Hawkins v. West Side Electric Street Railway Co.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Appeals, Nos. 131 and 132,-April T., 1916, by defendant, from judgments of C. P. Washington Co., Aug. T., 1914, Nos. 129 and 130, on verdict for plaintiffs in cases of Josephine Hawkins, et al., v. West Side Electric Street Railway Co. and Melvina Ross, et al., v. West Side Electric Street Railway Company. Appeal from award of jury of view.
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Appeals, Nos. 131 and 132,-April T., 1916, by defendant, from judgments of C. P. Washington Co., Aug. T., 1914, Nos. 129 and 130, on verdict for plaintiffs in cases of Josephine Hawkins, et al., v. West Side Electric Street Railway Co. and Melvina Ross, et al., v. West Side Electric Street Railway Company. Appeal from award of jury of view. The record showed that the award of the jury of view was for $700. The court charged in part as follows: [“ ‘What is the fair compensation that these landowners should receive from this railroad for the land taken and any injury that might be done to their…
1Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
Kephart, J.,
Where a railway company takes land under the right of eminent domain, the company is immediately liable for the damages occasioned by such appropriation, and if there is any delay in payment, the landowner is prima facie entitled to damages for such delay unless that right is defeated by some act of his own: Wayne v. Railroad Co., 281 Pa. 515. To entitle the landowner to recover damages for delay, it must appear in the evidence that there was in fact delay. The damages are given not as a penalty for failure to make an immediate settlement, but for what the use of the…
2Cases cited5 opinions
- McHugh v. SchlosserSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1894
- Erie City Iron Works v. Barber & Co.Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1883
- Himes v. KiehlSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1893
- Martachowski v. OrawitzSuperior Court of Pennsylvania · 1900
- O'Reilly v. Monongahela Street Railway Co.Superior Court of Pennsylvania · 1901