City of Granite Falls v. Soo Line R. Co.
| Decision Date | 24 December 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. A07-417.,No. A07-418.,A07-417.,A07-418. |
| Citation | 742 N.W.2d 690 |
| Parties | CITY OF GRANITE FALLS, petitioner, Respondent, v. SOO LINE RAILROAD COMPANY, a/k/a SLRCO and SERCO, et al., Respondents Below, Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company, a/k/a BNSF, Appellant (A07-417), Twin Cities & Western Railroad Company, a/k/a TC & W, Appellant (A07-418). |
| Court | Minnesota Court of Appeals |
Bradley V. Larson, Metcalf, Larson, Muth & Fleming, P.C., Monticello, MN, for Lawrence A. Kreger.
Keith Beito, Granite Falls, MN, pro se.
Considered and decided by DIETZEN, Presiding Judge; WILLIS, Judge; and HUSPENI, Judge.*
In this condemnation proceeding, appellant-landowners challenge a district court order denying their motions for summary judgment and finding that the proposed taking is for a public purpose and that the taking is necessary to effectuate the public purpose. Because we conclude that the district court properly applied the law, we affirm.
Respondent City of Granite Falls (the city) is a Minnesota municipal corporation located in Chippewa County. Appellants BNSF Railway Company (BNSF) and Twin Cities & Western Railroad Company (TC & W) own property that is the subject of a condemnation petition filed by the city (the subject property). The city seeks to acquire, through exercise of its eminent-domain power, a twenty-five-foot-wide easement over appellants' railroad rights-of-way. The city's purpose in acquiring the subject property is to establish "an all-seasons, multi-purpose and non-motorized recreational trail for public use." But the city has indicated that it will not establish the trail itself; instead, the city intends to convey the subject property to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (the DNR), to build and maintain the trail.
The DNR is in the process of establishing similar recreational trails throughout the state pursuant to legislative directives in chapter 85 of the Minnesota Statutes. The subject property will be incorporated into a larger trail that runs the entire course of the Minnesota River, from its headwaters at Big Stone Lake to its confluence with the Mississippi River at Fort Snelling. See Minn.Stat. § 85.015, subds. 6, 22 (2006) ().
In July 1998, SRF Consulting Group, Inc. conducted a feasibility study of the subject property, finding that the land was appropriate for a recreational trail. Subsequently, Short Elliot Hendrickson, Inc. (SEH) conducted a preliminary study of the feasibility of constructing a trail along the railroad rights-of-way, including the subject property, and concluded that the trail "can be safely designed and constructed on the railroad right-of-way." SEH sent a letter to a Minnesota House Committee in March 2001, concluding that the engineering of the trail was feasible. That year, the legislature designated the entire corridor of the Minnesota River Valley as a "state trail," thereby facilitating state investment in the acquisition, development, construction, and maintenance of trail segments in that corridor. 2001 Minn. Laws 1st Spec. Sess. ch. 2, § 84, at 1208.
In April 2005, the city filed its condemnation petition, which incorporated an earlier city-council resolution authorizing the acquisition of the subject property. The resolution stated that the city "has spent a great deal of time in public meetings and in independent research" regarding the feasibility of extending a recreational trail from Wegdahl to Granite Falls, consistent with the State of Minnesota's plans to develop a "state trail" along the entire Minnesota River corridor. The city concluded, among other things, that the SEH report confirmed that the trail could be completed along appellants' existing railroad right-of-way, that a paved trail could be built and used safely by the public, and that the State "would consider bonding for the funds necessary to further plan and acquire, develop, construct and maintain the unfinished corridor between Wegdahl and Granite Falls, if the State were assured that a local unit of government were committed to acquiring the real estate interests necessary to the construction." The resolution also indicated that the Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota agreed to lend the city up to $75,000, at no interest, for the purpose of acquiring the land necessary for the trail. Finally, the city concluded that completion of the trail "will add to the general well-being of the economic community of the entire river valley" and "will add significantly to retail economic development in downtown Granite Falls." Thus, the city authorized its attorney to commence negotiations and, if necessary, condemnation proceedings.
During discovery, the city and the DNR admitted that there have been no formal discussions regarding the transfer of the subject property to the DNR or its use as part of the Minnesota River Trail. The DNR stated in response to discovery that it "is currently developing a master plan for the Minnesota River State Trail"; that the draft plan "has not been formally released for public view and the DNR Commissioner has not approved the plan"; and that the subject property "falls within the `corridor' or `search area' for the Minnesota River State Trail identified in the draft plan."
Following discovery, appellants moved for summary judgment. The district court denied the motions, concluding that the taking was for a public purpose and was necessary and authorized by law, but changed the proceeding from a quick-take condemnation under Minn.Stat. § 117.042 to a standard proceeding under chapter 117. This appeal follows.
1. Did the district court lack subject-matter jurisdiction over the condemnation petition?
2. Is the proposed taking for a public purpose and reasonably necessary to effectuate the public purpose?
Appellants challenge the district court order denying their motions for summary judgment, which order concluded that the court has subject-matter jurisdiction over the petition and granted the petition for condemnation. Generally, the denial of a motion for summary judgment is not a final judgment from which an appeal may properly be taken. Minn. R. Civ.App. P. 103.03. But a district court order finding that a proposed taking serves a public necessity is an appealable order. County of Blue Earth v. Stauffenberg, 264 N.W.2d 647, 650 (Minn.1978). The district court's conclusion that it has jurisdiction over the subject matter of this proceeding—also not a final judgment—is similarly appealable under McGowan v. Our Savior's Lutheran Church, 527 N.W.2d 830, 833 (Minn.1995). The remaining issues raised in the appellants' briefs are outside the scope of these exceptions, and thus are not properly before this court. See Alexandria Lake Area Serv. Region v. Johnson, 295 N.W.2d 588, 590 (Minn.1980) ().
The procedure for condemning property through eminent domain is governed by chapter 117 of the Minnesota Statutes. A condemning authority initiates condemnation proceedings by filing a condemnation petition in district court and a notice of the proceedings with the registrar of titles and/or the county recorder. See Minn. Stat. §§ 117.055, 117.065 (2004). The district court then holds an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the petition should be granted; and approving the public use or public purpose, necessity, and authority for the taking. See Minn.Stat. § 117.075, subd. 1 (2004).
Appellants argue that the city's failure to strictly comply with the requirements of Minn.Stat. § 117.036 (2004)—which imposes pre-petition appraisal and negotiation requirements on the condemning authority—deprived the district court of subject-matter jurisdiction over the petition. The proper construction of a statute is a question of law that we review de novo. State v. Murphy, 545 N.W.2d 909, 914 (Minn. 1996). The existence of subject-matter jurisdiction is also a question of law. Neighborhood Sch. Coal. v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 279, 484 N.W.2d 440, 441 (Minn.App.1992), review denied (Minn. June 30, 1992).
In the judicial context, "jurisdiction" refers to "[t]he legal power and authority of a court to make a decision." Black's Law Dictionary 869 (8th ed.2004). Subject-matter jurisdiction "involves a court's authority to decide a particular class of actions and its authority to decide the particular questions before it." Herubin v. Finn, 603 N.W.2d 133, 137 (Minn. App.1999). This concept goes to the heart of a court's legal authority to decide a case, and unlike personal jurisdiction, the court cannot acquire subject-matter jurisdiction "either by waiver or consent." Schroeder v. Schroeder, 658 N.W.2d 909, 912 (Minn.App.2003).
A district court acquires subject-matter jurisdiction over an eminent domain proceeding upon the presentation and filing of a proper condemnation petition.1 Whitely v. Miss. Water Power & Boom Co., 38 Minn. 523, 525, 38 N.W. 753, 755 (1888); Housing & Redevelopment Auth. v. Adelmann, 590 N.W.2d 327,...
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