CITY OF STILLWATER v. THOMAS

CITY OF STILLWATER v. THOMAS
1945 OK 329
169 P.2d 292
197 Okla. 208
Case Number: 31969
Decided: 12/04/1945
Supreme Court of Oklahoma

CITY OF STILLWATER
v.
THOMAS et al.

Syllabus

¶0 EMINENT DOMAIN-Judgment against condemnor for difference between award of commissioners deposited in court and verdict of jury.
Where the condemnor deposited in court amount of commissioners' award and having demanded a jury trial, a verdict increasing the award was rendered, the judgment against the condernnor should be the difference between the award of commissioners and the verdict of the jury.

Appeal from District Court, Payne County; Henry W. Hoel, Judge.

Condemnation proceedings by the City of Stillwater against property of A. J. Thomas and others. From judgment based on verdict, condemnor appeals. Reversed.

Ernest F. Jenkins, of Stillwater, for plaintiff in error.
Brown Moore, of Stillwater, for defendants in error.

RILEY, J.

¶1 The city of Stillwater appeals from a judgment in the amount of $1,500, based on a jury's verdict fixing the value of land condemned by the city for airport purposes.

¶2 Commissioners appointed appraised the entire interests condemned, in the amount of $20,000 and apportioned the following amounts:

¶3 A. J. Thomas, owner of the fee title---------------------------------- $18,152.32
The Federal Land Bank of Wichita, mortgagee--------------------- 1,347.68
Fannie Thomas Newman, tenant---------------------------------------------250.00
Claud Newman, tenant-----------------------------------------------------------250.00
__________________________________________________________
Total $20,000.00

¶4 The total amount was paid into court. The city entered into possession of the land and the fund of $20,000 was disbursed according to interests appraised. The city and A. J. Thomas demanded a jury trial upon the amount of the award. Upon trial, the amount of defendants' recovery was fixed by the jury's verdict at $21,000. The amount awarded by the jury's verdict was not apportioned. It was $1,000 more than the appraisal of the commissioners, but the court, by judgment, awarded $1,500 to the interest of A. J. Thomas, owner of the land, omitting from calculation the amount that had been paid to the tenants for their interest.

¶5 The judgment should have been limited to the "difference between the award of commissioners and verdict of jury". Grand River Dam Authority v. Jarvis (C.C.A.) 124 Fed. 2d 914; Lewis on Eminent Domain (3d Ed.) 1258.

¶6 Reversed, with directions to limit the judgment to $1,000.

¶7 GIBSON, C. J., HURST, V. C. J., and WELCH, CORN, DAVISON, and ARNOLD, JJ., concur.