Wilmington Canal & Reservoir Co. v. Dominguez

California Supreme Court
Wilmington Canal & Reservoir Co. v. Dominguez, 50 Cal. 505 (Cal. 1875)

Wilmington Canal & Reservoir Co. v. Dominguez

Opinion of the Court

By the Court:

By the second subdivision of section 1241 of the Code of Civil Procedure, it is provided in effect that before private property can be taken for a public use it must appear " that the taking is necessary for such use.”

That question was submitted to a jury, who found that at the time of the commencement of this action it was not necessary to take the land sought to be> taken by the plaintiff for the purposes stated in the complaint. The court disregarded the verdict, and found as a fact that it was necessary to take part of the land.

Section 1256 of the Code of Civil Procedure is as follows: “Except as otherwise provided in this title, the provisions of Part II of this Code are applicable to, and constitute the rules of practice in the proceedings mentioned in this title.” Section 592 of Part II provides that “an issue of fact must be tried by a jury, unless a jury trial is waived, or a reference ordered, as provided in this Code,”

There is no provision in the sections which relate to eminent domain inconsistent with the two sections just cited. Therefore, the judgment and order are reversed and the cause remanded.

Reference

Full Case Name
THE WILMINGTON CANAL AND RESERVOIR COMPANY v. MANUEL DOMINGUEZ
Cited By
8 cases
Status
Published
Syllabus
Finding ow a Just in case of Eminent Domain.—If, in proceedings to condemn property for a public use, the question whether the taking of the same is necessary for such use is submitted to a jury, and the jury find on the issue, the court has no power to disregard the finding of the jury and make findings of its own.