Coast Counties Gas & Electric Co. v. Miller & Lux Inc.

[142]

SPENCE, J.

Plaintiff, a public utility corporation, recovered judgment condemning a right of way for a gas pipe-line across two parcels of farming and grazing land owned by defendants. Defendants appeal from the judgment.

The only issue in the trial court was the amount of compensation to which defendants were entitled. The two parcels may be referred to as the Ayer property and the Thomas property as the interest of the other defendants in said parcels has no bearing upon the questions raised on this appeal. The easement consisted of the right to maintain upon a strip of land 16% feet in width and 3901 feet in length, a steel pipe 10% inches in outside diameter, wrapped and buried under ground at a minimum depth of 36 inches where the land was cultivated, otherwise 24 inches, and the right during the period of construction to pass to and fro over an additional contiguous strip of land 20 feet in width. The plaintiff corporation was not permitted to fence or otherwise inclose any part of the right of way and the use and enjoyment of the strip'for any purpose not inconsistent with the maintenance of the pipe-line was reserved to defendants. The area of the strip amounted to .54 of an acre over the Ayer property and .93 of an acre over the Thomas property. Defendants ’ own witness testified that the full value of the strip of land on the Ayer property was $216 and on the Thomas property was $198. The evidence showed that it would not require over two or three weeks to construct and lay the pipe and that the plaintiff corporation would seldom, if ever, have any occasion to pass over or use the right of way after the pipe was laid. Plaintiff introduced evidence to show that the use of this strip for the purposes of the pipe-line would make no difference in the use or value of the strip to the land owner and would not result in any damage to the balance of the land. Defendants introduced evidence by which they sought to establish severance damage. The jury, however, found that the value of the easement over the Ayer property was $87 and that the value of the easement over the Thomas property was $150. It further found that there was no severance damage to either parcel.

Appellants do not question the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the jury’s findings, but contend that the trial court