Source: http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/196/239/case.html
Timestamp: 2013-12-12 18:37:16
Document Index: 641929198

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 835', '§ 836', '§ 837', '§ 838', '§ 839', '§ 836']

Madisonville Traction Co. v. St. Bernard Mining Co. - 196 U.S. 239 (1905) :: Justia US Supreme Court Center
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Madisonville Traction Co. v. St. Bernard Mining Co. - 196 U.S. 239 (1905)
Case	U.S. Supreme CourtMadisonville Traction Co. v. St. Bernard Mining Co., 196 U.S. 239 (1905)Madisonville Traction Company v. St. Bernard Mining CompanyNo. 362Submitted November 28, 1904Decided January 16, 1905196 U.S. 239APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED
If the case be a removable one, that is, if the suit, in its nature, be one of which the circuit court could rightfully take jurisdiction, then, Page 196 U. S. 240 upon the filing of a petition for removal, in due time, with a sufficient bond, the case is, in law, removed, and the state court in which it is pending will lose jurisdiction to proceed further, and all subsequent proceedings in that court will be void.
It is for the state, primarily and exclusively, to declare for what local public purposes private property, within its limits, may be taken upon compensation to the owner, as well as to prescribe a mode in which it may be condemned and taken. But the state may not prescribe any mode of taking private property for a public purpose and of ascertaining the compensation to be made therefor which would exclude from the Page 196 U. S. 241 jurisdiction of a circuit court of the United States a condemnation proceeding which in its essential features is a suit involving a controversy between citizens of different states.
The Madisonville Traction Company, a Kentucky corporation, having by its charter authority to construct an electric railroad, filed its application in the County Court of Hopkins County, in that commonwealth, to condemn for its use certain lands belonging to the Saint Bernard Mining Company, a Delaware corporation engaged in mining coal -- the traction company being styled in the application as plaintiff, and the mining company as defendant.
Any company authorized to construct a railroad, if "unable to contract with the owner of any land or material necessary for its use for the purpose thereof," may file in the office of the clerk of the county court a description of such land or material, and have commissioners appointed to assess the damages which the owner is entitled to receive. Kentucky Stat. § 835.
The commissioners are required to make their award of damages in writing, giving the names of the owners, and whether nonresidents of the state, infants, of unsound mind, or married women. Kentucky Stat. § 836.
It is made the duty of the clerk of the court, upon application Page 196 U. S. 242 of the company, to issue process against the owners to show cause why the report should not be confirmed, and make such orders as to nonresidents and persons under disability as are required by the Civil Code of Practice in actions against them in the circuit court. Kentucky Stat. § 837.
At the first regular term, "after the owners shall have been summoned the length of time prescribed by the Civil Code of Practice before an answer is required," the court must examine the report, and pass upon it. Kentucky Stat. § 838.
Upon the confirmation of the report of the commissioners or the assessment of damages by the court, as provided, and the payment to the owners of the amount due, as shown by the report of the commissioners when confirmed, or as shown by the judgment of the court when the damages are assessed by it, and all costs adjudged to the owner, the railroad company becomes entitled to take possession of the land and material, and to use the same for the purpose for which it was condemned as fully as if the title had been conveyed to it. But when an appeal is taken from the judgment of the county court by the company, it is not entitled to take possession of the land or material condemned until it pays into court the damages assessed and all costs. Kentucky Stat. § 839.
The commissioners appointed by the county court in the above proceeding awarded $100 as damages to be paid to the mining company.
Process having issued, the mining company, before any action was taken upon the report, filed its petition and bond for the removal of the case into the circuit court of the United States, alleging, among other things, that the value of the matter in dispute, exclusive of interest and costs, exceeded $2,000. The petition for removal distinctly alleged, as the Page 196 U. S. 243 ground of removal, that the two companies were corporations of different states.
Subsequently, the present original suit in equity was instituted in the federal court by the mining company against the traction company. The bill, repeating the allegations in the petition for removal as to the diverse citizenship of the two corporations, showed that, notwithstanding what had been done to have the cause removed, from the state court, the traction company was about to proceed to have the lands condemned in the case instituted in the county court. Among other things, the bill alleged that plaintiff denied the right of the traction company to have the lands in question condemned, and averred that the report of the commissioners was insufficient in law; that the commissioners acted improperly, unfairly, and unfaithfully in their viewing of the land, in the preparation of their report, and in awarding damages; that $100 was wholly inadequate as compensation, and was assessed and given under the influence of passion and prejudice, or some other illegal motive; that the land sought to be taken was worth, intrinsically, a great deal more than that amount; that the incidental damages done to the property of plaintiff in the construction of the road (which damages, under the laws of Kentucky, the said commissioners should have taken into consideration, and assessed, but did not, § 836) exceeded $2,000; that the plaintiff's property and business will not be benefited in the least degree by the construction or prudent operation of the railroad, and that
"it is proposed to deprive it of over nine acres of its land, which, through its location, is valued at and is worth over $2,500, and is so situated that such Page 196 U. S. 244 deprivation will irreparably injure and damage its remaining land."
1. If a case be a removable one -- that is, if the suit, in its nature, be one of which the circuit court could rightfully take jurisdiction -- then, upon the filing of a petition for removal, in due time, with a sufficient bond, the case is, in