Stone v. Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad

Citations

• 257 Pa. 456
• 101 A. 813
• 1917 Pa. LEXIS 759

Syllabus

<p>Eminent domain — Railroad companies — Damages—Measure of damages■ — Farm land — Adaptability for other purposes — Evidence —Admissibility—Rental value — Cross-examination — Selling price of other properties — Charge—Failure to request.</p> <p>1. The rule in ascertaining the measure of damages in eminent domain proceedings is that the jury may consider, not only the present use and condition of the property, but the use to which it was adapted at the time of taking, the prospective advantages at that time attaching to it, a present value for any purpose to which it could reasonably be anticipated the land would in the future be applied, excluding, however, speculative values.</p> <p>2. At the trial of an appeal from an award of viewers in condemnation proceedings where it appeared that the land condemned was suburban property and that a number of similar tracts in the neighborhood had been plotted and sold as building lots, the trial judge properly instructed the jury that “the witnesses gave their reasons for arriving at the conclusion that this was not only a very valuable piece of land as a farm; that it was available for town lots or plots in larger or smaller tracts; that within the last twenty-five or thirty years a good many plots of land have been laid out and have been sold at various prices, and basing their opinions upon the sale of lands thereabouts and of the possible future growth of the community, they arrived at the figures to which they have testified. This is a proper way of arriving at a conclusion under the facts of this case, and it is for you to take into consideration their accuracy and whether their opinions are entitled to the weight plaintiff asks to be given to them.”</p> <p>3. Where in such case the court charged the jury that they might consider “different elements that enter into the- damages such as the inconvenience in getting from one part of the farm to the other; the destruction of the living spring; the damage to the orchard; th