JARRETT LUMBER CORPORATION, PLAINTIFF IN ERROR,
v.
MAGGIE CHRISTOPHER AND P. J. CHRISTOPHER, DEFENDANTS IN ERROR
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Jarrett Lumber Corporation appealed a judgment awarding damages to property owners for trespass committed by constructing a railroad track on a street abutting their land without permission. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed, holding that owners of soil underlying streets may recover full damages for unauthorized railroad construction and operation, not limited to pre-suit damages.
The entire damage done to abutting property by construction and operation of a railroad may be recovered in a single trespass action, and recovery should not be limited to damages sustained before the action commenced. The trial court properly admitted testimony regarding property values before and after railroad construction, and the jury verdict was supported by substantial evidence.
“The construction of a steam railroad track and the running of steam railroad trains thereon is an added burden upon a street not contemplated by a mere dedication of land for ordinary street purposes; and for such added burden the owner of the soil has appropriate remedies.”
Establishes the legal principle that railroad construction constitutes a distinct harm beyond ordinary street use, giving property owners remedies for damages.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJarrett Lumber Corporation constructed a steam railroad track on a street abutting land owned by Maggie Christopher and P. J. Christopher without thei…
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Whitfield, J.
This action was brought by the defendants in error to recover damages for a trespass committed by the corporation in constructing without permission a steam railroad track on a street abutting plaintiff’s lands, the soil of the street on which the railroad was built being the property of the plaintiffs subject to the street easement. There was a plea of not guilty and verdict and judgment for the plaintiffs. The defendant took writ of error, and contends here that the trial court erred in not limiting the recovery to the damages which accrued before this action was brought, and that the recovery is excessive.
The construction of a steam railroad track and the running of steam railroad trains thereon is an added burden upon a street not contemplated by a mere dedication of land for ordinary street purposes; and for such added burden the owner of the soil has appropriate remedies. See Seaboard Air Line Ry. v. Southern Inv. Co., 53 Fla. 832, 44 South. Rep. 351; Jacksonville, T. & K. W. Ry. Co. v. Lockwood, 33 Fla. 573, 15 South. Rep. 327.
In an action of trespass qua-re clausum fregit against a railroad company for constructing and operating a railroad over plaintiff’s land covered by the street, the entire damage done to plaintiff’s abutting property by the construction and proper operation of the railroad may be recovered in an action, and the recovery should not be limited to damage sustained anterior to the commencement of the action; and it is not error to admit testimony as to the market value of the property before and after the construction of the road. Jacksonville, T. & K. W. Ry. Co. v. Lockwood, 33 Fla. 573, 15 South. Rep. 327.
In this case the only plea is the general issue of not guilty, and there is nothing in the record to indicate that the railroad constructed on the plaintiffs’ soil which is called a log road used for mill purposes is not a permanent structure, so as to take it out' of the above rule.
There is substantial evidence to sustain the amount of the verdict, and it does not appear that the jury were not governed by the evidence. No material errors are shown, and the judgment is affirmed.
Shackleford, C. J., and Taylor, Cockrell and Hocket, J. J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Kendry v. State Rd. Dep't of Fla., 213 So. 2d 23 (Fla. 4th DCA 1968)…e servient estate. Such conduct has been recognized as involving a taking under the Florida Constitution. Seaboard Air Line Ry. v. Southern Investment Company, 1907, 53 Fla. 832, 44 So. 351, 355, 357; Jarrett Lumber Corporation v. Christopher, 1913, 65 Fla. 379, 61 So. 831; and Moore v. Choctawhatchee Electric Cooperative, Inc., Fla.App.1967, 196 So. 2d 788. In Seaboard Air Line Ry. v. Southern Investment Company, supra, the court held that the use of a street by the defendant for a street railway, where t…
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Tampa & Gulf Coast R.R. Co. v. Mulhern, 73 Fla. 146 (Fla. 1917)…m railroad trains thereon is an added burden upon a street, not contemplated by the mere dedication of land for ordinary street purposes, and for such added burden the owner of the .soil has appropriate remedies.” Jarrett Lumber Corp. v Christopher, 65 Fla. 379, 61 South. Rep. 831. It is clear therefore that it is for the damage to his abutting land that he is entitled to compensation, and no question of an implied sale enters into- the act complained of. His damage and injury arising from tort, the remedy…
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Reginald C. Kendry et ux. v. Division OF Administration, 366 So. 2d 391 (Fla. 1978)…ated the restriction in the easement imposing an additional burden on the servient estate, which could amount to a taking.2 Moore v. Choctawhatchee Electric Co-Operative, Inc., 196 So. 2d 788 (Fla. 1st DCA 1967); Jarrett Lumber Corp. v. Christopher, 65 Fla. 379, 61 So. 831 (1913); Seaboard Air Line Ry. v. Southern Investment Company, 53 Fla. 832, 44 So. 351 (1907). The district court also found that where construction by the state causes flooding of abutting private property, amounting to a permanent invas…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Seaboard Air Line Railway v. S. Inv. Co., 53 Fla. 832 (Fla. 1907)
- Jacksonville v. Lockwood, 33 Fla. 573 (Fla. 1894)