145 Ga. 380 | Ga. | 1916
In tbe City of Newnan LaGrange street crosses the tracks of the Central of Georgia Railway Company. The plaintiffs own a lot of land abutting on LaGrange street near the railroad crossing, and on this land are located two dwelling-houses and a storehouse. These buildings are one story in height. The City of Newnan constructed along LaGrange street, and over the tracks of the railroad company, a bridge or viaduct, which is approximately 40 feet high in front of the plaintiff’s property and higher than the buildings on the property. The plaintiffs sued the city for damages from alleged depreciation in the value of their property, due to the construction of the viaduct, and recovered. The court refused to set aside the verdict on motion for new trial. In his instructions the judge, after referring to the pleadings as not challenging the city’s right to construct the viaduct, and after stating that the issue between the parties was whether its construction had depreciated the market value of the plaintiffs’ property, charged as. follows: “So, gentlemen, you look to the evidence upon that proposition, and you determine from the evidence what was the fair market value of this property before the erection and construction of the viaduct, and without reference to its construction or erection. And market value, gentlemen, is the price that property will bring when it is offered for sale by one who desires
Judgment affirmed.