Socony Mobil Oil Co. v. State

230 N.E.2d 530, 248 Ind. 680, 1967 Ind. LEXIS 497
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 30, 1967
DocketNo. 30,314
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 230 N.E.2d 530 (Socony Mobil Oil Co. v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Socony Mobil Oil Co. v. State, 230 N.E.2d 530, 248 Ind. 680, 1967 Ind. LEXIS 497 (Ind. 1967).

Opinion

Lewis, J.

This is an appeal from a ruling of the Delaware Circuit Court in a condemnation action instituted by the appellee-State of Indiana. The following factual situation is essential to an understanding of the legal propositions involved:

In October, 1960, the State of Indiana filed its complaint for the appropriation of real estate and named as defendants, Orva M. Emerson, Soeony Mobil Oil Company and Kenneth Kennedy. Thereafter, an order was entered by the Delaware Circuit Court that the real estate of the defendants be condemned for the uses and purposes described in the complaint. This order also appointed appraisers to assess the damages caused by the talcing. Thereafter, in December, 1960, the appraisers filed their report showing total damages in the sum of $47,043.69. And, the State of Indiana filed exceptions to this report. Exceptions were also filed by Kennedy, Soeony Mobil Oil Company and Emerson.

On the 18th day of January, 1961, the State of Indiana deposited with the Clerk of the' Delaware Circuit Court, the said sum of $47,043.69. By the terms of the award made by the court-appointed appraisers, the damages of Kennedy were assessed at $5,201.51. Thereafter, on the 4th day of May, [682]*6821961, Kennedy filed a proper petition to withdraw the sum of $5,201.51 and the Court approved.

A jury trial ensued on the issues made up by the complaint for condemnation and the exceptions. The jury’s verdict was as follows: $19,500.00 for Emerson; and $10,100.00 for So-cony Mobil Oil Company. Kennedy did not appear at the trial and was not awarded any sum.

Thereafter, on the 2nd day of May, 1962, Emerson withdrew the sum of $19,500.00 as awarded by the jury. There then remained on deposit with the Clerk, the sum of $22,-500.18. The Delaware Circuit Court then entered an order permitting the State of Indiana to withdraw the sum of $17,643.69 which represented the difference between the total verdict of $29,600.00 and the amount paid in to the Clerk by the State of Indiana by the terms of the court-appointed appraisers’ award in the sum of $47,243.69. The State of Indiana withdrew such sum of $17,643.69' leaving only the sum of $3,825.99 on deposit and leaving the appellant with an unpaid award of $10,100.00, in addition to which appellant urges that it is entitled to interest on such sum of $10,100.00 from the date of possession of such real estate until the date of payment. The appellant, Socony Mobil Oil Company, filed a motion to' modify the order entered by the Delaware Circuit Court by which the State of Indiana withdrew such sum of $17,643.69 as aforesaid and the Court did not rule on that motion.

The question before this Court raises the issues as to which party should bear the risk of loss of a pre-trial deposit in condemnation proceedings. Appellee-State of Indiana urges the position that this Court has heretofore determined this question in the case of State ex rel, Socony Mobil Oil Company, Inc. v. Delaware Circuit Court (1964), 245 Ind. 154, 196 N. E. 2d 752. In this case, Socony sought a writ of mandamus and prohibition in this Court concerning the case at bar. The writ of mandamus sought by Socony urged the Su[683]*683preme Court of Indiana to order the Delaware Circuit Court to rescind its order of June 26, 1962, which permitted the State of Indiana to withdraw the sum of $17,643.69 as described supra. This Court denied a permanent writ of mandamus and prohibition and the stare decisis of that opinion is, substantially, that a writ of mandate would not lie where the relator had an adequate remedy available. This Court further said that where a party may appeal in legal fashion from a judgment or there is some other legal remedy available, this Court would not issue writs of mandate or prohibition.

We agree with the appellee that this Court did in its opinion, voluntarily, by obiter dicta, use certain language that may have confused the parties; but, we can but conclude after a careful reading of State ex rel, Socony Mobil Oil Company, Inc. v. Delaware Circuit Court, supra, that the only issue decided by this Court was that Socony should pursue the remedy of appeal. Socony has pursued that remedy and has brought its matter here before this Court on appeal as suggested.

We cannot agree with the appellee that State ex rel, Socony Mobil Oil Company, Inc. v. Delaware Circuit Court, supra, is the law of the case. An examination of 196 N. E. 2d 7521 indicates:

(1) The parties are not identical.
(2) The law of the case doctrine applied only to legal propositions and not to factual recitals.
(3) The doctrine of the law of the case is applicable only to holdings necessary to the decision rendered, not to obiter dicta.

The appellant has furnished us the authority of 5 Am. Jur. 2d, Appeal and Error, §§ 744 and 745, the pertinent parts of which read as follows, respectively:

[684]*684[683]*683“As the term “law of the case” is most commonly used, and as used in the present discussion unless otherwise in-[684]*684cheated, it designates the principle that if an appellate court has passed on a legal question and remanded the cause to the court below for further proceedings, the legal questions thus determined by the appellate court will not be differently determined on a subsequent appeal in the same case. . . .”
“The general principle seems to be that the doctrine of the law of the case operates only against those who were parties to the case when the former appellate decision was rendered. . . .”

We are, therefore, considering this appeal by the appellant, and we hold that State ex rel, Socony Mobil Oil Company, Inc. v. Delaware Circuit Court, supra, was limited to a determination by this Court that a writ of mandamus and prohibition did not apply.

We come now to a determination of the rights of the parties herein involved. If a condemnor pays into the Court the amount of the court-appointed appraisers’ estimate and one of the named parties in the lawsuit withdraws his estimated portion, at whose risk may he do this? Does he withdraw his portion at the peril of the condemnor or should each condemnee have to stand guard over his estimated portion to be quite certain that a fellow condemnee will not withdraw funds deposited by the condemnor in order that sufficient funds would remain after judgment to pay each condemnee.

The State of Indiana, as condemnor, saw fit to seek immediate possession of the real estate by use of the statute which permits one to have such possesion upon paying into Court the full amount as estimated by the court-appointed appraisers. This act on the part of the State was wholly voluntary. State v. Pollitt (1942), 220 Ind. 593, 45 N. E. 2d 480.

Since the condemnor could have awaited the final judgment of the Court in which the damages and respective rights of the condemnees would have been adjudicated, we are compelled to hold that any risk of loss or error must rest with the condemnor as the moving party rather than with one or more of the condemnees.

[685]*685There is not specific case law in Indiana on a set of facts as in the case at bar; however, we must look at Whitlock v.

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Bluebook (online)
230 N.E.2d 530, 248 Ind. 680, 1967 Ind. LEXIS 497, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/socony-mobil-oil-co-v-state-ind-1967.