United States v. 26.81 Acres of Land

244 F. Supp. 831, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7347
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Arkansas
DecidedAugust 30, 1965
DocketCiv. Nos. 481, 495
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 244 F. Supp. 831 (United States v. 26.81 Acres of Land) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. 26.81 Acres of Land, 244 F. Supp. 831, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7347 (W.D. Ark. 1965).

Opinion

JOHN E. MILLER, Chief Judge.

Silica Products Company, Inc., (hereinafter referred to as Silica) on January 24, 1964, filed a motion for modification of the court’s instructions to the Commission, or, in the alternative, that the issue of compensation be withdrawn from the Commission and tried to the court without a jury. The ownership of the parties in all the tracts in these two actions is set out in detail in the court’s opinion in 226 F.Supp. 829. The additional instructions that were given to the Commission as a result of the consideration of the motion of Silica appear in the report of the Commission, beginning on page 29 and designated as Addendum No. 3.

Following the decision of the court on March 3, 1964, in 226 F.Supp. 829, the Commission proceeded to hold a hearing for the purpose of ascertaining just compensation. The hearing began on April 13 and was concluded April 16. On May 4, 1964, the report of the Commission was filed.

In awarding just compensation for the surface estate the Commission stated:

“Therefore, the Commission fixes just compensation to the surface owners in Tract No. 1516 (Dyer) at $2,800 and fixes just compensation for the surface owners in Tract No. 1542 (Reis) at $4,400. With respect to Tract No. 1517 (Ford), the Commission finds that the fair market value of the surface from which Tracts Nos. 1517-1, 1517-2, 1517-3, 1517E-1, and 1517E-2 are taken is $13,600, and the fair market value of the remainder is $3,600 on the date of the taking, and therefore fixes just compensation for the taking of Tracts 1517-1, 1517-2, 1517-3, 1517E-1, 1517E-2 in the sum of $10,000.”

There were no objections or exceptions filed to the above awards as to the surface estates, and the court is of the opinion that the findings and conclusions of the Commission fixing compensation for the surface estates, as above set forth, are supported by substantial testimony and are not clearly erroneous. The court, therefore, adopts and approves the awards as to the surface estate, and a separate judgment will be entered fixing just compensation for the surface estate as set forth above. This leaves for consideration the value of the mineral estate in Tracts 1516, 1517-1, 1517-2, 1517-3, 1517E-1, 1517E-2, and 1542.

On May 12, 1964, the Government filed its objections to the report of the Commission. On May 14, 1964, Silica filed a preliminary response to the objections, in which it requested that consideration of the objections be deferred until a transcript of the evidence could be obtained, and that the court extend the time for it to file objections to the report of the Commission for a period of five days from May 13, 1964. The court extended [834]*834the time for the filing of objections, and on May 18 Silica filed its objections to the report of the Commission.

The Government strenuously objects to (1) the failure of the Commission to sustain the Government’s motion to strike the testimony of Mrs. Mertie A. Harris, Sam C. Cook, Jr., Charles E. Baxter, Jr., and Robert L. Markland; (2) to Finding of Fact No. 7 on the ground that such finding of fact was not supported by any competent evidence and was contrary to the clear weight of all the evidence; (3) that the Commission’s Finding of Fact No. 8 is unsupported by any competent evidence and is contrary to the clear weight of all the evidence; (4) that the Commission committed error in failing to sustain the Government’s motion at the conclusion of all of the evidence that it enter an award for the taking of the mineral estate underlying the tracts for an amount no greater than the Government’s testimony, which was zero; (5) that the Commission totally failed to reveal the reasoning it used in deciding that Silica should be awarded $35,000 rather than some other amount; (6) that the award is clearly erroneous (a) as there was no acceptable “unity of use” between the particular 67 acres of silica sand and the silica sand plant owned by Silica at Guión, Arkansas; (b) that there could be no severance damages to the small amount of land owned in fee simple by Silica upon which its plant is located near Guión, Arkansas; (c) that under the valid findings of fact the award to Silica is speculative and conjectural; (d) that the award rests on a conclusion as to damages to Silica which are a consequence of the taking and therefore noncompensable; and (e) that the award to Silica, under the findings of the Commission, is not based alone on the fair market value of the estate taken but rather on special value personal to the condemnee.

The objections of Silica are as follows:

“I. The Commission’s finding of fact No. 10 is contrary to the clear weight of all of the evidence, the vast preponderance of the evidence, and is clearly erroneous. This finding is based solely upon opinion evidence that is demonstrated by the other evidence to be purely speculative and conjectural.
“II. The Commission’s finding of fact No. 14 is vague and ambiguous, the term ‘immediate vicinity’ not being defined.^ If it is meant within a few miles of the deposit, then the finding is irrelevant. If the term means within the actual market area of Silica Products Company on the date of the taking, then the finding is clearly contrary to all of the evidence in the record and clearly erroneous.
“HI. The Commission’s finding of fact No. 21 is contrary to the clear weight of all of the evidence. Finding 21 ignores the principle of law that knowledge in the neighborhood of the imminence of the building of the condemnor’s project and the resultant taking long before the date of taking, and the effect of this general public knowledge upon the value of the lands taken or the use of the lands taken, is not to be considered.
“IV. The Commission’s finding of fact No. 22 is contrary to the clear weight of all of the evidence, and contrary to the vast preponderance of the evidence, and is clearly erroneous.”

The Government has furnished to the court a complete transcript, consisting of 815 pages, along with Government Exhibits 1 through 10, inclusive, and Silica’s Exhibits 1 through 25 inclusive. The parties have submitted excellent briefs and extensive arguments in support of their respective contentions. The court has considered the contentions of the parties and has examined with care the authorities cited in support of their respective contentions.

The 67-aere tract is sometimes referred to as “Martin’s Bluff on the White River.” The tract is approximately seven miles northeast of Springdale, Arkansas, through which city the Frisco Railroad [835]*835runs. Silica has been engaged in the sole business of mining, processing, and selling silica sand principally to glass manufacturers and foundries since prior to 1930. Its mining operations and processing plant has been located at Guión, Arkansas, on the Missouri Pacific Railroad during this period, and for about ten years Silica also operated a small plant at Everton, Arkansas, but because of the abandonment of the Missouri & Arkansas Railroad, the plant at Everton was closed. The Guión plant consists of extensive processing, purifying, screening, grading and mixing equipment and machinery affixed to the realty at the plant site adjacent to the Missouri Pacific Railroad. The processing plant at Guión, Arkansas, is more than 100 miles from the 67 acres involved herein. The so-called reserves or the amount of silica sand at Guión is practically inexhaustible. There the depth of the deposit is approximately 150 feet.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
244 F. Supp. 831, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7347, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-2681-acres-of-land-arwd-1965.