Steeb v. Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
Steeb v. Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
We are here concerned with an eminent domain proceeding arising out of the construction of the western extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The issue is whether the property owner is barred from recovery (a) by the statute of limitations and, if not, (b) by estoppel. The viewers resolved this issue adversely to the properly owner. Upon appeal to the court of common pleas, the case was submitted by the parties for decision on an agreed statement of facts “without further testimony and hereby waiving the right to a trial by jury”. After hearing argument, the court below affirmed the decision of the Board of View, and entered judgment in favor of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. The property owner has appealed.
On April 1, 1946, Clarence T. Steeb was the owner of one hundred and nine acres of land in Cranberry Township, Butler County, on which there was an unrecorded oil and gas lease given that date to Clarence’s
The Act of May 23, 1891, P. L. 109, as amended, 12 P.S. 43, provides in'pertinent part as follows: “Petitions for the assessment of damages for the opening or widening of any street, road or highway, when the damages aré not assessed by the view opening the road, may be filed in the court of quarter sessions within the period of six years from the final confirmation of a report, or the entry of a decree or order opening the said street, road or highway, or within six years, from the date of notice of the intended opening of the same, under an ordinance or resolution duly passed, but not thereafter. In the case of State highways or other highways or roads which the Secretary of Highways
Conceding that his petition for viewers was filed more than six years after the date of the condemnation resolution, appellant nevertheless contends that his claim is not barred by the statute of limitations because it was filed within six years from the commencement of construction. He takes the position that the statute did not start to run until he had notice of the taking by actual occupancy of the land. The answer to appellant’s contention appears in Lakewood Memorial Gardens Appeal, 381 Pa. 46, 112 A. 2d 135, wherein it was held that the Commission’s adoption of the condemnation resolution on June 14, 1949, constituted an appropriation of the indicated properties, and the right to damages accrued on that date. In the words of Mr. Justice (later Chief Justice) Jones: “In constitutional contemplation, it is the entry which constitutes the 'taking, injury or destruction’ before which compensation for the affected property must be paid or secured. The act of condemnation, however, may, and frequently does, take place some time before actual entry upon the appropriated property. In such instance, after there is a physical entry, the date of the taking relates back to the date of the ordinance or resolution of condemnation”.
Appellant relies on Strong Appeal, 400 Pa. 51, 161 A. 2d 830, Angle v. Commonwealth, 396 Pa. 514, 153 A. 2d 912, and Pagni v. Commonwealth, 179 Pa. Superior Ct. 213, 116 A. 2d 294, but these cases are not here controlling.
A situation markedly similar to that in the instant case was before us in Barclay-Westmoreland Petition, 173 Pa. Superior Ct. 504, 98 A. 2d 395, which involved the relocation of Moss Side Boulevard in Allegheny County. An appropriate resolution was adopted by the County Commissioners on July 12, 1940, and approved by the Court of Quarter Sessions on August 5, 1940. The actual construction did not start until several months thereafter. We held that a petition for viewers filed October 15, 1946, was not timely. Rejecting the property owner’s contention that the six-year period did not commence to run until the date of the improvement, we said “the legislative language clearly indicates that the limitation period commenced when the final Court order was entered”. In the case at bar, actual entry was made within a year after the adoption of the condemnation resolution, clearly a reasonable time. Appellant had ample opportunity to file his petition before the statute had run.
We perceive no merit in appellant’s argument that the Commission did not tender or file a bond. See the Act of June 11, 1941, P. L. 101, Section 10, 36 P.S. §654i. Similarly, it is obvious that the Act of April 3, 1956, P. L. (1955) 1366, 26 P.S. 151 et seq., mentioned in appellant’s brief, does not govern the instant case. We do not pass upon appellee’s suggestion that this appeal should be controlled by the Act of July 1, 1937, P. L. 2667, 26 P.S. 44. Cf. Arnold v. Allegheny County, 332 Pa. 227, 2 A. 2d 763.
Since we agree with the court below that appellant’s claim is barred by the statute of limitations, it becomes unnecessary to determine the question of estoppel. In
Judgment affirmed.
Title to part of this land was in Clarence T. Steeb and his wife, Edna A. Steeb, as tenants by the entireties. A portion thereof had been ■ previously conveyed by Ralph J. Steeb to Dorothy Brandon subject to the reservation of a one-half royalty interest. Dorothy Brandon, in turn, conveyed to Clarence T. Steeb. These circumstances are not material to our decision.
Although it was not cited, we have also considered Henry v. Allegheny County, 403 Pa. 272, 169 A. 2d 874.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.