Source: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/247/354.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 21:18:59+00:00

Document:
Messrs. Harry S. Mecartney and John S. Miller, both of Chicago, Ill., for plaintiffs in error. [247 U.S. 354, 355] Messrs. Francis W. Walker, Roger L. Foote, and Addison L. Gardner, all of Chicago, Ill., for defendants in error.
William A. McCoy, testator of plaintiffs in error, owned a hotel situated at the northwest corner of Clark and Van Buren streets, Chicago. During 1897 defendants constructed along the latter street and in front of the building an elevated passenger railroad of the ordinary type and have continued to maintain and operate it. Charging that construction, maintenance, and operation of the railroad had caused and would continue to cause injury to the property by noise, smoke, dirt, shutting off air and light, disturbing privacy, and impairing the freedom of ingress and egress, and that its market value had been greatly reduced, McCoy brought a common-law action (September, 1902) in a state court to recover the entire damage.
'During the years 1896 and 1897 what is generally known as the 'loop' was constructed, under authority conferred by ordinances of the city of Chicago, for the joint use of the three systems above mentioned and an- [247 U.S. 354, 356] other elevated system then in course of construction. The loop consists of an elevated structure in the streets encircling the central portion of the business district of the city, upon which are laid tracks for the passage of the elevated trains of all of the defendant companies completely around the central portion of the business district. Before the construction of the loop the elevated trains of the defendant companies stopped at their respective terminals. The structure forming the south side of the loop was placed in that portion of Van Buren street extending from Wabash avenue on the east to Fifth avenue on the west, Clark street being one of the streets intersecting Van Buren street between these two avenues.
'Stations to permit passengers to board and leave the elevated trains were established at intervals around the loop and stairways were constructed leading from each station to the surface of the street. One of these stations in Van Buren street was established at La Salle street, about 100 feet west from the McCoy Hotel, and another was established at Dearborn street, about 300 feet east from the hotel. The elevated structure in Van Buren street obstructed the passage of light to the storerooms in McCoy's building, and the noise from the passage of trains over the structure and the fact that passing trains were on a level with the windows of the second floor of the building rendered the rooms on the south side of the second and third floors of the building less desirable for hotel purposes. Large upright columns supporting the elevated structure were placed just inside the curb in front of the premises and rendered the premises less accessible from the street.
'There is no material controversy over the facts in the case. The witnesses all agree that the matters above mentioned, when considered by themselves, would be detrimental to the premises. They also agree that there was a steady increase of from 5 to 10 per cent. per year [247 U.S. 354, 357] in the value of the premises from the construction of the loop until 1905. It also appears from the evidence that the rents from the storerooms on the ground floor constantly increased after 1897. The plaintiff called but one real estate expert as a witness. He testified that the damages to the property from the construction of the elevated structure, and the operation of the trains thereon, amounted to $81,999, being 15 per cent. of the value which the witness placed upon the interest of McCoy in the premises. He admitted that there had been a continuous increase in the value of the premises since the completion of the loop, and that a port on of that increase, which he said it was impossible to estimate, was due to the increased travel brought to the premises by the elevated railroad, but that he did not take that into consideration in fixing the damages.
During the trial, over plaintiff's objections, questions concerning evidence were determined in accordance with [247 U.S. 354, 358] repeated rulings by the Illinois Supreme Court that the effect of construction, maintenance, and operation of an elevated road upon market value was the point for determination, and that increase in such value caused by the improvement itself should be considered and treated as a special benefit, although enjoyed by other neighborhood property.
'The jury are instructed that the Constitution of this state provides that 'private property shall not be taken or damaged for public use without just compensation.' This action is brought by plaintiff for an alleged damage to the property of plaintiff arising from the construction [maintenance and operation] of the structure in the abutting street for elevated railroad purposes. Such damages in the eye of the law can only be a loss in the market value of the property arising from the said construction [maintenance and operation] for the purposes aforesaid. Whether the premises in question have in fact been so damaged is for the jury to find from the evidence, according to the method and within the limitations of other instructions given you.
'The court instructs the jury that 'benefits' and 'damages' spoken of in the instruction mean benefits and damages to the market value thereof, and that by the term 'market value' of property, as used in these instructions, is meant the price at which the owner, if desirous of selling, would under ordinary circumstances surrounding the sales of property have sold the property for, and what a person desirous as purchaser would have paid for it under the same circumstances.
The words 'maintenance and operation' were inserted in the first of these requests and as thus amended it was given; the others were refused.
'The court instructs the jury that benefits and damages spoken of in these instructions mean benefits and damages to the fair cash market value thereof, and that by the term 'fair cash market value of the property,' as used in these instructions, is meant its value as determined by what it would sell for in the market for cash in the due course of business. This does not mean the price at which it would sell under special circumstances, ut its value as sold in the market under ordinary circumstances for cash, and not on time, and assuming that the owner is willing and not compelled to sell, and the purchaser is willing and under no compulsion to purchase.
'The jury is instructed that, if you believe from the evidence that plaintiff's premises have been increased in their fair cash market value by the construction, maintenance, and operation of defendants' said railroad, and if you also believe from the evidence that other property in the neighborhood of the plaintiff's premises not abutting upon the defendants' railroad have been likewise increased in their fair cash market value by the construction, maintenance, and operation of said railroad, but to a greater extent than the plaintiff's said premises, you have no right from that fact to find that the plaintiff's premises have been damaged.
'Special benefits are such benefits as are special or peculiar to a particular piece of property, and which beneficially affect its fair cash market value, as distinguished from those benefits which are common to the [247 U.S. 354, 360] public at large, and which are termed general benefits; and you are instructed that in determining the effect of the construction, maintenance, and operation of defendants' elevated railroad upon the fair cash market value of plaintiff's said premises, you are not to take into consideration any general benefits which you may believe from the evidence to have arisen out of the construction, maintenance, and operation of said elevated railroad, but you should take into consideration special benefits, if any, shown by the evidence to plaintiff's said premises from the construction, maintenance, and operation of defendants' said elevated railroad.
'The jury is instructed that, if you believe from the evidence that the property of the plaintiff described in the declaration of this case was enhanced in its fair cash market value by reason of the construction, maintenance, and operation of the elevated railroad of the defendant, such increase in market value is a special benefit to the property of the plaintiff, and not a general benefit, notwithstanding you may believe from the evidence that the other property in the vicinity of plaintiff's property also was enhanced in fair cash market value to a greater or less degree by reason of the construction, maintenance, and operation of defendants' said elevated railroad.
'(3) To estimate to what extent such structure put or dedicated to such use, would reduce that market value. That is, to capitalize the permanent interference, i. e., damage. (As laid down in Lewis [3d Ed .] 693).
'In the trial court the main conflict was waged over the question as to whether or not the court should admit on behalf of defendants evidence of 'general' or 'travel' benefits occurring from the establishment of the loop in its entirety, or whether the evidence should be held down to the issue of 'direct, proximate, and physical effect.' Said court, following the late ruling of the Illinois Supreme Court in Brand v. Union Elev. R. R. Co., 258 Ill. 133, 101 N. E. 247, Ann. Cas. 1914B, 473, L. R. A. 1918A, 878 (a review of which was asked in this court in 238 U.S. 586 , 35 Sup. Ct. 846, same title), tried the case upon the basis of allowing this special damage to be offset or reduced by, or considered in connection with, the estimated amount of market benefit that accrued to the premises from 'travel benefits."
And they now maintain that the judgment below is erroneous because it : (1) Impairs the contract which their testator made when he purchased the property contrary to section 10, art. 1, Federal Constitution; (2) denies to them [247 U.S. 354, 363] the equal protection of the law; and (3) deprives them of property without due process of law in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. The first claim is clearly untenable; the contract clause prohibits legislative, not judicial, action. Ross v. Oregon, 227 U.S. 150, 161 , 164 S., 33 Sup. Ct. 220, Ann. Cas. 1914C, 224; Moore-Mansfield Co. v. Electrical Co., 234 U.S. 619, 623 , 624 S., 34 Sup. Ct. 941; Frank v. Mangum, 237 U.S. 309, 344 , 35 S. Sup. Ct. 582. Nothing in the record affords support for the second claim. The third demands consideration.
We may examine proceedings in state courts for appropriation of private property to public purposes so far as to inquire whether a rule of law was adopted in absolute disregard of the owner's right to just compensation. If the necessary result was to deprive him of property without such compensation, then due process of law was denied him, cont ary to Fourteenth Amendment. Chicago, Burlington, etc., R. R. v. Chicago, 166 U.S. 226, 246 , 17 S. Sup. Ct. 581; Backus v. Fort Street Union Depot Co., 169 U.S. 557, 565 , 18 S. Sup. Ct. 445; Fayerweather v. Ritch, 195 U.S. 276, 298 , 25 S. Sup. Ct. 58. Our concern is not to ascertain whether the rule adopted by the state is the one best supported by reason or authority nor with mere errors in course of trial, but with denial of a fundamental right. Appleby v. Buffalo, 221 U.S. 524, 532 , 31 S. Sup. Ct. 699. And see McGovern v. New York, 229 U.S. 363, 371 , 33 S. Sup. Ct. 876, 46 L. R. A. (N. S.) 391. And here it must be noted that the claim is for damages to property not actually taken from the owner's dominion.
This doctrine was again expressly affirmed in Brand v. Union Elevated Railroad, 258 Ill. 133, 101 N. E. 247, Ann. Cas. 1914B, 473, L. R. A. 1918A, 878, a proceeding like the present one to recover damages caused by constructing, maintaining, and operating an elevated railroad along the street. The trial court below accepted and applied the approved rule, and we are now asked to declare that it absolutely disregards the owner's fundamental right to just compensation; that it necessarily deprives him of such compensation.
The fundamental right guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment is that the owner shall not be deprived of the market value of his property under a rule of law which makes it impossible for him to obtain just compensation. [247 U.S. 354, 366] There is no guaranty that he shall derive a positive pecuniary advantage from a public work whenever a neighbor does. It is almost universally held that in arriving at the amount of damage to property not taken allowance should be made for peculiar and individual benefits conferred upon it; compensation to the owner in that form is permissible. And we are unable to say that he suffers deprivation of any fundamental right when a state goes one step further and permits consideration of actual benefits- enhancement in market value-flowing directly from a public work, although all in the neighborhood receive like advantages. In such case the owner really loses nothing which he had before; and it may be said with reason, there has been no real injury.
See Martin v. District of Columbia, 205 U.S. 135 , 27 Sup. Ct. 440.

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