United States v. Regents of New Mexico School of Mines, 4093.

• Decision Date: 08 November 1950
• Docket Number: No. 4093.,4093.
• Citation: 185 F.2d 389
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. REGENTS OF NEW MEXICO SCHOOL OF MINES.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit

185 F.2d 389 (1950)

UNITED STATES v. REGENTS OF NEW MEXICO SCHOOL OF MINES.

No. 4093.

United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit.

November 8, 1950.

John C. Harrington, Washington, D. C., (Roger P. Marquis, A. Devitt Vanech, Washington, D. C., Lorenzo A. Chavez, and William B. Robinson, Albuquerque, N. M., on the brief), for appellant.

Owen B. Marron, Albuquerque, N. M., and Oliver Seth, Santa Fe, N. M., (J. O. Seth, Santa Fe, N. M., on the brief), for appellee.

Before PHILLIPS, Chief Judge, and BRATTON and MURRAH, Circuit Judges.

BRATTON, Circuit Judge:

The United States, at the request of the Atomic Energy Commission, filed this proceeding to acquire by condemnation the fee title to a tract of land consisting of 87.3 acres together with the buildings and improvements thereon for use in connection with the Sandia Scientific Laboratory. The property was situated on the then periphery of the City of Albuquerque, and it belonged to the New Mexico School of Mines. A declaration of taking was filed in the proceeding in which estimated just compensation was fixed at $375,000. That sum was deposited in the registry of the court and an order was entered vesting and confirming title in the United States. Commissioners were appointed, and in their report the fair market value of the property was fixed at $631,308.34. Both parties appealed from the award of the appraisers and the issue of value was tried to a jury. Three witnesses testifying as experts for the owner fixed the value of the property at $838,980.42, $742,509, and $631,308.34, respectively; and three testifying as experts for the government fixed the value at $425,000, $375,000, and $375,000, respectively. The jury returned a verdict fixing the value at $650,101.50; judgment was entered accordingly; and the government appealed.

It is contended that the court erred in admitting in evidence testimony respecting an offer made by Doctor W. R. Lovelace on behalf of the Lovelace Foundation for Medical Education and Research to purchase the property at a price of $500,000. It is the general rule that evidence of specific offers of purchase is not admissible for the purpose of establishing the reasonable market value of property. The primary reasons underlying the rule are that evidence of that kind is often speculative, usually no opportunity is offered for cross-examination of the persons said to have made the offers, and collateral inquiries are injected into the case which may tend to confuse the main issue. Clarke v. Hot Springs Electric Light & Power Co., 10 Cir., 55 F.2d 612; Emerald Oil Co. v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 10 Cir., 72 F.2d 681. And that general rule has application in a case of this kind involving the question of the fair market value of property taken by condemnation. Sharp v. United States, 191 U.S. 341, 24 S.Ct. 114, 48 L.Ed. 211; Bank of Edenton v. United States, 4 Cir., 152 F.2d 251; St. Joe Paper Co. v. United States, 5 Cir., 155 F.2d 93.

But it is also a rule of recognized judicial dignity that if a party interjects into a case incompetent evidence tending to establish immaterial or unrelated facts, he cannot complain on appeal that his adversary subsequently offered and was permitted to introduce the same kind of evidence. It is well established law that where one party opens a field of inquiry that is not competent or relevant to the issues in the case, he will not be heard to complain that his adversary was allowed to avail himself of the opening and introduce additional evidence pertinent to that field of inquiry even though under other circumstances the testimony would be inadmissible. A party, having himself opened the door to evidence which is inadmissible for the reason that it is not the proper method of establishing or resisting the issues in the case, cannot complain that thereafter the court in the exercise of its sound judicial discretion permitted the opposite party to introduce other testimony bearing upon that field of inquiry, even though under different circumstances the testimony would be subject to valid objection of inadmissibility. Ward v. Blake Manufacturing Co., 8 Cir., 56 F. 437; Post Publishing Co. v. Hallam, 6 Cir., 59 F. 530; ...