Oak Grove Water Co. v. Thompson

Citations

• 235 Pa. 486
• 84 A. 502
• 1912 Pa. LEXIS 574

Syllabus

<p>Corporations — Water companies — Bond in condemnation proceedings — Act of April 29, 187b, P■ L. 78 — Practice, C. P. — Petition.</p> <p>1. The court of common pleas is justified in refusing to approve a bond offered by a water company in condemnation proceedings, where the only proof relied upon by the company as to the presentation of the bond to the owner and that the owner and the company could not agree upon the amount of damages claimed, is the affidavit of a person who is not shown by the record to have had any connection whatever with the company.</p> <p>2. Where a water company filed a bond in condemnation proceedings and the owner excepts to the bond on the ground that there was no averment or proof that the company was a Pennsylvania corporation, or that it had the power to appropriate land and waters in the jurisdiction of the court, and further that the company had no authority either by statute or by charter to appropriate the land and water described in the bond, and the company, although filing answers denying averments in the exceptions, does nothing further to substantiate the answers, the court of common pleas will be justified, after the expiration of a year, in entering a decree refusing to approve of the bond.</p> <p>3. Although the Act of April 29, 1874, P. L. 73, under which water companies are incorporated and given the right of eminent domain, does not require a formal petition to be presented to the court asking for the approval of a bond refused by a landowner when tendered to him by the company to secure to him damages for the taking of his property, the proper and better practice is to file such a petition at the time the approval of the bond is asked for.</p> <p>4. Such a petition should set forth (1) the corporate power of the water company to take the land under the right of eminent domain; (2) an accurate description of the land by metes and bounds, evidenced by an accompanying draft of the same; (3) the failure of the company an