Williams v. City of Taunton

• Decision Date: 29 July 1878
• Citation: 125 Mass. 34
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court
• Parties: John R. Williams & another v. City of Taunton. Edwin Williams v. Same. Alexander H. Williams v. Same

125 Mass. 34

John R. Williams & another v. City of Taunton.

Edwin Williams v. Same.

Alexander H. Williams v. Same

Supreme Court of Massachusetts

July 29, 1878

[Syllabus Material] [Syllabus Material] [Syllabus Material]

Bristol. Three Petitions, under the St. of 1875, c. 217, to the Superior Court, for a jury to assess the damages occasioned by the taking of the petitioners' lands, situated in Taunton, by the respondent, in supplying the city with pure water.

The cases were tried together, before Brigham, C. J., who allowed a bill of exceptions in substance as follows:

It was admitted that the several petitioners were the owners of the lands, as set out in their several petitions; that the petitioners had applied to the county commissioners for the county of Bristol for the assessment of their several damages; and that, after such assessments had been duly made by the commissioners, these petitions were filed.

The record of the taking of the lands by the city set forth that the lands were taken "for the purpose contemplated in said act, viz.: for the purposes of constructing filter beds, basins, reservoirs and wells therein, erecting thereon boiler and engine-houses, and other buildings and structures necessary or convenient for the waterworks, laying conduits and pipes, constructing necessary roads and approaches, and generally for doing in and upon said lands all things necessary or proper to be done for the purpose of establishing and maintaining its system of waterworks."

Alexander H. Williams and Edwin Williams, two of the petitioners, were each asked, on cross-examination by the respondent, against the objection and exception of the petitioners, "What became of the loam on that portion of your land taken by the city?" They each replied that the city had most of it, and that they took some with the assent of the water commissioners.

Several witnesses testified to conversations with Alexander H. Williams, which were admitted against the petitioners' objection, to the effect that, when experiments were being made to determine the location of the waterworks, Williams said they had better be on the Taunton side of the river; that he would be liberal with the city; that he was desirous of having the works on his and his brothers' land; that the price could be easily fixed; and that the expense of land would not be half as great as on the other side of the river. One witness testified that Williams said "they would let the city have it at their own price," and that it would be a great benefit to Ward 5 and to property holders. It appeared that the lands taken were in Ward 5, and that, at the times of the above conversations, Williams was a member of the common council of the city from this ward.

The petitioners contended that their lands were injured from drainage by the filter basin of the respondent's waterworks. On this point, William R. Nichols, a chemist, was called as a witness by the respondent. It was admitted that he was an expert. He testified, among other things, that the point of drainage of the remaining lands, by the filter basin on the land taken, could be determined by experiments on the lands; and the witness testified at length as to the manner of doing this, by driving tubular wells at various distances from the filter basin, and noting the effect upon those wells as the water was drawn down in the filter basin. The witness was then asked, "Has the level at which water stands under the soil been determined by experiment?" This question was objected to, except as to those experiments made on the lands of the petitioners; but the judge permitted the witness to testify, subject to the petitioners' exception, at length, as to the experiments made by him, in connection with diagrams used by him in classes connected with the Institute of Technology at Boston, which were exhibited to the jury. It appeared that these experiments were made, in the laboratory of the witness in Boston, in small boxes; that he had put sand and gravel into these boxes, in its natural state, so far as he could, and allowed the earth to settle. The amount of earth used was about six feet in length, about six inches deep and four inches in width, and the Cochituate water was allowed to flow into this earth from a tube.

A view was taken of the premises before the trial, and in the opening remarks made to the jury, before the view, by the respondent's counsel, it was contended that the benefits arising to the several petitioners, by the laying out and opening of public streets over the land taken, since the land was taken, and the prospective benefits from a bridge to be constructed over Taunton River, by which the distances to the station of the Old Colony Railroad, Taunton Green and other important points were diminished, were to be considered. The petitioners contended that all such benefits, if any there were, could not be considered by the jury. This opening statement was objected to, but no exception was taken to it.

Alfred H. Martine, a civil engineer, called by the respondent, was allowed, against the petitioners' objection, for the purpose of showing the relation of the petitioners' land to the thickly settled parts of Taunton, and public places of resort therein, to state the distance to the Old Colony Depot, from the corner of the land taken at Williams Street, by the highway, across a certain bridge, and also other distances along the route, to Taunton Green, the Unitarian Church, &c. It appeared that the route of which he gave measurements was the only route by the highway to the Old Colony Depot. The witness was also asked, "What is the distance from the same point to the Old Colony Depot in an air line?" To this the plaintiffs objected, but the judge admitted the evidence for the purposes to which the other measurements applied. The witness gave an estimate of this distance.

The judge rejected evidence offered by the respondent to show that, by a street laid out over the land taken, and since the taking, and by a contemplated bridge over Taunton River, under the St. of 1877, c. 72, the lands of the petitioners would be brought a mile nearer the station of the Old Colony Railroad than they were at the time of the taking.

The petitioners asked the judge to give certain instructions to the jury, which it is unnecessary now to state. The judge declined to give the instructions requested, in the form in which they were presented; but instructed the jury as follows:

"The petitioners are entitled to recover compensation for all damages to their several tracts of land, occasioned by taking parts of these tracts for the uses and in the manner in which they were taken by the location. Such damages will include the value of the land taken from each tract, the diminished value of the residues of the tracts occasioned by the taking by reason of any injury to those residues inseparable from any of the uses to which the city of Taunton may lawfully put the land taken. The value of the land taken may be determined, not necessarily by its value for the uses to which it was put before or at the time of taking, but by its value for any uses to which it was, at the time of taking adapted and available. The diminished value of the residue of the tracts, occasioned by the taking, may be determined by considering the effect of the taking in dividing the petitioners' lands, so that access from one part to another, which before the taking had been direct and convenient, became by the taking indirect and inconvenient, in depriving petitioners of access to the river for any valuable use to which the river could be applied in connection with their several tracts of lands; in exhausting or withdrawing from the soil of such residues of land natural supplies of water, needful to the same, in any of the uses to which they were adapted and available, and also the effect of the taking, in view of its character, purposes and influence, in any benefits or advantages the residue of land derived from the taking, by which such residue became adapted and available to new and valuable uses, or received an enhanced value for the uses to which they were applied before the taking; but all such advantages and benefits are to be those which...