Widow & Heirs of Koerber v. New Orleans Levee Board

Citations

• 51 La. Ann. 523
• 25 So. 415
• 1899 La. LEXIS 433

Syllabus

<p>Syllabus.</p> <p>1. Where plaintiff sues for a certain amount for injury done to his property by defendant, and the latter has, after an answer filed by them, pleading the general issue, restored the property to its original condition, he is entitled to set up that fact by supplemental answer. The issues in a case of that character are not changed by such answer.</p> <p>The whole tendency of later jurisprudence is towards extending the privilege of amendment as far as is consistent with substantial justice and not in; opposition to express statutes.</p> <p>Multiplicity of suits and creation of oppressive costs are thus avoided.</p> <p>,2. Ordinarily private property should be taken for public use only by regular judicial proceedings, but there are occasions when the public safety requires and justifies the taking by the State of such property under the exercise of its police powers. It Is the duty of the State to save the owner thoroughly harmless under such circumstances.</p> <p>.3.' The Board of Levee Commissioners of the Orleans Levee Board is a “body politic” with corporate powers, with the right granted to it to sue and be sued. It was created as a governmental public agency to represent the State in dealing with the matters and things placed under its control by the statutes referring to it.</p> <p>'The object of the Board was to protect the property within the district from overflow as rapidly and effectually as possible by the construction and repair of all levees, whether on river, lake, canal or elsewhere, necessary for that purpose.</p> <p>'To that end it was granted the franchise and power to do and perform ail things needful to carry out the purposes of the act and vested with discretionary power of action in cases of emergency.</p> <p>•4. The right and power of the Board to act in emergency cases was not made by law conditional upon having obtained prior thereto the approval and consent of the State Board of Engineers.</p> <p>The provisions of the l