Crowell v. State

• Court: New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Citation: Crowell v. State, 247 N.Y.S.2d 129, 13 N.Y.2d 1132, 196 N.E.2d 561 (N.Y. 1964)
• Decision Date: 16 January 1964
• Parties: , 196 N.E.2d 561 Harold CROWELL et al., Appellants, v. The STATE of New York, Respondent.

Page 129

247 N.Y.S.2d 129

13 N.Y.2d 1132, 196 N.E.2d 561

Harold CROWELL et al., Appellants, v. The STATE of New York, Respondent.

Court of Appeals of New York.

Jan. 16, 1964.

Appeal from Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, 18 A.D.2d 7, 238 N.Y.S.2d 72.

Claimants filed a claim against the State of New York for damages for alleged appropriation of a portion of their land for construction, reconstruction, and maintenance of a state highway.

The Court of Claims, William G. Easton, J., 28 Misc.2d 1097, 219 N.Y.S.2d 467, made an award of $250 for the alleged taking of a fee in the highway and an award of $6,040 for the 'deteriorating effect of the removal' of shade trees in the highway, and the State appealed.

The Appellate Division, 18 A.D.2d 7, 238 N.Y.S.2d 72, unanimously reversed the judgment on the law and the facts, dismissed the claim, and held that where the Court of Claims was in error in assuming that the State had appropriated a fee, and there was no taking of any part of the property of the claimants, claimants could not recover damages for loss of shade and loss of esthetic value to their property because of presence of trees, which the State removed from the unpaved portion of the highway in order to widen shoulders of highway.

...