96 Cal. 93 | Cal. | 1892
— This action was brought in the superior court of the county of Los Angeles for the purpose of condemning the right of way for a proposed public road over the lands of the defendant corporation. It was instituted under an order made by the hoard of supervisors of the county, plaintiff here, under section 2690 of the Political- Code, as amended March 17, 1887, which is in this language: “ If any award of damages is not accepted
The appellant contends that the proceedings before the board of supervisors leading up to this proceeding were void, and that therefore the superior court has n o jurisdiction to hear the present -action, notwithstanding the existence of the statute just .quoted. The contention being that if the action of the board of supervisors cannot be attacked collaterally in this, a different proceeding, that the statute in question is unconstitutional, because it provides for the taking of private property without due process of law.
If these proceedings necessarily had the effect of taking away the property of the appellant without affording any opportunity in any other legal way for the appellant to prevent this taking, by showing that the board of supervisors had not proceeded in a legal way to lay out the road for the public use for which the land in controversy is needed, there would be much force in the plaintiff’s position. But such is not the necessary result of this proceeding, and all that this statute does in effect is to .establish a rule of evidence for this particular proceeding, leaving the plaintiff to his appropriate remedy of a direct attack on the action of the board be-fore the order shall be made declaring the land taken
Vancliee, C., and Haynes, C., concurred.
For the reasons given in the foregoing opinion, the order is affirmed.
Sharpstein, J., De Haven, J., McFarland, J.