Southwestern Electric Power Company v. Presswood

420 S.W.2d 182, 1967 Tex. App. LEXIS 1992
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 19, 1967
Docket290
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 420 S.W.2d 182 (Southwestern Electric Power Company v. Presswood) 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
Southwestern Electric Power Company v. Presswood, 420 S.W.2d 182, 1967 Tex. App. LEXIS 1992 (Tex. Ct. App. 1967).

Opinion

DUNAGAN, Chief Justice.

This is an eminent domain proceeding instituted in Van Zandt County, Texas, by Southwestern Electric Power Company, appellant, against Adelle Presswood, Esther Hopkins, and the First National Bank of Grand Saline, appellees. The bank is a party to this suit by reason of a Deed of Trust it holds against the property which is the subject matter of this suit. The take was a 100-foot wide surface easement over 40 acres of land belonging to Mrs. Press-wood and Mrs. Hopkins, the part severed amounting to 2.77 acres. In a trial before a jury in the County Court of Van Zandt County, based upon a jury verdict, judgment was entered for appellees in the sum of $1,939.00 for the severed portion and $11,169.00 as damages to the remainder. From that judgment, appellant has duly perfected its appeal. The parties, in the trial court, stipulated that the only issue involved was one of damages.

The record shows that this property is a part of Waldrip’s subdivision to the City of Grand Saline. The record further shows :

(1) That to the west and in the same addition, Gene Germany has a house in the $50,000.00 class;

(2) That the property here involved is bound on the south by Football Field Road, which is the north boundary line of the City Limits to Grand Saline;

(3) That in the same addition is located the Grand Saline Grammar School;

(4) That the Grand Saline Independent School District has acquired additional property in the same addition for a new high school adjacent to the subject property;

(5) That such school in the open market paid $500.00 per acre for the new high school site;

(6) That across the street (Football Field Road) property sold to Matthews and others for almost $500.00 per acre;

(7) That less than a mile north of the property condemned, Earl Persons owns a home in the $150,000.00 class;

(8) That to the northeast Dr. Marsh has constructed a home in the $25,000.00 to $30,000.00 class and Dr. Hardt at the time of trial was building an even bigger home;

(9) That East down Football Field Road from the subject property is the most exclusive addition to Grand Saline;

(10) That South of and adjoining the subject property, along Football Field Road, Matthews has built a nice home;

(11) That in addition to the foregoing, the condemned property had the following utilities: Phone service, natural gas, elec *184 tricity, and water furnished by a deep well; and

(12) That the condemned property has a paved street along its South Boundary Line and a paved country road along its North Boundary Line.

Immediately prior to condemnation, the foregoing portrays the neighborhood surrounding Appellees’ property. Appellees Presswood and Hopkins approximately two years prior to condemnation proceedings, had built a home in the $17,000.00 class upon the subject property. The evidence shows that the subject property is located in a nice neighborhood with utilities and available to schools.

The testimony of the witnesses and the jury’s findings as to the value of the 2.77 acres and the 37.23 acres (the remainder) before and after taking, are shown by the following chart:

Appellant has predicated its appeal on three points of error. It asserts in its first point that “The trial court erred in allowing testimony, over plaintiff’s proper objections, concerning adaptability of defendants’ land for a residential subdivision and in entering judgment based on such testimony when there was no evidence that defendants intended their land for such future use or that anything had been done toward developing and improving it for such use.’’ The Appellant says this court has already decided this point in its favor in the case of Melton v. State, 395 S.W.2d 426 , (Tex.Civ.App., Tyler, 1965, writ ref., n. r. e.). We do not consider the Melton case in point under the facts reflected by the record in the instant case. In the Melton case under the facts presented therein, we held that the intended future use of land for a subdivision shopping center specifically was properly excluded in evidence, although its adaptability and suitability for that purpose might be shown generally. Moreover, testimony was admitted in the Melton case that the property was feasible as a shopping center and was the best site for such center in the Sulphur Springs area.

*185 All of Appellees’ witnesses and one of the witnesses (Winn) for the Appellant used a simple method of arriving at the market value of this property. Each of them arrived at the value of the land and then added the value of the improvements to reach the overall value. Two of the Appellant’s witnesses, Hubbard and Estes, did not take into consideration the value of the improvements in appraising this property.

While the witnesses for Appellees gave the opinion that the highest and best use of the property in question was subdivision or small estates, their evaluation of the land was in line with recent sales of property adjoining appellees’ land. Ap-pellees are entitled to have the value of their land considered in the light of what adjacent land is bringing in the market, regardless of past, present or future use. Hays v. State, 342 S.W.2d 167 (Tex.Civ.App., Dallas, 1960, writ ref., n. r. e.). See also City of Tyler v. Ginn, 225 S.W.2d 997 (Tex.Civ.App., Texarkana, 1949, writ of err. dism., 148 Tex. 604, 227 S.W.2d 1022); Kennedy v. Travis County, 61 Tex.Civ.App. 547, 130 S.W. 844 (1910, n. w. h.).

Section 123, Texas Law of Condemnation by Rayburn discusses “adaptability for All Existing and Reasonably Forseeable Uses” which may be shown in evidence to determine market value. This article states that it is settled law in Texas that the setting and surrounding of such property can be shown in evidence to enable the court and jury to determine the ultimate issues of market value of the real estate taken and the damages to the remainder. Many cases are cited for this proposition.

In Continental Pipe Line Co. v. Kiel, 227 S.W.2d 825, 828 (Tex.Civ.App., Fort Worth, n. w. h.), it was held:

“ * * * The test seems to be that the owner may show uses his land was suitable for or adaptable to affecting its value under the facts and circumstances existing at the time condemnor’s acts occurred. This is true whether the’owner has chosen to avail himself of the situation or not. If the value existed it belonged to him and the condemnor could not take it from him without just compensation.”

The Supreme Court, in State v. Carpenter, 126 Tex. 604, 89 S.W.2d 194, stated that:

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Bluebook (online)
420 S.W.2d 182, 1967 Tex. App. LEXIS 1992, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/southwestern-electric-power-company-v-presswood-texapp-1967.