Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. v. State

469 S.W.2d 817, 1971 Tex. App. LEXIS 2288
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 21, 1971
Docket511
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 469 S.W.2d 817 (Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. v. State) 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
Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. v. State, 469 S.W.2d 817, 1971 Tex. App. LEXIS 2288 (Tex. Ct. App. 1971).

Opinion

TUNKS, Chief. Justice.

This is a condemnation case. The con-demnee’s land, before the taking here in question, was an unimproved tract of about 550 acres in a roughly square shape. (This and other acreage figures have been rounded.) The only access to it was by a dedicated but unimproved city street called Mowery Road extending west from about the middle of the western boundary of the tract. The land taken by the State consisted of 40 acres and was for the purpose of constructing, as a limited access freeway, State Highway 288, commonly called the South Freeway. It is a strip about 500 feet wide and it crossed the condemnee’s tract from north to south cutting the remainder into 2 tracts.

Condemnee’s land remaining after the taking consisted of a 340 acre tract lying to the west of the highway and a 170 acre tract to the east. Both of the remaining tracts were denied direct access to that portion of the highway abutting them by the language of the statement in condemnation. After the taking the west remainder had the same access that it had before the taking — by way of Mowery Road. The east remainder was, by the taking, which severed the land from north to south, cut off from access by way of Mowery Road. However, the plans and specifications of the State relating to Highway 288 showed roads which afford the east remainder access at its northwest and southwest corners, as hereinafter more fully explained.

The condemnee did not claim any damage to that portion of the remaining land lying west of the highway and no special issue was submitted on that subject. The controversy with which this appeal is concerned is the claimed damage to that portion of the remaining land which lies to the east of the highway. The jury, in response to the usual special issues, found that there was no damage to such east remainder, and the trial court, accordingly, rendered judgment for condemnee for that sum found by the jury to represent the value of the land taken. The condemnee has appealed.

By the condemnation that portion of the remaining land lying east of the highway (hereinafter called the east remainder) was denied direct access to that portion of the main highway abutting its western boundary. This denial of access was authorized by Art. 6674w-1, Vernon’s Ann.Tex.Civ.St. Obviously, too, the highway cut off the east remainder from that access which it had before the taking — by way of Mowery Road. It is the position of the appellant that this left its east remainder “landlocked” and that it was upon such basis that the jury should have determined the damage to such remainder. It is the State’s position that the east remainder was not landlocked, but rather, after the construction of the highway it, the east remainder, will have access to a public street at both its northwest and its southwest corners. The appellant counters with the contention that these *819 points of access which the State says it will have are dependent on merely “promissory” representations of the State so that they should not have been shown by the evidence nor considered by the jury in determining the questions as to damage to the east remainder. The condemnee established its position in the trial court by exceptions to the pleadings, by a motion in limine, by objections to evidence, by objections to the charge and by request for special instructions to the jury. In all of such particulars the condemnee was overruled by the trial court and those rulings are subjects of points of error on this appeal.

Highway 288, in accordance with the plans and specifications on the basis of which this condemnation was authorized, is to be a freeway for high speed traffic. It is to have 4 lanes each for south bound traffic and north bound traffic. Access to it is limited to points at which it intersects or crosses over other public thoroughfares. It is not to have beside it a frontage road continuing throughout its length and to which frontage road abutting properties would have access and which would, in turn, lead to points of access to the main highway. The plans do, however, provide for the construction, adjacent to the main highway at some of the places along its length, of roads leading to a point of access onto the main highway from tracts of property abutting the main highway and which would, except for such adjacent roads, be deprived of any access at all. Such were the provisions made in the State’s plan for access to condemnee’s east remainder.

The evidence shows that the City of Houston proposes to build certain streets, which will intersect Highway 288, near the subject property. One of such proposed city streets is Airport Boulevard which will run east and west at a distance of about 1500 feet from the north line of the east remainder. Another is Orem Drive which will run east and west at a distance of about 500 feet from the south line of the east remainder. The State’s plans for Highway 288 provide for overpasses to be constructed on Highway 288 where it crosses the points at which those two proposed city streets will be located. Such plans also provide that the State will construct that portion of the two proposed city streets lying within the right-of-way of Highway 288 at the time of and as a part of the State’s construction of Highway 288. There will be entrance and exit ramps onto and from the highway at Airline Boulevard and Orem Drive. Those entrance and exits will not be dependent on nor await the City’s construction of its streets but will be built at the time of the construction of Highway 288.

The access to condemnee’s east remainder is to be afforded by a road extending from the northwest corner of such tract to Airport Boulevard and from its southwest corner to Orem Drive. The State’s plans provide that these access roads are to be two way roads with one lane for traffic in each direction. At the time of the trial the State had already acquired a 60 foot strip of land adjacent to the east side of its right-of-way for the main Highway 288 for the construction of those two access roads. They are to be constructed at the same time as the main highway and under the same contract.

Appellant’s contention that access to its east remainder is dependent on ‘promissory’ statements of the condemnor is untenable. The authorities cited in support of that contention are distinguishable. In Willcockson v. Colorado River Municipal Water District, Tex.Civ.App., 436 S.W.2d 203, n. r. e., land upon which there were producing oil and gas wells was taken for a water supply reservoir. In its petition the condemnor recited that it “will” provide earthen mounds around the oil and gas wells, and “will” construct dikes and roads to those wells “where, in its opinion, such procedures are feasible.” It recited that it “will” provide a barge and operator for the land owner’s access to the wells. It recited that “Petitioner will, *820 if, as and when the need arises” grant the land owner permits for exploration and further drilling on the land taken. The court correctly held that those recitations were promissory only and not properly to be considered in determining the damage to the land owner’s remaining property. Those items did not constitute a part of the public utility to be established upon the property taken.

In White v. Natural Gas Pipeline Co.

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Bluebook (online)
469 S.W.2d 817, 1971 Tex. App. LEXIS 2288, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/missouri-pacific-railroad-co-v-state-texapp-1971.