United States v. 2979.72 ACRES OF LAND, ETC.
| Decision Date | 05 January 1955 |
| Docket Number | No. 6839.,6839. |
| Citation | 218 F.2d 524 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Appellant, v. 2979.72 ACRES OF LAND, MORE OR LESS, IN the COUNTY OF HALIFAX, VIRGINIA, Olive Vaughan Williams, et al., and unknown owners, Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit |
Harold S. Harrison, Atty., Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. (Perry W. Morton, Asst. Atty. Gen., John Strickler, U. S. Atty., John F. Cotter and S. Billingsley Hill, Attys., Department of Justice, Washington, D. C., on the brief), for appellant.
Francis V. Lowden, Jr., and Ralph H. Ferrell, Jr., Richmond, Va. (T. Justin Moore and Hunton, Williams, Gay, Moore & Powell, Richmond, Va., on the brief), for appellee Virginia Electric and Power Company.
Before PARKER, Chief Judge, and SOPER and DOBIE, Circuit Judges.
This is another appeal in condemnation proceedings had in connection with the John H. Kerr Dam and Reservoir, a flood control project on the Roanoke River in Virgina and North Carolina. The Virginia Electric and Power Company held flowage easements over 1540 acres of land belonging to Mrs. Olive Vaughan Williams. The government filed a declaration of taking with respect to this land corresponding in all respects with the declaration of taking filed in the case of United States v. 2,648.31 Acres of Land, More or Less, in the Counties of Charlotte and Halifax, Virginia, 4 Cir., 218 F.2d 518. Mrs. Williams had agreed to convey any interest she may have had in the land to the government for the nominal consideration of one dollar. The court held that the power company was entitled to recover from the government the fee simple value of the land, which was found to be $40 per acre, and on this basis entered judgment in favor of the power company and against the government for the sum of $61,600. The government has appealed from this judgment, contending (1) that there can be no recovery against the government for rights which would have value only in connection with the development of water power on a navigable stream, and (2) that, at all events, the government is liable, not for the fee simple value of the land, but for the difference between its value with and without the servitude resulting from the easement which the government is acquiring.
On the first question thus raised, we think that the position of the government is wrong for reasons fully set forth in our opinion in United States v. Twin City Power Co., 4...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
United States v. Virginia Electric and Power Company
... ... acquired by condemnation a flowage easement over 1840 acres of fast lands adjacent to the Dan River, a navigable tributary of the ... Twin City Power Co., 215 F.2d 592. United States v. 2979.72 Acres of Land, More or Less, etc., 218 F.2d 524. After the judgment in the Twin City ... ...
-
National Center for Immigrants' Rights, Inc. v. I.N.S.
... ... United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement ... No. 88-5774 ... United States Court of Appeals, ... Ninth Circuit ... , pending resolution of their cases may land them back in jail. The other options might be ... ...
-
United States v. 2979.72 ACRES OF LAND, ETC.
...the right to flood the land and use it in connection with its flood control project. The case first came before us in United States v. 2979.72 Acres of Land, 218 F.2d 524. Condemnation proceedings by the United States were taken in connection with the John K. Kerr Dam and Reservoir, a flood......
-
United States v. 2979.72 ACRES OF LAND, ETC.
...rights which would have value only in connection with the development of water power on a navigable stream. See United States v. 2979.72 Acres of Land etc., 4 Cir., 218 F.2d 524. The Supreme Court granted certiorari, vacated our judgment and remanded the case to us for further consideration......