White v. Western Allegheny Railroad

Citations

• 222 Pa. 534
• 71 A. 1081
• 1909 Pa. LEXIS 905

Syllabus

<p>Railroads — Condemnation proceedings — Witness—Expert witness — Preliminary test — Opinion as to values.</p> <p>Before a witness in railroad condemnation proceedings can be allowed to express an opinion as to land values he should be examined as to his knowledge of the land, and his disqualification to express an opinion must be passed upon by the court. The test, however, must not set the standard of qualification so high as to exclude the only available kind of testimony ordinarily obtainable in such cases.</p> <p>A witness is qualified to express an opinion as to land value in condemnation proceedings, where he testifies that he was a farmer, had known the farm in question for a period of forty years, frequently passed through it on the public highway, observed the improvements and quality of the land, knew the boundaries, had some familiarity with land value and general selling price in the neighborhood as a county commissioner and man of affairs in that section, had observed the cut made in the location of the railroad, and was familiar with the conditions before and after the entry. In such a case it is immaterial that the witness cannot recall any particular sales in the neighborhood about the time of the entry, inasmuch as no such sales may have been made.</p> <p>A judgment in favor of a landowner in condemnation proceedings will not be reversed because a speculative answer of a witness was not stricken from the record, if it appears that the answer could not possibly have done the appellant any harm as it was meaningless as bearing upon the amount of damages involved.</p>