Southwestern Electric Power Co. v. Jones

I concur with that portion of the majority opinion which affirmed the lower court’s finding plaintiff had proved the necessity for expropriating the property, but I respectfully dissent from the amount awarded the landowner.

Underlying all expropriation cases is the constitutional safeguard that “private property shall not be taken or damaged except for public purposes and after just and adequate compensation is paid”. (La.Const. Art. 1, Sec. 2). The taking of private property against the will of the owner, being in derogation of the concept of private ownership of property, should be used…