Trinity & B. v. Ry. Co. v. Doke
Trinity & B. v. Ry. Co. v. Doke
Opinion of the Court
Statement as to the Pleadings.
This is an appeal from two cases consolidated. The first suit was filed by appellee Doke August 31, 1907, in which he sought to recover damages to a tract of land owned by him, and also for damages to crops grown on said land for the years 1905 and 1906. By amendment filed September 22, 1908, appellee Rogers was made a party to said suit; it being alleged that he was the tenant of said Doke, paying him as rental for said land one-third of the grain and one-fourth of the cotton grown on said land during said years.
The second suit was filed by said Doke and said Rogers and appellee Perkins on September 22, 1908, alleging that Doke was the owner of said land, and that Rogers was a tenant of said Doke for the year .1907, paying as rental therefor one-third of the grain and one-fourth of the cotton grown on said land for said year, and that in 1908 appellee Perkins was a tenant of said Doke, paying a like rental. This suit was for damages to said land during the years 1907 and 1908, and for damages to the crops growing on said land for said years.
All damages sued for were alleged to have been .occasioned by the negligent construction of appellant’s roadbed, and by the erection of an embankment, whereby it was alleged that water was caused to flow upon said land in such manner as to injure said land and the crops growing thereon. Ap-pellees recovered judgment for $7,452.50 damages and $1,274 interest.
The contentions of appellant are (a) that all of the damage shown to have been done to the growing crops was occasioned by the overflow of Ash creek, and (b) if not all, then a portion of the same; (c) that the water was not deflected by the embankment on the right of way, but by the embankment on the MeNeese land; (d) that it is not shown that appellant caused said embankment to be erected, and that, it not being on *1175 its right of way, it is not responsible for its maintenance. Appellant also pleaded the statute of two years’ limitation as to the injury to the land and as to a portion of the injury to the crop.
Findings of Fact.
Doke was the owner of the land described in the petitions in said suits, and Rogers and Perkins were, his tenants, as therein alleged.
The land alleged to have been injured was bounded on the north by Ash creek and on the south by appellant's roadbed, which ran along the foot of a hill. It is about 1,000 feet from the roadbed to the creek. The land about halfway between the roadbed and the creek is about 4 or 5 feet lower than land at the bank of the creek. Ash creek has frequently overflowed said land as far back as the knowledge of any of the witnesses extended. The building of the railroad has had no effect on the overflowing of said creek, and no damage was claimed by appel-lees by reason of the overflow of said creek. Appellees claim that all of the damage was done by the water which flowed upon said land from the hills to the south of the railroad. All of the water from said hills flowed upon said land before the railroad was built, but it flowed upon it in a. different manner. Before said railroad was built, the most of said water flowed from the hills all along the slope of the same onto poke’s land, and did not wash the same. A portion of said water was concentrated in a draw on McNeese’s land some 200 feet west of Doke’s land, and this water washed a small gully on McNeese’s land for a short distance north to where it encountered the higher lands sloping from Ash creek, and then turned eastward, spreading out over Doke’s land without washing the same.
The building of the railroad prevents the water flowing off of the slope of the hill onto Doke’s land, but causes it to flow west to said draw on McNeese’s land, where it passes under the railroad through an opening left for that purpose. It is the concentration of the water at this place and its deflection onto Doke’s land by means of an embankment four or five feet high and several hundred feet long that causes it to wash said land. The water thus concentrated on McNeese’s land and deflected onto Doke’s land has washed a ditch in Doke’s land 10 to 12 feet deep, 15 to 20 feet wide, and 250 to 300 yards long. On the north side of the railroad, and on the west side of the opening under the trestle, is an embankment running north from the dump of the roadbed about 25 feet to the north side of the right of way; and from this point the embankment above referred to extends 200 or 300 feet on McNeese’s land, and, perhaps, some of it on Doke’s land, bending to the east, and causing the water to flow on Doke’s land, and to wash the same.
Opinion.
The water that came down the draw formerly ran under where the trestle now is to the north, and thence turned east on Doke’s land, but did not occasion any wash on Doke’s land. The embankment on the right of way, which is only about 25 feet, causes the water to run north that far; but as there was a natural depression or hollow leading thence to the north on MeNeese’s land it is fair to presume that but for the embankment on McNeese’s land the water would continue, after leaving the right of way, to flow in the old channel or depression. This is the effect of the testi: mony of plaintiff’s witnesses, as above quoted. And if the water would not continue to run on McNeese’s land without the embankment on said land we cannot understand why such an embankment, several feet high and several hundred feet long, should have been built. The court instructed the jury that they should find for plaintiffs only such damages as were occasioned, by the embankment on the right of way. We cannot offer to affirm this case as to the amount of damages, upon condition that appellees will remit a certain amount of the damages found by the jury, for the reason that the evidence does not indicate what proportion of said damages was caused by the embankment on appellant’s right of way and what by the embankment on McNeese’s land.
2. While the verdict of the jury did not give plaintiffs quite as much damages as their .testimony would have warranted, yet it did give substantially all the damages and the damages for each item, as claimed by the testimony of appellees. It is not at all clear to our minds that a considerable portion of the damage shown was not caused by the overflow of Ash creek, but, as this issue was submitted to the jury, we would hesitate to reverse the case upon this issue alone; and, as the case is to be reversed upon other issues, and as we cannot say what the testimony upon this issue will be upon another trial, we refrain from making any further comments with reference thereto.
5. In so far as it is necessary for the disposition of this case, we overrule appellant’s assignments of error, except as hereinabove indicated. Some of them for the reason that they are not properly presented under the rules; some for the reason that they are not well taken; and some for the reason that the injury, if any, to appellant by reason of such error is immaterial.
As this case is reversed upon grounds other than alleged errors as to the admission or rejection of evidence, we do not pass specifically on such assignments, for the reason that the alleged errors are not likely to recur upon another trial of this case.
For the reasons hereinbefore indicated, this cause is reversed and remanded for a new trial.
Reversed and remanded.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- TRINITY & B. v. RY. CO. v. DOKE Et Al.
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published