Murhard Estate Co. v. Portland & Seattle Ry. Co.
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Appeal from and in Error to the Circuit Court of the United States for the Western District of Washington. The Portland & Seattle Railway Company, defendant in error, brought suit in one of the courts of the state of Washington against the Murhard Estate Company, plaintiff 'in error, to condemn a right of way for railroad purposes across land owned by the Murhard Estate Company in Clark county, Wash.
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Appeal from and in Error to the Circuit Court of the United States for the Western District of Washington. The Portland & Seattle Railway Company, defendant in error, brought suit in one of the courts of the state of Washington against the Murhard Estate Company, plaintiff 'in error, to condemn a right of way for railroad purposes across land owned by the Murhard Estate Company in Clark county, Wash. It is provided by the statutes of Washington (sections 5637-5640, Ballinger’s Ann. Codes & St. [Pierce’s Code, §§ 5102-5105]), in substance, that a corporation seeking to exercise the right of…
1Opinion of the CourtHunt, District Judge
(after stating the facts as above). The appeal in the' case will have to be dismissed. A proceeding to take land for public uses by condemnation is a suit at common law. This was decided in Kohl et al. v. United States, 91 U. S. 367, 23 L. Ed. 449, the court citing Weston v. Charlston, 2 Pet. 464, 7 L. Ed. 481. “The right of eminent domain,” said Justice Strong, “always was a right at common law. It was not a right in equity, nor was it even the creature of a statute. The time of its exercise may have been prescribed by statute, but the right itself was superior to any statute.”
In Chicago,…
2Cases cited18 opinions
- Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad v. ChicagoSupreme Court of the United States · 1897
- Clyde Mattox v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1892
- Parsons v. Bedford, Breedlove, & RobesonSupreme Court of the United States · 1830
- Boom Co. v. PattersonSupreme Court of the United States · 1879
- Capital Traction Co. v. HofSupreme Court of the United States · 1899
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3Cited by4 opinions
- Olson v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1934
- United States v. MeyerCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1940
- United States v. J. Cyril Johnson and Ray T. LindsayCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1961
- Justice v. United StatesCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1944