Booker v. Venice & Carondelet Railway Co.

Citations

• 101 Ill. 333
• 1882 Ill. LEXIS 89

Syllabus

<p>1. Right of way—sufficiency of petition as to inability to agree with owner. An allegation in a petition by a railway company to condemn land for a right of way, that the petitioner “has not been able to acquire the title, nor the right of way over the Bind, by purchase or by voluntary grant from” the defendants, though not formal, is substantially sufficient under the statute, as showing an inability to agree as to the compensation to be paid.</p> <p>2. Same—as to condemning strip exceeding one hundred feet in width for right of way of railroad—waiver of objection. A judgment condemning a strip of land one hundred and twenty feet wide for a right of way for a railway will not be .reversed because the land condemned exceeds one hundred feet in width, where it does not appear from the record that the additional twenty feet was not necessary, by the pleadings, and no such objection was raised before the court below, either by demurrer or reasons assigned in arrest of judgment. The objection not being made below, must be considered as waived.</p> <p>3. Same—measure of compensation to lessee of premises. In a proceeding to condemn land for a right of way, the jury allowed a lessee of the land taken, whose lease had three years to run, the amount of rent he was to pay per acre for the1 whole term, as to the land condemned, while he contended that for gardening purpose it might yield much more. There was no proof that it would be used for such purpose, and no other damages shown, and it appeared that the lessee had the opti'on of terminating the lease at any time: Held, that the verdict would not be set aside as against the evidence, and that future profits of the land taken were too uncertain to be depended upon as a measure of damages.</p>