Goodman v. Southern Pacific Co.

DEVINE, J. pro tem.

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In 1872, plaintiffs’ predecessors in interest, Alfred and Mariano Gonzales, conveyed to Southern Pacific Branch Railway Company, predecessor of defendant Southern Pacific Company, a right of way at Gonzales in Monterey County, for the railroad to run from San Francisco to Los Angeles. In 1873, they conveyed 20 acres of land surrounding the right of way at Gonzales, and it is this property which is the subject of the present lawsuit. The grant was in fee simple but in it was a defeasance clause to be operative in event the land should not be used for railroad purposes. The action which gives rise to this appeal is one for declaratory judgment, in which plaintiffs seek a declaration of their right to parts of the land which, they allege, are not used for railroad purposes. Judgment having been rendered for defendants Southern Pacific Company and its lessees, plaintiffs appeal.

It is conceded by plaintiffs’ that parts of the 20 acres are used for railroad purposes, such as tracks, signal devices, bunkhouses and the like, and plaintiffs do not seek defeasance as to those parts. The other parts of the land may be considered in three categories: land not used at all, land used for businesses which do considerable amounts of shipping by the railroad, and land used by local enterprises which do not patronize the railroad except perhaps incidentally.

The trial court, in declaring the rights of the parties, adjudged that the reversionary right remains, to become effective if the land ceases to be used for railroad purposes. The court held that the railroad has the right to use the property “for any and all lawful purposes as long as the use for railroad purposes is not obstructed or interfered with and use thereof for railroad purposes does not cease.” The court found that the uses to which the land was put were for railroad purposes, except that temporary uses under leases and permits have been permitted, and that these temporary uses do not interfere with use for railroad purposes.

We consider first the unused portion of the grant. It was the conclusion of the court that this property was being

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retained for railroad purposes, and the conclusion is well justified by the history of the original grant, by a more recent event described below which shows how the railroad uses develop, and by prospects for the future. When the land was deeded in 1873 it must have been apparent to the grantors that it would be many years before it would be used for purposes having to do with the operation of the railroad. In fact the deed expressly preserved the rights of the then lessees, whoever they may have been. When the main line between San Francisco and Los Angeles was to be built, no doubt the Gonzales family which, according to the testimony, still holds a large area of ranch lands, deemed it worth while to deed the comparatively small rectangle which is the subject of this case. The recent event to which reference has been made is the construction of a spur track a few years ago to a vacuum cooling plant, the track running across an area of the property which had remained unused for some 70 or more years since the grant. As the trial judge noted in his memorandum opinion, had this action been brought 10 or 15 years ago and a forfeiture granted, the town of Gonzales might have lost an industry, and the railroad, a customer. As to the future, there was the testimony of the district freight and passenger agent of the railroad that the unused lands are retained “for future industrial expansion and whatever use it might be required for railroad operating purposes.” The trial judge personally inspected the property. He took note of the increase in population of California.