Pippen v. Board of Com'rs, Okmulgee Co.

1922 OK 929, 209 P. 929, 87 Okla. 177, 1922 Okla. LEXIS 257
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 3, 1922
Docket13219
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 1922 OK 929 (Pippen v. Board of Com'rs, Okmulgee Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pippen v. Board of Com'rs, Okmulgee Co., 1922 OK 929, 209 P. 929, 87 Okla. 177, 1922 Okla. LEXIS 257 (Okla. 1922).

Opinions

KENNAMER, J.

John W. Pippin, plaintiff, commenced this action in the district court of Okmulgee county on the 10th day of March, 1922, against the board of county commissioners of Okmulgee county, defendant, to enjoin the defendant from entering upon building a public road across certain lands of the plaintiff. The plaintiff presented his petition to Honorable Lucien B. Wright, acting district judge in Okmulgee county, on the 11th day of March, 1922, and upon consideration thereof by said judge a temporary restraining order was issued restraining the defendant from entering upon the lands of the plaintiff for the purpose of constructing a public highway.

On the 20th day of March, 1922, the defendant, board of county commissioners of Ok-mulgee county, filed a motion to dissolve the temporary restraining order issued, upon tire ground that the issues involved in the action and the relief sought had already been adjudicated by the court. On the 22nd day of March, 1922, the defendant filed motion to dissolve temporary restraining order and dismiss the action of the plaintiff for the following reasons, to wit: That on the 27th day of July, 1921, the defendant had instituted in the superior court of Okmulgee county, Hen-ryetta division, an action to condemn a right of way over the lands of the plaintiff described in his petition filed in this action. That on the 6th day of August, 1921. John W. Pippin, the defendant in said condemnation action, filed a demurrer to the petition filed in the condemnation action and the demurrer was overruled by the superior court on September 24, 1921, and appraisers ap *178 pointed, by tbe court to appraise the lands sought to be condemned. That on September 26, 1921, John W. Pippin filed in the Supreme Court of the state of Oklahoma an application for a writ of prohibition,' by which he sought to prohibit the board of county commissioners of Okmulgee county and H. R. Christopher, judge of the superior court 'of said county, from further proceeding with the condemnation action. That on January 31, 1922, after a hearing upon the issues made on the application for writ of prohibition, the 'Supreme Court denied' the writ of prohibition as prayed for in the action. On February 3, 1922, 'the petition of John W. Pippin for a rehearing on the application for writ of prohibition was denied. The motion of the defendant prayed the judgment of the court dissolving the restraining order and .the action be dismissed.

Thereafter, on the 23rd day of March, 1922, the cause came on for hearing before the court, and after the introduction of the court proceedings in the condemnation action filed in the superior court and the proceedings in the- original action for the writ of prohibition filed in the Supreme Court, the court entered judgment dissolving the temporary - restraining order issued and dismissing the petition of the plaintiff.

The plaintiff prosecutes this appeal to reverse the judgment of the trial court dissolving the temporary restraining order and dismissing his action.

Counsel for the plaintiff has not, as required by rule 26 of this court, set out in his brief any specifications of error, and the appeal should be dismissed, but, inasmuch as counsel only complains that the plaintiff is being deprived of his property without due process of law by the ■ defendant in attempting to establish a road across the plaintiff’s lands, we will consider his proposition upon the merits. According to the statements of counsel for plaintiff in his brief, the defendant, board of county commissioners of Okmulgee county, on the 31st day of May, 1921, passed a resolution authorizing the opening of a highway five and three-fourths miles long, extending in a southwesterly direction from the southern line of the city of Henryetta, and authorizing the county attorney of Okmulgee county to begin condemnation proceedings to obtain such right of way as was necessary to open up the road. This resolution was passed pursuant to a petition signed as required by law by certain resident freeholders. Thereafter, on July 27, 1921, the county attorney of Okmul-gee county instituted the condemnation proceedings herein referred to in the superior court of Okmulgee county against John W. Pippin for the purpose of condemning a small tract of his land over which the road had been located.

No serious question is raised as to the jurisdiction of the superior court over such an action, but counsel for the plaintiff appears to be laboring under the impression that chapter 42, Session Laws 1919, amen-datory of section 7553, Revised Laws 1910, is unconstitutional for the reason that the action of the county commissioners in determining the necessity for the highway petitioned to be opened constituted a taking of the property of the plaintiff, and as no provision is made for giving -the plaintiff notice of such determination of the necessity of such highway, that such action on1 the part of the board -of county commissioners constitutes a taking of the plaintiff’s property without due process of law. The determination of the public necessity for such highway by the board of county commissioners in no way constitutes a taking of the plaintiff’s property; such action on the part of the board of county commissioners in determining the necessity for a public road in no way authorizes any person to enter upon the lands of the plaintiff. The resolution passed by the board of county commissioners directing the county attorney to bring proper action for the condemnation of the land of the plaintiff is merely the preliminary step on the part of the board of commissioners looking to the condemnation of such lands as are necessary to secure a right of way for the road in a proper action in a court of competent jurisdiction.

'Counsel insist that, under section 24. art. 2, of the 'Constitution, in cases of condemnation of private property for public or private use the determination of the character of the use should be a judicial question. This court, in the case of Arthur v. Board of County Commissioners of Choctaw County et al., 43 Okla. 174, 141 Pac. 1, construed the above language found in the Constitution, in which it was specifically held that nearly all of the cases hold that the question of necessity is distinct from the question of public use and the question of necessity is exclusively for the Legislature. The opinion in part is as follows:

“Section 32, Williams’ Ann. Const., supra, mattes a ‘determination of the character of the use’ a judicial question, that is, whether the use is public or private, and that question may be litigated in condemnation proceedings, as provided by said section, and also article 13, e. 15, and chapter 30, Rev. Laws 1910. *179 supra; but there is no better example of a public use than that of the ordinary highway, where the easement or right of way rests in the public for the common and equal use of all, and the fact that eminent domain is exercised to establish a public road which leads to a ferry, and the ferry may be operated by an individual who will derive some private gain therefrom, does not deprive such highway of its public character.”

The plaintiff in this case, by filing proper answer in the condemnation proceedings instituted in the superior court, may have adjudicated the question as to the use for which the land was sought to be condemned, whether public or private, but, as was pointed out by the court in Arthur v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1922 OK 929, 209 P. 929, 87 Okla. 177, 1922 Okla. LEXIS 257, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pippen-v-board-of-comrs-okmulgee-co-okla-1922.