Pennsylvania Railroad v. City of Reading

Citations

• 254 Pa. 110
• 98 A. 791
• 1916 Pa. LEXIS 692

Syllabus

<p>Practice, C. P. — Change of venue — Public prejudice — Cause— Act of March 18,1909, P. L. 87, Section 1.</p> <p>1. Before a change of venue will he allowed under the Act of March 18, 1909, B. L. 37, Section 1, relating to cases to which the county or a municipality therein is a party and where local prejudice is shown to exist, or where a large number of the inhabitants of the county have an interest adverse to the applicant, it must appear to the court that a fair and impartial trial cannot otherwise be had. A change of venue will not be granted unless real necessity is shown.</p> <p>2. An application for change of venue of a condemnation proceeding in which a city had taken certain property of plaintiff railroad company, was properly refused where the lower court found that an impression had been gained by the public as a result of certain statements-issued by representatives of the plaintiff, due to a misunderstanding of fact, that the land in question was to have been unconditionally given to the city by the plaintiff, that thereafter it appeared that there was a condition to the gift and the gift was not ultimately made; that the newspapers of the city took active sides in the controversy which resulted, and in number they were equally divided in their attitude toward the action of the plaintiff; that none of the hostile publications complained of were made shortly before the trial; and it did not appear that there was any deliberate cooperation between the city or its officials and the newspapers to work up a sentiment in the community antagonistic to the rights of the plaintiff for compensation for the taking of its property, and it further appeared that the opinions of most of the witnesses who testified in support of the application for the change of venue Were based largely on the verdicts in' the first two of the six condemnation proceedings in which plaintiff made claim for damages.</p>