Title: Keziah v. Seaboard Air Line Railroad Company
Citation: 158 S.E.2d 539, 272 N.C. 299
Docket Number: 549
State: north-carolina
Issuer: north-carolina Supreme Court
Date: January 12, 1968

158 S.E.2d 539 (1968) 272 N.C. 299 Albert L. KEZIAH and wife, Norma P. Kezlah, and Clegg A. Keziah and wife, Helen O. Keziah, Plaintiffs, v. SEABOARD AIR LINE RAILROAD COMPANY, Defendant. No. 549. Supreme Court of North Carolina. January 12, 1968. *543 Clark &amp; Huffman, Monroe, for plaintiff appellants. Cansler &amp; Lockhart, Charlotte, for defendant appellee. BRANCH, Justice. The first and principal question for decision is whether the charter granted to Wilmington and Charlotte Railroad Company by the 1854-1855 Session of the General Assembly by Chapter 225 granted a right of way 100 feet wide on each side of defendant's main track, measuring from the center of same. It is of interest to note that in the case of Carolina Cent. R. R. v. McCaskill, 94 N.C. 746, one of defendant's corporate predecessors was plaintiff and the act before us in the instant case was therein construed. In that case the railroad brought an action in ejectment to recover possession of property located within 100 feet of the center line of the railroad company's track. Defendant claimed the property it occupied by virtue of deeds of conveyance. Affirming the judgment of the lower court for the plaintiff this Court stated: The McCaskill case was modified in the case of Railroad Co. v. Sturgeon, 120 N.C. 225, 26 S.E. 779, where the Court considered similar conditions and the same statutory language as in McCaskill, and held that the railroad did not acquire a title to the land, but acquired an easement which entitled it to possession of the whole right of way only when it should appear that it was necessary for the conduct of its business. In the case of Southern R. R. v. Lissenbee, 219 N.C. 318, 13 S.E.2d 561, the railroad brought action to require defendant to remove obstructions around its signal and switching system, and to restrain defendant from interfering with its equipment. Defendant contended the right of way of plaintiff was limited and it had no rights on places where the electric signal was situated. Plaintiff contended that its charter granted by statutory presumption a right of way 100 feet on each side of the center line of its track and over the property of the defendant. Plaintiff's charter contained a section substantially the same as section 28 of Chapter 225, Session 1854-1855, hereinbefore set out. The Court, affirming judgment in favor of plaintiff, stated: Again, in the case of Carolina &amp; N. W. R. R. v. Piedmont Wagon &amp; Manufacturing Co., 229 N.C. 695, 51 S.E.2d 301, the Court considered provisions in a charter similar to those pertinent to the instant case, and held: Appellants correctly contend that when defendant relies on a statutory presumption to establish its right of way, the burden is upon defendant to show by a preponderance of the evidence every fact out of which the presumption arises, i. e., that defendant entered upon the land and constructed its tracks in the absence of any contract with the owner and that the persons owning the land when the road was finished did not apply for compensation within two years, as provided by statute. Barker v. Southern R. R., supra; Earnhardt v. Southern R. R., supra. Here, defendant railroad company offered uncontradicted evidence of entry and construction of the railroad over ninety years ago, without any contract with the owner or owners. Plaintiffs neither by allegation nor proof controverted this evidence. Manifestly, sufficient time has long since elapsed for acquiring the right of way by statutory presumption. Other than evidence of the alleged trespass, the essence of appellants' evidence was that there were Western Union poles on the property in controversy and that there was a fence within 80 feet of defendant railroad company's main track; that certain conveyances tend to show that the southern boundary of plaintiffs' line is 35 to 50 feet from the center line of the track, and that *546 other adjoining land appears about 50 feet from the center of the track. It is well settled by statute and precedent in this jurisdiction that when a railroad has acquired and entered upon the enjoyment of its easement, the further appropriation and use by it of the right of way for necessary railroad business may not be destroyed or impaired by reason of the occupation of it by the owner or any other person. G.S. § 1-44; Carolina Cent. R. R. v. McCaskill, supra; Atlantic Coast Line R. R. v. Bunting, 168 N.C. 579, 84 S.E. 1009. Further, the fact that others own fee in the right of way and such ownership is indicated by deed or map appearing in the public registry presents no evidence of probative force that the right of way does not belong to the railroad, since it only has an easement which it may exercise to the full extent when in its judgment the necessities of its business so require. Appellants argue that the presumption created by charter granted in Chapter 225, Private Laws of 1854-1855, cannot apply to a tract of land over which the railroad is not constructed. In this connection, appellants rely strongly on the case of Wearn v. North Carolina R. R., 191 N.C. 575, 132 S.E. 576, which states: Appellants, of course, rely on subsection (3) quoted above to sustain their position. The facts in the Wearn case, on which appellants rely, are distinguishable from the instant facts, in that in Wearn the defendants claimed an easement by virtue of a grant from the Town of Charlotte and from one Peter M. Brown, and also by virtue of the statutory presumption. In Wearn it is stated: "It has also been determined that a railroad company cannot claim under a deed and also under a statutory presumption." Hickory v. Southern R. R., 137 N.C. 189, 49 S.E. 202. The Wearn case further stated: The Tighe case, cited above, is a case in which the defendant railroad company acquired by deed a less width of land as a right of way than that authorized by its charter, and action was brought to recover damages for alleged encroachment upon the property of the plaintiffs in the construction of defendant's track. There was evidence which tended to show that only one-quarter of an acre was used and occupied by the railroad company. The Court, holding that only by condemnation *547 and payment of compensation to the owner could the railroad company occupy more than was conveyed by deed, stated: Here, defendant railroad did not acquire the right of way in dispute by a restricted conveyance, nor did it rely on both a conveyance and a statutory presumption. It claims only by virtue of the statutory presumption authorized by its charter, which presumption is not restricted to the owner or owners over whose land the track is constructed. In light of present day land values, the density of the population and the highly developed state of our economy, we might, at first glance, question the policy of liberal acquisition of properties granted to railroad corporations by the legislature. However, the policy-making power of the legislature is not within our province, and the policy adopted by the legislature in the early history of railroad building in this state is justified in the case of Seaboard Air Line R. R. v. Olive, supra, from which we quote: Defendant had the burden of proof to establish all the facts giving rise to the statutory presumption, i. e., entry and construction of the road in absence of any contract in relation to the land, and inaction on the part of the owner of the land for over two years after building of the road. All the evidence, without conflict, tends to support its claim that the statutory presumption has arisen. Thus, defendant was not entitled to a nonsuit, but was entitled, upon proper issues being submitted to the jury, to a peremptory instruction that it is the owner of a right of way over the land in controversy to the extent of the land over which said road was constructed, together with a space 100 feet on each side of the center of said road, for railroad purposes, whenever and to the extent necessary for the operation of its trains or the performance of its duties and obligations to the public as a common carrier. Further, plaintiffs contend that the trial judge erred in allowing defendant's motion for judgment as of nonsuit because there is testimony in the record that defendant parked one of its trucks 125 feet from the center of the railroad track (which is admittedly beyond the right of way claimed by defendant), and that the entry upon the land of plaintiffs was unauthorized. Any unauthorized entry on land in the actual or constructive possession of another constitutes a trespass, irrespective of degree of force used or whether actual damage is done. Such entry entitled the aggrieved party to at least nominal damages. Schafer v. Southern R. R., 266 N.C. 285, 145 S.E.2d 887; Letterman v. English Mica Co., 249 N.C. 769, 107 S.E.2d 753; Matthews v. Forrest, 235 N.C. 281, 69 S.E.2d 553; Whitley v. Jones, 238 N.C. 332, 78 S.E.2d 147. Considering the evidence in the light most favorable to plaintiffs, as we are required to do on motion for nonsuit, and construing the pleadings in the light most favorable to plaintiffs, there appears to be sufficient evidence to carry the case to the jury, although the damages shown would seem to be only nominal. For reasons stated, we hold that the trial judge erred in granting defendant's motion for nonsuit. Reversed.