United States v. 357.25 ACRES OF LAND, ETC.
| Decision Date | 17 May 1944 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 849. |
| Citation | 55 F. Supp. 461 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES v. 357.25 ACRES OF LAND IN CALCASIEU PARISH, LA., et al. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Louisiana |
Malcolm E. Lafargue, U. S. Atty., and J. Y. Fontenot, Asst. U. S. Atty., both of Shreveport, La., for plaintiff.
Coleman D. Reed, of Lake Charles, La., for defendants.
T. R. Gormley and J. T. Colletta were among those owning lands near the military airport outside Lake Charles, Louisiana. In a proceeding of condemnation or expropriation of several tracts in fee, and the rights of avigation as to others, the properties of Gormley and Colletta were in the latter class. The areas involved were respectively 1.62 acres out of the Gormley and 1.10 acres out of the Colletta tract, each containing a total of five acres. The space to be used began at a height of 25 feet above ground at the side nearer the airfield and increased to approximately 40 feet on the outside boundary. The easement for flying over the property was to run for a period of fifteen years or until the present war has ended, if the Government sees fit to discontinue use of the airfield thereafter.
With the petition for condemnation, a deposit of $50, as representing fair compensation for each claim, was deposited. The claimants each demanded several hundred dollars. The matter was tried to a jury of freeholders according to law, which returned a verdict as to the value of the rights of "No Dollars"; in other words, the effect was to say the property would not be damaged or its value reduced by the use of the easement under the circumstances revealed by the proof.
The evidence showed that the police jury, governing body of Calcasieu Parish (county), had previously passed an ordinance under its police power, prohibiting the erection or maintenance of buildings or other obstructions in excess of 25 feet in height, within a distance much greater than that of the properties herein involved, as to all boundaries of the airfield, with appropriate criminal penalties. The lands in this case were situated some 500 feet west of an extension of the center line of the airfield landing strip, from which planes would take off or land when returning. The testimony showed that little or no flying would be done over the small areas, as to which the easement was to apply, except by small training planes, which were seldom used; and that all other types would operate several hundred feet up, the same as...
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