Vicksburg & Meridian Railroad v. Ragsdale

54 Miss. 200
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 15, 1876
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 54 Miss. 200 (Vicksburg & Meridian Railroad v. Ragsdale) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vicksburg & Meridian Railroad v. Ragsdale, 54 Miss. 200 (Mich. 1876).

Opinion

Simrall, C. J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

In 1857, the Southern Railroad Company (now the Vicksburg and Meridian Railroad Company) was prosecuting the construction of its road eastward from Brandon; and anticipated making a junction with the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, within the course of three years or thereabouts. At the same time, the North-eastern and South-western Alabama Railroad Company were constructing a line of road, pointing to a western terminus at the same place. L. A. Ragsdale, who had become a large proprietor of land at or near the point of the projected junction and intersection, was desirous of reaping the advantages of the enhanced value of his property consequent upon bringing together these roads on his land. As an inducement to the several companies, he made the proposal contained in paper Exhibit A to his bill, offering to donate to each about twenty-seven acres of land. The purpose, as respects the North-eastern and Southwestern Company, was, that it should adopt the land “ as the depot site for the south-west terminus of its road.” The purpose for which the offer was made to the Vicksburg and Meridian Company is thus expressed: “I do further agree to deed to the Southern Railroad Company a strip ” (describing it) “ whenever the said Southern Railroad Company shall likewise in the same manner adopt such strip as the north-eastern or eastern terminus of its road.” Ragsdale agreed that the [206]*206length and position of the depot sites should be arranged as the companies might see fit, provided they all were parallel with each other, and provided that one acre of ground should be set apart for his exclusive use, which should be opposite the eighty-one acres to be granted to the companies. This paper is dated Oct. 12, 1857. On the same day he submitted another proposal to the companies, to make joint purchases of land, and a loan of money by them to him, which was rejected. On March 5, 1858, Ragsdale conveyed by deed twenty-two acres and a fraction, part of that described in Paper A, to the Southern Railroad Company. Immediately following the covenants of warranty are these words: “ It is, however, expressly understood that the above conveyance is made for a location of the Southern Railroad at the crossing of the Southern Railroad with the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, not differing at right angles from the location made by Haupt in 1853 more than one hundred and twenty-five feet.”

The substance of the case stated in the bill is, that the propositions embodied in Paper A and the conveyance in Exhibit C were made by Ragsdale, for the purpose of securing the location of the terminus of the Southern Railroad at the place therein-mentioned. Ragsdale, the complainant, was the owner of adjacent lands, and was desirous that the future city should develop on his domains, rather than on those of rival proprietors. He also contemplated the erection of a hotel convenient to the passenger depot, for the entertainment of travellers. As before stated, the offer in Paper A was addressed to the three companies; but was accepted only by the Southern Railroad Company, to which subsequently most of the land offered in Exhibit A was conveyed by the deed Exhibit C. The complainant alleges that- the company did not enter upon the land and enjoy it for the purpose mentioned in the grant, but abandoned it; and the complainant was notified by the president of the company, Mr. Smedes, that a final location of the depot could not be made until a co-operative arrangement was made with the Alabama Company; that the Southern Railroad Company would only want so much of the land which' he had conveyed to them as would be necessary for railroad purposes, that he might go on and sell [207]*207off tbe property; and, when tbe depot was finally located, a reconveyance would be made of all that was not needed. In lieu of this reconveyance, Ragsdale was to give them other six acres. Finally the Southern Railroad Company, in conjunction with the Mobile and Ohio Railroad Company, selected a place for a passenger depot contiguous to his hotel, the title to which was in him, and which he was required to convey, and did convey reluctantly. Ragsdale alleges that he has continued in possession of the land embraced in Paper A and the Conveyance C ; and that the non-performance by the railroad company of their contract has entailed very heavy losses on him, which he particularizes in his bill.

The railroad company demurred to the bill on two grounds: First, that the Chancery Court has no jurisdiction; second, that a court of law has full and complete jurisdiction. The demurrer was overruled.

The answer of the company admits its intention, in 1857, to intersect the Mobile and Ohio Railroad at or near Meridian, and that Ragsdale submitted the propositions in A and B to the several companies; but denies that they were dependent the one on the other, to be accepted or rejected as a whole. Nor was it necessary for all the companies to accept, in order to make them or either of them obligatory. The respondent accepted the offer in Paper A, but rejected B, because not disposed, nor competent to engage in a large land speculation. The respondent’s board have complied with the terms of the proposal as to the terminus of their road, and have adopted the same. They have made their location within the limits prescribed in the deed Exhibit C, and that is the point of their crossing or intersection with the Mobile and Ohio Road. The answer denies that the respondent or its agent held out false inducements to Ragsdale as to the location of his hotel, and denies that it abandoned the grant in A; but avers that, under that proposal, the respondent, Ragsdale and the Alabama Company were endeavoring to effect an arrangement satisfactory to all parties, for the location of a joint depot, but failed; and that thereupon Ragsdale proposed, and the respondent accepted, the grant in deed Exhibit C. The writing A did not bind the Southern Railroad Company and the Selma Rail[208]*208road Company to erect a joint depot, but only obliged them to intersect the Mobile and Ohio Road within certain limits. The respondent proposed to build their depot at a certain point of the long strip donated; but the Selma Company preferred to build their depot off the'strip. Ragsdale built his hotel, to induce the respondent to make the intersection at the point he desired. Neither Smedes, Emanuel or Wadley had authority to surrender any of the rights of the company, nor have their acts been ratified by its board of managers. The conduct of the company has not been •vacillating touching the location of a passenger depot. During the war, it used temporarily the depot of the Mobile and Ohio Company, a short distance below the point fixed for the permanent location. After the war, it arranged with the Alabama and Mobile and Ohio Companies in the limits described by the respondent and Ragsdale, as set forth in Exhibits 4 and 5 to the answer. The respondent has complied with all the conditions of the grant. It was disclosed in the answer that the company had included the land in Exhibits A and C in a mortgage or trust deed for its creditors. By agreement the trustees were permitted to become parties, and the answer was to have also the office of a cross-bill.

The questions for solution are two: First, Was the Chancellor right in overruling the demurrer to the bill ? second, Is the final decree right on the pleadings and evidence ?

The grounds of the demurrer are that a court of chancery has no jurisdiction, but that a court of law has.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
54 Miss. 200, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vicksburg-meridian-railroad-v-ragsdale-miss-1876.