Los Altos School District v. Watson

WOOD (Fred B.), J.

In this proceeding in eminent domain the defendant has taken a timely appeal from the final order of condemnation as that term is used in section 1253 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

He is complaining of an asserted insufficiency of the findings of fact upon which the judgment which determined the right to condemn and fixed the amount of damages is based. Such a question is not within the purview of this appeal, particularly in view of the fact that the notice of appeal was filed more than 60 days after entry of the judgment.

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However, we will discuss the point defendant raises because it bears some relation to the final order of condemnation.

Defendant assigns as reversible error the failure of the trial court expressly to find on the question whether plaintiff had obtained reports from the county planning commission and the state department of education concerning the site and its acquisition, reports required by sections 18403 and 18404 of the Education Code.

Those sections declare that “before

acquiring title

to property for a new school site” the school district board shall

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advise the planning commission having jurisdiction (in this ease, the county planning commission) and the state department of education of the proposed acquisition and “shall not

acquire title

to the property” until it has received the report of each or until 30 days after receipt of the report if the report does not favor the acquisition. (Emphasis added.)

Defendant contends the findings of fact are fatally defective because they are silent on the subject of these reports. There are several answers to this contention.

The findings were completely responsive to all of the issues framed by the complaint and the answer.

The subject of these reports was not a matter which subdivision 3 of section 1244 of the Code of Civil Procedure requires a complaint in eminent domain to contain. A “statement of the right of the plaintiff” as used in section 1244 does not, for example, mean that plaintiff must allege it was empowered by a valid or any resolution of its board to proceed in condemnation.