Missouri Pacific Railroad v. Clements

Minor W. Millwee, Justice.

This is a suit hy appellee, W. Lee Clements, against appellants, Missouri Pacific Railroad Company and T. W. Keesee, to recover damages for trespass upon appellee’s lands and to remove a cloud on his title thereto.

The appellant railroad maintained a wooden trestle over its line across Swan Lake in Desha County. In 1944 the trestle was damaged by fire and the company decided to replace it with an earthen fill. The proposed project required the acquisition of land in the vicinity, or easements to excavate such land, in order to obtain a suitable supply of dirt for that…