Texas Power & Light Co. v. Trinity Valley Ranch Co.

395 S.W.2d 866, 1965 Tex. App. LEXIS 2073
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 15, 1965
Docket16598
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 395 S.W.2d 866 (Texas Power & Light Co. v. Trinity Valley Ranch Co.) 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
Texas Power & Light Co. v. Trinity Valley Ranch Co., 395 S.W.2d 866, 1965 Tex. App. LEXIS 2073 (Tex. Ct. App. 1965).

Opinion

DIXON, Chief Justice.

Texas Power & Light Company, con-demnor, has appealed from a judgment of $87,023.60 awarded to appellees Trinity Valley Ranch Company, a corporation, the landowner, hereinafter called the Ranch, and Lincoln Liberty Life Insurance Company, mortgagee, in a condemnation proceeding whereby appellant acquired an easement across land owned by the Ranch. The insurance company is the holder of a mortgage in the amount of $686,050 against the Ranch property.

The easement is 250 feet wide and 17,000 feet long. It includes 101.841 acres.

At the time of the trial appellant had completed on the easement a 345,000 volt transmission line supported by sixteen steel towers varying in height from 103 to 109 feet and located approximately 1100 feet apart. The tallest tower measures 17 feet by 32 feet at the ground level. There are eight separate wires running from tower to tower. At the lowest sag point between towers there is a clearance of approximately 32 feet. Appellant intends at some undetermined time in the future to construct on the easement another transmission line somewhat smaller than the line now in existence. It has the right to construct still other lines.

Under the terms of the taking appellant has no right to occupy any of the land permanently except that covered by the easement; may not fence or enclose the easement, or use it for any purpose except for the construction, maintenance and use of the transmission lines; and the Ranch has the right to pass back and forth over the easement, to raise crops on it and to use it for any purpose not inconsistent with appellant’s use of the transmission line facilities. At the time of the trial crops were growing on the easement.

The land owned by the Ranch consists of 4939.84 acres in three separate tracts. One tract of 3439.57 acres is separated a distance of 297 feet from a tract of approximately 1250 acres. The third tract, some distance away, consists of 250 acres. The Ranch contends that the three properties are operated as a unit in a business of cattle raising and agriculture.

The manager of the Ranch testified that 3,000 acres of the largest tract are fertile bottom land and the remaining 439 acres are hill land. A levee protects the land from flooding when the Trinity River rises. The 1250-acre tract includes 1000 acres outside the levee. The 250-acre tract includes 100 acres of flood land inside the levee.

At the time of the trial there were many cattle on the ranch. Also there were 850 acres of oats, 1300 acres of maize, 600 acres of coastal Bermuda grass, 2000 acres of Johnson grass and a number of acres in alfalfa.

In answer to four special issues a jury answered that (1) the reasonable market value of the land covered by the easement immediately before the acquisition of the easement was $25,322.50; (2) immediately after, $5,065.50; (3) the value of the remainder immediately before was $834,570; (4) immediately after, $767,804. The judgment of $87,023.60 was based on these findings.

In six points on appeal it is the position of appellant that (1 & 2) there is no evidence, or there is insufficient evidence, to> support the jury’s answer to Special Issue No. 4; (3 & 4) there is no evidence, or there is insufficient evidence, to support the jury’s finding of damages as reflected by its answers to Special Issues Nos. 3 and 4; and (5 & 6) there is insufficient evidence to support the jury’s answers to Special Issues Nos. 1 and 3.

Four experts on real estate values testified in behalf of the Ranch. Three testified in behalf of the appellant. An analysis of their testimony and of the jury’s findings follows:

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Bluebook (online)
395 S.W.2d 866, 1965 Tex. App. LEXIS 2073, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/texas-power-light-co-v-trinity-valley-ranch-co-texapp-1965.