67 Neb. 299 | Neb. | 1903
Plaintiff in error Mary Langan owns a tract of land lying within what, are now the corporate limits of the village of Wood River. Crossing the tract at about the middle is a strip called by the parties a “turning row”; that is, a strip of unplowed ground lying between plowed fields on each side, and upon which the teams used in cultivating the fields are turned around. Since the beginning of 1882, if not longer, this strip has been used by the public conti n uously, to some extent, as a roadway, and in May of that year proceedings were begun by the county board for the establishment of a highway including it, but were carried no further than the making of a survey and staking out the road. At that time the plaintiff in error Thomas Lan-gan, the owner of the land, gave to the county clerk, for filing, a claim for compensation in the sum of $200. This claim, however, did not find its way to the commissioners’ records and the road was declared established, but in October of the same year the premises were included in the, village corporation and the further prosecution of the proceedings was abandoned. Afterwards Langan, having as-
This proceeding is for the reversal of a judgment entered upon the verdict. The principal contentions in support of the judgment are, first, that the conduct of Thomas Langan, especially his filing, as it is insisted, of one claim for damages with the county board, and of three others with the village trustees, amounted to a dedication of the ground to the public as a highway. The impression the circumstances make upon our own minds is exactly the contrary. The filing, of the claims, if any were filed, shows a willingness on his part that his land should be appropriated for public use, provided and upon condition that he should be compensated therefor as prescribed by the constitution and statutes of the state; but otherwise not. In other words, his state of mind, as indicated by his own conduct, was not that of one who intends to dedicate, in the sense of to donate, give, bestow without compensation, but of one who was persistent in making it known
It is recommended that the judgment of the district court be reversed and a new trial granted.
For the reasons stated in the foregoing opinion, it is ordered that the judgment of the district court be reversed and a new trial granted.
Reversed.