24 N.J.L. 209 | N.J. | 1853
Surveyors of highways having altered a public highway in the townships of Readington and Tewksbury, in the county of Hunterdon, and assessed to Aaron Dilley, among others, the sum of $40, as damages by him sustained for lands, &c., taken for the same in the township of Readington, in January, 1853, under the provisions of the supplement to the
No objection is taken to the form of these proceedings; hut the counsel for the defendant in certiorari, when the case came on for argument, moved to dismiss the writ, upon two grounds.
1. That the writ was improperly endorsed, insisting that it should have been entitled “ The state, the inhabitants, &c., prosecutors, v. Aaron Dilley.” There is nothing in this. In matters of public highway, the name of the state is used because the laying out of a road is a matter which concerns the public at large ; but in a question of reassessment of damages nobody has any interest hut the inhabitants of the township who are to pay, and the land owner who is to receive the amount of the assessment. The writ in this case is properly endorsed; and even if it were not so, it would be amendable in that particular. State v. Kirby, 2 South. 837; State v. Hanford, 6 Halst. 74; Upper Freehold v. Hillsborough, 1 Green 293.
3. The defendant’s counsel contend that this writ is not broad enough ; that it brings up for review only the proceedings touching the reassessment, whereas he insists that this question necessarily involves the whole proceedings concerning tiie alteration of the road, as well as the question of damages. But this is not so. If the surveyors who lay out or alter a public highway fail to’ assess damages to the land owners according to the provisions of the act, that emission vitiate the entire procoodkig, and is ground for setting the return itscl
The motion to dismiss, therefore, cannot prevail.
It remains, then, to examine whether the plaintiffs in certiorari have shown any sufficient ground for setting aside the reassessment complained of.
1. The first reason relied upon is, that the judge who made the appointment of freeholders to review and reassess the damages was disqualified from acting in the premises.
It appears, from the testimony, that the proper location of the road in question had, for many years, been a matter of controversy; and Judge Thompson, being a citizen of Readington, and a practical surveyor, had been called on to survey the road in 1839 ; had opposed the alteration, in 1847, before the surveyors then appointed, and received a small compensation for doing so from some of the opponents; and, in 184S, had surveyed the road for Dilley and others. But it does not appear that he took any part for or against the applicants for the alteration of the road since then, beyond lending his aid towards having the matters in difference compromised, and signing a remonstrance as a member of the township committee against it, on the ground, simply, that the benefit to the public would not equal the expense. Be was not a member of the township committee when he made the appointment. That committee was duly notified of the intended application to Judge Thompson for the appointment of freeholders; and Mr. Stryker, one of the committee,'attended before him, and took part in the proceeding, but made no objection to the qualification of the judge. No doubt the judge to whom ap
2. The second reason is, that Asa Tiger and William P. All-paugh, two of the freeholders appointed to reassess these damages, had signed a remonstrance against the alteration, and were opposed to it. But this is not a circumstance, standing by itself, from which any bias can be legitimately inferred as to the question of the amount of damages sustained by Dilley, and the proceedings cannot be set aside for this.
3. The third reason is, that Tiger had, before his appointment, formed and publicly expressed an opinion as to the amount of damages Mr. Dilley had sustained by the alteration of the road. This reason is substantially sustained by the evidence. Is it sufficient to set aside the reassessment? Mr. Tiger, it appears, was acquainted with the location of the road over Billey’s land before his appointment, and had expressed the opinion at different times that it would injure him to the extent of $500, $700, and $1000. It is the case of an opinion formed not from reports merely, but from actual knowledge of the premises. With this preconceived opinion, was he a fit person to sit in judgment between these parties upon this very question of the amount of damages sustained ? The ease is analogous in principle to that of a juror; and Lord Coke says, « the rule of law is that the juror must stand indifferent as be stands unsworn.” Coke Litt. 155 b. An opinion formed and expressed by a juror on the subject matter in controversy is good cause of challenge. Blake v. Millspaugh, 1 Johns. R.
This disposes of the case; but it may be useful to examine and settle, as far as we can, the other questions presented.
4. The fourth reason assigned is, in substance, that the freeholders adopted an erroneous principle in reassessing these damages. It is proved, by one of the freeholders, that “ the way they made it (the amount of damage) up was, they valued the land at so much per acre, so much a panel for making fence, and so much damage for being cut off from water.” The statute, Pamph. L. 162, § 1, directs the assessment of
5. The fifth reasou is, that the freeholders refused to hear testimony offered by the plaintiffs in certiorari as to the amount <of damages sustained by Dilley. The statute gives no directions as to the mode in which the surveyors originally, or the freeholders upon a review, shall proceed to ascertain the damages, whether by view simply, or by hearing the parties by witnesses, or both. Its language is, “the surveyors, or a majority of them, shall, immediately after laying out or altering any public road, &c., make an assessment of the damages the owner of any land, &c., will sustain,” &c.; and when a reassessment is applied for, it directs that the freeholders appointed on such application shall “ review the assessment made by the surveyors, aud lesson or increase the same as to them, in their judgment under the circumstances of the case, shall seem fit and just.” It was held in Van Winkle v. The C. & A. Railroad Co., 2 Green’s R. 167, that, under the provisions of the charter of that company directing that commissioners appointed to assess the value of the land taken for the purposes of the company and the damages “should proceed to view and examine the said land, &c., aud make an appraisement,” &c., they had no authority to swear and examine witnesses ; that such a proceeding was coram non judice ; that the commissioners are to judge from inspection, from their own view and examination of the premises. But in Cooter v. The N. J. Railroad Co., 3 Zab. 227, the court held that commissioners ap
I think we cannot say that, under this statute, there is any authority conferred on the surveyors or freeholders to examine witnesses under oath as to the question of the damages they are to assess. They have none of the powers incident and essential to such an authority ; they cannot issue process for, or compel the attendance of witnesses; they cannot administer an oath to them; they are not a tribunal to determine who are and who are not competent to give evidence, or what is proper and legal evidence ; nor have they authority to invoke the aid of a judicial officer to discharge these duties for them. But it does not follow that they may not hear the parties in interest by themselves or by counsel, nor that they may not avail themselves of any accessible means of informa
The last reason for setting aside the reassessment is, that illegal costs were allowed.
The point of the objection is, that three distinct applications were made for reassessments, of which Dilley’s was one; that the same freeholders were appointed in each case; that they examined and decided all the cases within the same time, and that three separate bills of costs have been allowed, one in each case. In this there is no error.
Let the reassessment be set aside for the third reason assigned, to wit, that Tiger had formed and expressed an opinion, as to the amount of damages sustained by Dilley, previous to his appointment.
It was held, in the case of The State v. Miller, 3 Zab. 383, that if a town committee have applied within twenty days for the appointment of freeholders to review the assessment of surveyors, and the appointment, without their default, is not made within that time, the remedy is not lost, but the appointment may be subsequently made. Here the freeholders made a reassessment, but it turns out to be illegal in consequence of the disopialification of one of the freeholders. The township committee are in no default, and the principle settled in The State v. Miller fairly applies. The matter has been in litigation, and either party have still a right within twenty days to apply for the appointment of freeholders, and have the original assessment by the surveyors reviewed.