Baker v. Detrich

Citations

• 268 Pa. 76
• 110 A. 747
• 1920 Pa. LEXIS 631

Syllabus

<p>Eminent domain — Talcing land for lateral railroad — Damages—■ Agricultural purposes — Underlying minerals — Evidence.</p> <p>1. In a proceeding to determine damages due to an owner of a farm over which a lateral railroad is being constructed, where it appears that 14 acres of the 150 acres constituting the farm are underlaid with a peculiar and valuable kind of limestone, and that this portion is cut off by a creek from the rest of the farm, and that the railroad is being constructed beside the base of a cliff along the creek in such a way as to interfere with the quarrying of the limestone, the measure of damages is the market value of the land before and after the taking, and not the value of the farm as a farm useful for agricultural purposes only.</p> <p>2. In such a case it is proper to permit the owner to show that the farm had a special value as a source of supply of limestono useful for fluxing’ purposes in the manufacture of steel, distinct and apart from its value for agriculture; that the farm was ripe and ready for development for that special purpose; to he followed by evidence of witnesses familiar with the value of such limestone lands, showing the market value for such land.</p> <p>Appeals — Evidence—Rejection—Wrong reason for rejection — • Harmless error.</p> <p>3. Where an offer of evidence is objected to by counsel for a wrong reason, and the court rejects the offer for another and also a wrong reason, the error of the court in rejecting the offer, for the reason stated by himself, would be unimportant and harmless error only if the objection made by counsel had been well taken. The evidence having been rejected, the error is complete.</p>