Williams v. Northern Natural Gas Company

136 F. Supp. 514, 1955 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2448
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Iowa
DecidedDecember 29, 1955
DocketCiv. 639
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 136 F. Supp. 514 (Williams v. Northern Natural Gas Company) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williams v. Northern Natural Gas Company, 136 F. Supp. 514, 1955 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2448 (N.D. Iowa 1955).

Opinion

GRAVEN, District Judge.

In this action the plaintiff, a landowner, seeks to recover damages from the defendant growing out of the defendant’s actions in connection with its pipeline easement across his land. The plaintiff is a citizen of the state of Iowa. The defendant, hereafter referred to as the company, is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the state of Delaware engaged in the distribution of gas. The amount in controversy, exclusive of interest and costs, is in excess of $3,000. The action was originally commenced in the District Court of Iowa in and for Webster County, from which it was removed to this Court. The case was tried to the Court.

The plaintiff is the owner of a tract of land containing approximately 8.75 acres. His father was the prior owner. There are no buildings on the land. The plaintiff lives in the nearby town of Le-high, Iowa. The tract is located on the Des Moines River and is what is known as bottom land. It is overflowed when the river reaches a very high flood stage. *516 The tract is triangular in shape. Bordering the river is a belt of timber consisting of cottonwood trees. The balance of the tract is largely tillable land.

In 1930 the plaintiff’s father, the then owner of the tract, granted an easement, dated December 3d, 1930, to the Missouri Valley Pipe Line Company which was the former corporate name of the defendant. The pertinent portions of that easement are as follows:

“That for the consideration hereinafter expressed, the undersigned (herein called the Grantor, whether one or more) does hereby Grant and Convey unto Missouri Valley Pipe Line Company, a Corporation, (heréin called Grantee) its successors and assigns the right-of-way and easement to construct, maintain and operate pipe lines and appurtenances thereto over and through the following described lands * * *.
“To Have And To Hold unto said Grantee, its successors and assigns, so long as such lines and appurtenances thereto shall be maintained, with ingress to and egress from the premises, for the purpose of constructing, inspecting, repairing, maintaining, and replacing the property of Grantee above described, and the removal of such at will, in whole or in part.
“ * * * [the Grantee] * * * hereby agrees to bury all pipes to a sufficient depth so as not to interfere with cultivation of soil, and to pay any damages which may arise to growing crops or fences from the construction, maintenance and operation of said pipe; * * * Should more than one pipe line be laid under this grant at any time, the sum of Fifty cents per lineal rod for each additional line shall be paid, besides the damages above provided for.
«* # * * *
“Grantee Company further agrees to replace and/or rebuild to the satisfaction of Grantor or his representative any and all damaged parts of all drainage systems that may be damaged by construction of said pipe lines; and also to pay any and all damages to premises, such as damage to trees, shrubs, and buildings — this in addition to damage to crops and fences.
“The consideration for this grant is the sum of Fifty cents per lineal rod for the entire distance over which such pipe line shall traverse said lands. One dollar ($1.00) thereof has been paid on the execution and delivery 'of this instrument. To effectuate this grant the remaining balance must be paid after final survey and ascertainment of the actual length of such line over said lands. The Grantee herein shall have no right to enter said lands for the purpose of constructing such lines until said entire consideration has been fully paid; nor unless the same is paid within twelve months from the date hereof.”

In 1930 the company laid a. pipeline across' the tract. The line came across the river to the land and then on across it to adjoining land. That line is hereafter referred to as the original line. The pipe used was 20 inches in diameter. The pipe was laid in a ditch which was about 3 or 4 feet in depth and about 20 to 24 inches in width. The pipe used was of the type and kind then in general use. The sections of pipe were not welded together. The ditch was apparently dug without the use of machinery. The digging of the ditch for the original line occasioned only temporary inconvenience to the owner and temporary damage to the land. In digging it the defendant made use of about a 20-foot strip through the strip of timber and across the land. There was and is a layer of gravel and some veins of coal underlying the land. The parties are in controversy as to the nature, extent, and value of the gravel and coal.

Sometime prior to 1953, the defendant became concerned about the safety of its pipeline across the plaintiff’s land. *517 Some river erosion had commenced at the extreme upper end of the land. The pipe was contained in a comparatively shallow ditch. It was the view of the defendant that at the time of high flood the pipe might become uncovered and when that occurred the pipe would bow upward and the non-welded joints would give way and that a serious break might occur. In 1953 following surveys made by the defendant, it put in a line of welded pipe in a deeper ditch about 50 feet away from the original line. The new ditch averaged from 14 to 15 feet in depth. In relocating its pipe line the defendant used modern excavating' machinery consisting of a drag line, bulldozers, and caterpillar tractors. Because of the use of such equipment and the deeper depth of the ditch, the defendant made use of a strip from 100 to 200 feet wide across the plaintiff’s land. The defendant removed timber from about a 200-foot strip. The timber removed by the defendant' was buried in the ditch. Following the laying of the new pipe, the old pipe was removed and the old ditch covered. In November, 1953, the plaintiff was notified in writing by the defendant that he was not to excavate soil,' gravel or coal within 100 feet of the new line as such operations might interfere with the line.

The plaintiff, among other damages, seeks to recover for the damages to the crop and timber. The defendant admits its liability for such damages but controverts the amount claimed therefor by the plaintiff. The plaintiff claims that the change in the line and the manner in which the change was made caused other substantial damage to the premises for which he seeks recovery. Part of that claim is based upon the premise that the written notice given him by the defendant in regard to not excavating within 100 feet of the defendant’s line has deprived him of the gravel and coal deposit within that area. It is the view of the Court that the question as to the legal status and effect of that notice is not involved in this action. The other items of damage claimed by the plaintiff are premised upon two theories: one, that the defendant has made use of the easement beyond its scope and, the other, that •the defendant was guilty of negligence in connection with such use.

The first premise raises questions as to the use of an easement by the grantee thereof. It is generally stated that the grantee of an easement is entitled to do what is reasonably necessary for full and proper enjoyment of the rights granted him under the easement. See, e. g., Unverzagt v. Miller, 1943, 306 Mich. 260,

Related

Sinclair Transportation Co. v. Sandberg
2014 COA 76M (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2014)
Basic Chemicals, Inc. v. Benson
251 N.W.2d 220 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1977)
Flynn v. Michigan-Wisconsin Pipeline Company
161 N.W.2d 56 (Supreme Court of Iowa, 1968)
United States v. Parkway Towers, Inc.
282 F. Supp. 341 (E.D. Virginia, 1968)
Jerry Simpson v. Skelly Oil Company, a Corporation
371 F.2d 563 (Eighth Circuit, 1967)
Dwyer v. Houston Pipe Line Co.
364 S.W.2d 736 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1963)
United States v. 3.08 Acres of Land
209 F. Supp. 652 (D. Utah, 1962)
Pitsenbarger v. Northern Natural Gas Co.
198 F. Supp. 665 (S.D. Iowa, 1961)
Williams v. Northern Natural Gas Co.
235 F.2d 782 (Eighth Circuit, 1956)
Time Finance Company v. Beckman
295 S.W.2d 346 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky (pre-1976), 1956)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
136 F. Supp. 514, 1955 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2448, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-northern-natural-gas-company-iand-1955.