing, this court granted defendants’ motion to re-open the case for the purpose of taking additional evidence. This further hearing for taking defendants’ testimony was held before the court on November 11, 1970.

The parties again filed memorandum briefs with the court so that the matter has now been fully heard and is ready for the court’s final decision on the matter of the necessity of taking and the order of taking.

Findings of fact

At the two evidentiary hearings, the following facts were established by the evidence'—

[64]*64That the petitioner desires to maintain a strip of land approximately 170' from the center line of the Dora Canal on each side of the canal from U. S. Highway 441 on the north and bordering Lake Eustis, to State Road 19 on the south, being a distance of approximately one to two miles, in its natural state.

That the petitioner has not formulated or submitted any specific or detailed plan for a public park other than the announced purpose of maintaining the woodland land bordering the Dora Canal to a depth of 170' from the center of the canal in its natural state.

That although the territory involved is situated only a few blocks from the courthouse in Tavares, the area in which it is located is not a congested area.

That although the resolutions passed by the various boards of county commissioners do not show or indicate the proposed use or restrictions to be placed upon the property, the various easements obtained by the petitioner, after its original purchase of the Wilson-Cypress Lumber Co. lands, clearly show that the use of the lands shall be restricted so that individuals might not even land from a boat and walk upon the 170 foot reserved strip of land.

Petitioner first acquired lands bordering the Dora Canal by purchasing from Wilson-Cypress Lumber Co. lands lying within 220' of the centerline of the Dora Canal in the year 1939. These lands obtained from the Wilson-Cypress Lumber Co. comprised by far the majority of the lands obtained by or sought by the petitioner.

These lands were acquired because the Wilson-Cypress Lumber Co. was going out of business and no longer had use for the cypress properties and a foresighted board of county commissioners and its attorney realized an opportunity to obtain most of the lands bordering the Dora Canal from State Road 19 north to Lake Eustis for a purchase price of only $500, thereby retaining this cypress covered land in its natural state.

Subsequent there to in 1957, the petitioner obtained easements by deeds to 170' from the centerline of the Dora Canal across smaller tracts of land bordering the canal from C. E. Duncan, from Charlie Squibb, from George Daughtery and from Ehler Development Co.

By these deeds, Lake County did not acquire a fee simple title but acquired only a very strict easement which reads as follows —

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Bluebook (online)
36 Fla. Supp. 61, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lake-county-v-vickers-flacirct5lak-1971.