State of Georgia v. City of Chattanooga

284 S.W. 359, 153 Tenn. 349
CourtTennessee Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 6, 1925
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 284 S.W. 359 (State of Georgia v. City of Chattanooga) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Tennessee Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State of Georgia v. City of Chattanooga, 284 S.W. 359, 153 Tenn. 349 (Tenn. 1925).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Hall

delivered the opinion of the Court.

This is a condemnation proceeding, which originated before the city commissioners of the city of Chattanooga. The proceeding was instituted by the city commissioners of Chattanooga under the general municipal condemnation statute carried into Shannon’s Annotated Code at sections 1981 to 1984, inclusive.

*351 Pursuant to these sections the city commissioners passed ordinances opening two streets through what is alleged as the railroad yard located in the city of Chattanooga, which constitutes a part of the line of railroad owned by the State of Georgia, running from Atlanta in said State to the city of Chattanooga, in Tennessee, known as the Western & Atlantic Railroad, and condemning what is alleged to he a portion of its railroad yard for that purpose. Said line of railroad is now being. operated by the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway Company under a lease, extending over a long term of years, from the State of Georgia.

Pursuant to the statute, and the ordinances passed by the city, freeholders were appointed to assess the damages of the State of Georgia and its lessee. Said freeholders made their report, which was duly approved by the city commissioners. The city paid the damages assessed into the office of the city auditor, and gave notice to the State of Georgia and its lessee to vacate the property condemned by May 7, 1926.

The State of Georgia appealed from the report of the appraisers assessing the damages in its favor to the circuit court; and, denying the right or authority of the city to condemn its property because it was already devoted to a public use, it also filed in the circuit court a petition for writs of certiorari and supersedeas, which were granted by the circuit judge.

Thereafter the city answered the petition, expressly denying in paragraph 4 of its answer that the property proposed to be taken or condemned for said streets was being used by the State of Georgia , or its lessee, as a *352 part of their railroad yard or terminals, and denied that said property was devoted to a public use.

Thereafter the city made a motion in the case to have the supersedeas discharged. Thif motion was heard by the circuit judge on the petition and answer, was sustained, and the writ of supersedeas discharged.

Thereupon the State of Georgia presented its petition for writs of certiorari and supersedeas to a member of this court asking that the order of the circuit court discharging the supersedeas, granted by it be superseded, and the supersedeas theretofore granted be reinstated until the question at issue could be finally determined on its merits.

Upon this petition writs of certiorari and supersedeas were granted, and were issued by the clerk of this court at Knoxville, and duly served upon the city.

On May 30, 1926, the city of Chattanooga, through its attorneys, filed a motion in this court to have the writs of certiorari and supersedeas granted on said petition vacated and discharged on the ground that this court, or any member thereof, was without jurisdiction to grant said writs.

After due consideration of the city’s motion, we conclude that the-same must be sustained, and the writs of certiorari and supersedeas granted must be vacated and discharged. We have reached this conclusion on the ground, after mature consideration of the motion, the issues made by the petition of the State of Georgia filed in the circuit court, and the city’s answer thereto, that this court is without jurisdiction of the case, and, therefore, a member of this court was without au *353 thority to entertain the petition of the State of Georgia and to grant the writs therein prayed for.

By section 10 of chapter 100 of the Acts of 1925, which is an act creating the court of appeals, it is provided:

“The jurisdiction of the court of appeals shall be appellate only, and shall extend to all civil cases except those involving constitutional questions, the right to hold a public office, workmen’s compensation, State revenue, mandamus, proceedings in the nature of quo warranto, ouster, habeas corpus, and excepting cases which have been finally determined in the lower court on demurrer or other method hot involving a review or determination of the facts, or in which all of the facts have been stipulated. All cases within the jurisdiction thus conferred on the court of appeals shall for purposes of review be taken directly to the court of appeals in the divisions within which the cases arose, the eastern division to include Hamilton county and the western division to include Shelby county. As to all other cases the exclusive right of removal and review shall be in the supreme court. Any case removed by mistake to the wrong court shall by such court be transferred to the court having jurisdiction thereof, direct to the latter court.”

Section 11 provides that the court of appeals and the individual members thereof are given power to grant writs of error, certiorari, and supersedeas in cases within the jurisdiction of said court, such writs to be returnable to the court of appeals in the division in which they arose, and the practice in such cases in the court of appeals shall be the same as is now prescribed by law for the supreme court.

*354 It will be noted that the jurisdiction of the court of appeals extends to all civil cases, except those involving constitutional questions, the right to hold a public office, workmen’s compensation, state revenue, mandamus, proceedings in the nature of quo warranto, ouster, habeas corpus, “and excepting cases which have been finally determined in the lower court on demurrer or other method not involving a review or determination of the facts, or in which all of the facts have been stipulated. All cases within the jurisdiction thus conferred on the court of appeals shall for purposes of review be taken directly to the court of appeals in the divisions within which the cases arose. ... As to all other cases the exclusive right of removal and review shall be in the supreme court.”

It is further provided in said section that any case removed by mistake to the wrong court shall by such court be transferred to the court having jurisdiction thereof— direct to the latter court.

In the instant case the answer of the city to the petition of the State of Georgia filed in the circuit court, upon which petition writs of certiorari and supersedeas were granted by that court, having expressly denied that the property which it was proposing to condemn for street purposes was devoted to a public use, presented an issue of fact to be determined upon proof to be heard by that court.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
284 S.W. 359, 153 Tenn. 349, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-georgia-v-city-of-chattanooga-tenn-1925.