Cordell v. Jones
Cordell v. Jones
Opinion of the Court
T. E. Jones brought his petition against E. C. Cordell, and sought injunction to restrain the defendant from removing any timber from the lands of the plaintiff, other than that which had been cut down upon the land conveyed to the Georgia Power Company in a deed executed on August 5, 1927. The defendant filed his answer. Upon the hearing of the case at chambers, the judge granted an interlocutory injunction.
Under the pleadings and evidence in the case the judge was authorized to grant the injunction complained of. Whether the defendant, under all the evidence, had the right to remove any timber not on the strip of land over which the right of way had been granted to the Georgia Power Company depends upon the proper construction of certain clauses in the conveyance to that company and the bill of sale or contract of sale of the timber from Jones to Cordell. There is no dispute that Cordell had the right, under the bill of sale, to remove the timber cut on the right of way. In the conveyance from Jones to the Georgia Power Company is the following: “T. E. Jones does hereby grant and convey to said company, its successors and assigns, the right to construct from time to time, operate, maintain, and renew electric transmission lines and all telegraph and telephone lines, towers, poles, and appliances necessary or convenient in connection therewith, upon a strip of land one hundred (100) feet in width, as said strip is located by
The judge, construing the bill of sale to Cordell and the conveyance to the Georgia Power Company, held, in substance, that Jones granted to the company a right of way 100 feet in width, which is accurately fixed and described, and that while the grant gives to the company the further right to remove trees, undergrowth, and obstructions adjacent to the right of way, this is “a mere incident to the right of way and grants merely a privilege, but it does not have the effect of extending the boundary of the land granted as a right of way; that this grant was of record at the time of the sale by Jones to Cordell.” And the court was further of the opinion that under the terms of the sale the defendant “gets only the timber cut on the right of way, which is 100 feet” in width. We are of the opinion that the judge below properly construed the conveyance to the Georgia Power Company and the bill of sale to Cordell; and under the construction of those contracts he was authorized to. grant the injunction.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.