Moore v. City of Dallas
Moore v. City of Dallas
Opinion of the Court
Appellant is the owner of a farm situated in Dallas county, Tex., just west of the Elm fork of the Trinity river, the center of the channel of Denton creek, which empties into said river, being, according to his claim and contention, the north line of his land. During the year 1912 the city of Dallas, for the purpose of enlarging its water supply, erected a concrete dam across the channel of the Elm fork of the Trinity river on the Western Berry survey, about 2,000 yards below the mouth of Den-ton creek. This dam, so constructed, had the capacity of storing between 350,000,000 and 400,000,000 gallons of water in the channels of Elm fork of the Trinity river and of Denton creek, and was completed and the water stored therein in the latter part of Deceinber, 1912. This suit was filed by appellant against the city to recover damages to his farm by reason of the construction and maintenance of the dam and the storing of the water in the channels of said streams, in which he alleged that the condition created by the defendant city caused the banks of said streams to overflow during each successive rise of said streams, causing his property to overflow and wash, and imposing upon his property an additional burden of *871 overflow water; that his farm was of a reasonable value of $100 per aere; and that by reason of the condition created by the city, the value of his property had been depreciated until it was not worth exceeding $50 per acre. It was alleged by him that the city of Dallas had appropriated so much of his property as was situated in the channel of Denton creek for'its purposes, and had taken his property and damaged the same without haying made compensation therefor or secured the same in contravention' of the organic law of the state. Appellant pleaded his cause of action in two counts. In the first count he sought to recover for permanent damages to his land, and the value of the property appropriated, and also sought an injunction against the city enjoining and prohibiting it from maintaining said dam in said stream until it had compensated him in the manner provided by law in the taking and damaging of his property. In the second count appellant asked a recovery for damages caused to his property by reason of the overflows occurring in said streams on the 8th of June, 1915, on the 28th day of January, 1916, and the 3d day of April, 1916. The city of Dallas answered by general and special demurrers, general denial, and specially that it had appropriated the waters in said stream, and had in accordance with the act of the Legislature of the state of Texas, known as chapter 171 of the General Laws of the State of Texas, enacted by the Thirty-Third Legislature (Vernon’s Say les’ Ann. Giv. St. 1914, art. 4991 et seq.), duly filed in the office of the board of water engineers of the state a certified copy of the sworn statement making such appropriation, and had also filed with the clerk of the county court of Dallas county copy of such certified copy of the said appropriation.
The case was tried before a jury on June 27, 1916, and submitted by the court on the following special issues:
First Wjhat was the reasonable cash market value of plaintiffs property immediately before the building of Carrollton dam?
Second. What was the reasonable cash market value of plaintiff’s property immediately after the Carrollton dam was com-ifleted?
Third. Do you find and believe from the evidence that plaintiff’s land was susceptible to overflow to the same extent prior to the construction of the Carrollton dam as after the construction of said dam?
To these questions the jury answered: First, $20 per acre. Second, $40 per acre. Third, Les.
Dpon return of the verdict the court entered a judgment in favor of the defendant, and the plaintiff appealed.
“A resident citizen of the city of Dallas and a taxpayer in said city is disqualified as a juror in a suit of this character against said city.”
The challenge for cause was, because disqualified under the statute and because interested in the matter in controversy. The assignment will be overruled. The question presented has been definitely decided, we think, against-the appellant’s contention in the following cases: Peacock v. City of Dallas, 89 Tex. 438, 35 S. W. 8; Railway Co. v. Bishop, 34 S. W. 323; City of Marshall v. McAllister, 18 Tex. Civ. App. 159, 43 S. W. 1043; Martin v. Somervell County, 21 Tex. Civ. App. 308, 52 S. W. 556; City of Jackson v. Pool, 91 Tenn. 448, 19 S. W. 324. It is not believed that the difference in the wording of the statute relating to the disqualification of judges and that relating to the disqualification of jurors materially affects the question. The decisions above referred to rest upon the view that the interest of a taxpayer of a city is too indirect, remote, and contingent to render him disqualified to serve as a juror in a suit in which the city is a party. If the interest in either case, even though indirect, were immediate, real, and substantial, it would doubtless be sufficient to disqualify, but our decisions, as we understand them, are to the effect that resident taxpayers of a municipal corporation have no such interest in the subject-matter of a suit for damages against it.
“Denton creek being a natural stream, and navigable water course, the channel thereof belongs to the state of Texas, and no part of the same was owned by appellant, and the trial court therefore did not err in refusing to render judgment enjoining and prohibiting appellee from maintaining its dam across Elm fork of Trinity river, and requiring the removal of said dam because the water was thereby backed up in. the channel of said creek. Appellee owns and operates its system of waterworks, and by authority of title 73 of the statutes of this state appropriated certain waters in the channel of Elm fork of Trinity river by means of the construction of what is called Oarrollton dam across said stream for that purpose. This stream again forks at a distance of about 2,000 yards above said dam, the western prong thereof being designated as Denton creek. The testimony is sufficient to show circumstantially that Denton creek is more than 30 feet in width, and therefore a navigable stream, the channel of which is owned by the state.”
“Before such a test can be properly applied the condition of the two places with regard to the production of a crop should be proved in every material particular. Such evidence can scarcely ever be of a very satisfactory character.”
See, also, Railway Co. v. Docker, 78 Tex. 279, 14 S. W. 611. It will not do to say that this testimony was harmless. It bore upon a vital issue in the case, and was introduced by the appellee evidently for the purpose of having it considered by the jury as proof of its claim that appellant’s property had not *873 been injured or damaged as a result of the construction of the Carrollton dam. It was clearly calculated to apd probably did very greatly influence the jury in rendering the verdict they did.
Appellant contends that the findings of the jury that the market value of appellant’s land immediately before the construction of the Carrollton dam was $20 per acre, and that it was $40 per acre immediately thereafter, are contrary to the undisputed evidence. There may be some foundation for the contention that these findings are against the preponderance of the evidence, but we are not prepared to hold that they are contrary to the undisputed evidence.
For the reason indicated, we believe the judgment should be reversed, and the cause remanded for a new trial; and it is so ordered.
Reversed and remanded.
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