Hewitt v. Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern Railroad

Citations

• 19 Pa. Super. 304
• 1902 Pa. Super. LEXIS 90

Syllabus

<p>Railroads — Eminent domain — Elements of damages.</p> <p>Where property is injured by the construction of public works, the owner’s loss is measured by the difference in the market value before and after construction; this includes all the elements of depreciation and represents the whole loss. But the separate items are to be considered, not as distinct items of loss but as they affect the market value. These items have been considered in many cases and embrace the diversion of surface water, the invasion of privacy, the deprivation of means of access, the burden of additional fencing, the change of roads, the imminent danger of fire, not resulting from negligence, and like matters which are to be taken into consideration as affecting the market value of a property as a whole. The inquiry is limited as to whether it will be prejudicial or advantageous to the property as such and not to the owner in any special use he may make of it.</p> <p>Railroads — Eminent domain — Qualification of witnesses.</p> <p>In an action against a railroad company for land damages witnesses are-competent who have lived in the immediate neighborhood of the land for a number of years, are owners of land-, are well acquainted with the plaintiff’s farm immediately before and after the construction of the railroad, and know the location of the land, its uses and products, as well as the general selling price of lands in the neighborhood.</p> <p>Evidence of particular sales is inadmissible to establish a market value. The general selling price in the neighborhood at the timéis the test of value nor is the market value necessarily the price which the land would command in a forced sale by public auction. It is estimated upon a fair consideration of the location of the land, the extent and condition of its improvements, its quantity and productive qualities, and the uses to which it may reasonably be applied taken with the general selling price of lands in the neighborhood at the time.</p> <p