Warden v. Philadelphia

Citations

• 167 Pa. 523
• 31 A. 928
• 1895 Pa. LEXIS 943

Syllabus

<p>Municipalities — Eminent domain — Damages.</p> <p>In proceedings to assess damages for property taken by a municipality for a reservoir, the measure of damages is the fair market value of the property at the time it was taken by the city.</p> <p>In such ease the omission of the court to comment on an alleged extraordinary estimate of a witness is not ground for error where the record shows that the trial judge was not requested to comment, favorably or otherwise, on the testimony of any of the witnesses.</p> <p>Plaintiff’s witnesses, upon direct examination, expressed opinions of the value of the land, if it were cut up into lots, and streets opened through it. These witnesses were called and examined without objection, and elaborately cross-examined. After the trial had progressed for two days, and all of plaintiff’s testimony in chief consisting of one hundred and fifty printed pages had. been received, and he had rested, defendant moved “ that the court order that the testimony produced by the plaintiff as to what might have been the value of this property cut up into lots, opening streets, giving frontages', making it entirely different on a plan which did not exist there and does not exist, except in the scheme of the witnesses and the claimants, be stricken from the record.” Held, that the motion was properly overruled.</p>