Court Opinion

ID: 9778754
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 21:19:16.932489+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:33:12.087715
License: Public Domain

SHARPE, Justice
(concurring).
I concur in affirmance of the judgment below for the reasons stated in this opinion.
In my view, all of appellants’ five points of error are squarely answered by appel-lee’s single counterpoint and the argument made thereunder. Appellee’s basic position is that the withdrawal of the commissioners’ award by the landowner made it unnecessary for appellee, the condemning authority, to go forward with any evidence and left for determination only the issues of damage caused by the taking, placing reliance upon the case of State v. Jackson, 388 S.W.2d 924 (Tex.1965), and the cases therein cited. That correct contention requires affirmance of the judgment.
Appellants’ argument in support of their points is primarily based upon the case of Wilbarger County v. Hall, 55 S.W.2d 797 (Tex.Comm.App.1932, judgment approved, but opinion not adopted by the Supreme Court). Appellants’ brief contains the following statement: “The case comes down to simply this — Is Appellant within the jurisdictional holding of Wilbarger County (Com. A), 55 SW (2) 797, or within the waiver holding of State v. Jackson, — Tex. —, 388 SW (2) 924; the two cases are not in conflict; this case is controlled by the Wilbarger County holding, and Appellant is entitled to dismissal.” In my view, appellants’ reliance upon Wilbarger is misplaced for several reasons. There the evidence did not show that the landowner had withdrawn the amount of the award deposited in the registry of the court, and there was no question about the effect of a withdrawal upon the jurisdiction of the county court to try the condemnation case; nor was there such withdrawal in any of the cases cited by Wil-barger as authority for its holding that the condemnation proceeding there involved was a nullity. Further, in Wilbarger and the cases therein cited it appeared that the condemnor was proceeding to condemn in a manner not authorized under the statutes, particularly because the County was seeking to condemn on its own initiative for State Highway purposes; and in each case the Court held that the County was required to file the cases on behalf of the State Highway Commission, and that suits filed on the sole initiative of the County were void. The cases relied upon by appellants turn on the interpretation of the particular statute involved and are not relevant to the case now before us. In Wilbarger there was an attempt to confer jurisdiction by agreement, while in State v. Jackson, supra, in the cases cited therein, and in the instant case, there was no such attempt. Here the judgment of the trial court is premised *322upon the view that the landowners are precluded from asserting that the condemning authority had no right to take their property under the power of eminent domain because they withdrew the commissioners’ award. In effect, the appellants elected to withdraw the award and to seek additional damages rather than to contest appellee’s right to condemn. See Crockett v. Housing Authority of City of Dallas, 274 S.W.2d 187, 190 (Tex.Civ.App.1954 n.w.h.) which case is referred to in footnote 2 of State v. Jackson, at 388 S.W.2d 925. I believe that the holding in State v. Jackson, supra, controls the disposition of this case rather than that in Wilbarger County v. Hall, supra.
I am further of the view that Section 3 of Article 3268, V.A.C.S., need not be considered in support of appellee’s position here. The first portion of that section is clearly applicable to a case where it is finally determined that the right to condemn does not exist, which necessarily involves the premise that said issue can be properly litigated; and, further, the damages there involved are those accruing to the defendant (landowner) by virtue of the temporary possession of the plaintiff (con-demnor), and the landowner’s recovery is not in terms of adequate compensation upon a lawful taking. The last provision of Section 3, following the only semicolon in it, relates to any case where there is a lawful taking and the award which has been paid to or appropriated by the landowner exceeds the value of the property as determined by the final judgment; in which event the court shall adjudge the excess to be paid to the condemnor. It thus appears that the first provision of Section 3 affords protection to the landowner where the attempt to take his property is unlawful, and the second provision thereof affords protection to the con-demnor where there is a lawful taking and a refund is due from the landowner. Although Section 3 of Art. 3268 covers the fact • situation as to reimbursement of the condemnor herein, in my view it does not assist in resolving the controlling question presented in this case relating to whether the condemnor was relieved from the necessity of offering evidence to establish its right to condemn because the landowner withdrew the commissioners’ award.
I believe that the line of authority culminating in State v. Jackson, supra, is controlling here and that Wilbarger County v. Hall, supra, and the other cases relied on by appellants are not in point. It appears that the case was fairly and properly tried in the lower court and its judgment should be affirmed.