Northern Indiana Public Service Co. v. Nielsen

109 N.E.2d 442, 123 Ind. App. 199, 1952 Ind. App. LEXIS 236
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 18, 1952
Docket18,344
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 109 N.E.2d 442 (Northern Indiana Public Service Co. v. Nielsen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Northern Indiana Public Service Co. v. Nielsen, 109 N.E.2d 442, 123 Ind. App. 199, 1952 Ind. App. LEXIS 236 (Ind. Ct. App. 1952).

Opinion

Royse, C. J.

— Appellant brought this action for the appropriation of a right of way for electric transmission lines across appellees’ real estate. Appraisers appointed by the court awarded appellees damages of $1,000.00. They filed written exceptions to the appraisers' report. Trial to a jury on the issue of the amount of damages due appellees. The jury returned a verdict for $3,000 with interest in favor of appellees. Judgment accordingly. The error assigned here is the overruling of appellant’s motion for a new trial. This motion had twenty specifications. We proceed to consider those not waived in the order presented by . the briefs of the parties.

*201 Appellant, in the argument portion of its brief, has combined the first five specifications of the motion for a new trial because it asserts substantially the same question is raised by each. They assert the verdict is not sustained by sufficient evidence, is contrary to law, assessment of amount of recovery is too large, and damages assessed are excessive.

The contention of appellant in support of the foregoing questions presented by its motion for a new trial is based on the evidence as to the damage to appellees’ property caused by the right of way. There was a sharp conflict in the evidence on this matter. However, appellant in its brief admits there was evidence from appellees and other landowners which would sustain the verdict. It asks why the jury ignored the evidence of its witnesses. We do not know. However, in our opinion, there was sufficient substantial evidence of probative value to sustain the verdict of the jury. We may not weigh the evidence.

Specifications eight to twelve of appellant’s motion for a new trial assert1 the trial court erred in refusing to give certain of its tendered instructions.

The court refused appellant’s Instruction No. 1, which is as follows:

“The issue before you is the amount of compensation for the property of which plaintiff, Northern Indiana Public Service Company, takes exclusive possession, and the amount of damages, if any, which the landowner is entitled to recover because of depreciation in the fair cash market value of land not so taken, but damaged, if any is proven. The only property of which plaintiff takes exclusive possession is the land actually occupied by the steel towers and poles to carry its electrical transmission wires. The landowner is entitled to recover the fair cash market value of the land taken for the location of the steel towers and poles.
*202 _ “The landowner is entitled to recover the depreciation, if any is proven, in the fair cash market value of any of the land owner’s other land caused by it being subject to plaintiff’s easement right to use it for its electrical transmission lines.”

The trial court gave appellant’s instruction No. 2, which is as follows:

“You are further instructed that the property ■condemned in this proceeding is an easement for a right of way over a strip of land one hundred feet wide, and that of such strip there will be exclusively taken by plaintiff the portion for the location of the steel towers and any poles to carry the plaintiff’s electrical transmission wires and that as to the balance of such strip the plaintiff and the owner will have the joint use thereof, the ' landowners’ rights being subject to the plaintiff’s easement rights.”

Appellant contends its tendered instruction should have been given to instruct the jury that the owner is entitled to recover the fair cash market value of the land taken for the location of the steel towers and poles being the only property of which appellant takes exclusive possession, and the depreciation in the fair cash market value of the rest of appellees’ land. In support of this contention appellant relies on the case of Illinois Power & Light Corporation v. Talbott et al. (1926), 321 Ill. 538, 152 N. E. 486, 490. That case is.clearly distinguishable from the question presented herein. In that case the Illinois court held it was error not to strike out evidence as to value of land not taken by the easement based on elements which were not recognized by the law as proper in condemnation proceedings.

In Indianapolis R. Co. v. Branson et al. (1909), 172 Ind. 383, 388, 86 N. E. 834, 88 N. E. 594, our Supreme Court said:

*203 “It is true, as the .authorities affirm, that damages are assessed ‘once for all,’ and all legitimate damages resulting from the appropriation of the land should be included in the original award or assessment, for such assessment is conclusively presumed to embrace damages for every injury which could have been legally included in the áppraisal made by the appraisers or the assessment made by the jury, and it will operate to bar • a recovery by the landowner of any damages which should and could have been legally included therein.”

In Union Traction Company v. Pfeil et al. (1906), 39 Ind. App. 51, 57, 58, 78 N. E. 1052, we said:

“It was proper to consider in this proceeding all damages present and future arising from the proper construction and operation of the railroad. Such damages not recovered in this proceeding could not be recovered in a subsequent action. By this proceeding the appellant obtains the right, as against the appellees, to construct additional tracks on its right of way now acquired, and the right to run any number of cars which it may find it -profitable or convenient to run in the proper • management of its business as an interurban railroad running through and connecting many towns and cities. At the time of the awarding of dam-' ages by the jury there could be no certainty as to the number of tracks, or as to the number and location of side-tracks or switches on the right of way upon the land of the appellees, or as to the number of cars that will be used, but there was a certainty that a right was being acquired which constituted a certain present effect on the value of the real estate, and the. compensation to the landowners must be made now, if ever. The amount of that compensation was dependent upon the probabilities, shown by the whole evidence, as to the extent of the injury.”

*204 *203 "In this case appellant condemned a right of way 2,071.58 feet long and 100 feet wide. It had and still *204 has the right to locate or relocate towers, poles and lines on and over any part of this right of way. It had the right to, at any time, go onto this right of way to repair and maintain its transmission lines. Based upon the last mentioned authorities, we are of the opinion this instruction was too narrow and therefore properly refused. Furthermore, in other instructions the jury was adequately and properly instructed on this question.

Appellant next complains of the trial court’s refusal to give its tendered instructions 5, 6 and 20.

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Bluebook (online)
109 N.E.2d 442, 123 Ind. App. 199, 1952 Ind. App. LEXIS 236, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/northern-indiana-public-service-co-v-nielsen-indctapp-1952.