144 Ky. 32 | Ky. Ct. App. | 1911
Opinion of the Court by
Affirming.
In the county court the appellant filed exceptions to the report of the commissioners, setting out (1) that the report did not state or show the convenience or inconvenience which will result to individuals' or the public from the opening of the road; (2) that there was no private or public necessity for the road, and it would be expensive to maintain, with no resulting benefit to the public or any individual; (3) that the route described in the report is impracticable and expensive, and the road if established will greatly damage the lands of appellant, as it cuts1 his farm into two tracts.
Section 4293, of the Kentucky Statutes, provides among other things that the report of the Commissioners shall state:
“The conveniences and inconveniences which will result, as well to individuals as to the public, from the opening of such road.”
The report of the commissioners described accurately the route of the proposed road and the amount of damages assessed in favor of the appellant, and set out that:
“The gjeneral public wil be beinieifitted enough to justify the court in ordering the road opened as a county road. ’ ’
The report also described what is termed a “prong road,” and recommended that it be opened. No mention of this, “prong road!” was made in the petition asking that a road be opened over the lands of appellant and others, but the commissioners evidently believed that this “prong road” would be beneficial to the community, and, therefore, recommended that it be established as a county road. We may at this point say that this “prong road” does not in any place touch the lands of appellant. It runs through the lands of other persons, but it intersects the road that was opened
A supplemental report was filed, setting forth that:
“Said road and the prong road referred to in said report should be opened for the convenience of the people living in that section of the county, traveling to and from the county court house in the city of Henderson, and the steamboat landing in the city of Henderson, and for the convenience of the residents of the city of Henderson and those who reside ‘along the route of said road and its tributaries-, and beyond the roads in going to and from the city of ITenderson, and the hauling, of produce to the city of Henderson, and the merchandise and 'supplies from the city of Henderson along and upon said roads and its tributaries.”
We think these reports substantially complied with the statutory requirement that the convenience as well as the inconvenience to the public and individuals should be set forth. The deficiency, if any, is in failing to set out with sufficient fullness the inconvenience to which appellant would be subjected, as the convenience that the public will derive is amply stated. But as the reports showed the quantity of appellant ’& land that would be taken and the amount of additional fencing that would be made necessary by the opening of the road, and the sum in damages that should be allowed him on these accounts, it seems evident that the commissioners considered that this covered the inconvenience appellant would suffer. While the reports in reference to the inconvenience of appellant are not as elaborate as they should be, we do not regard the defect in this particular as fatal to their sufficiency. •
The argument is made that the road proposed to be opened through the premises of appellant is not a public necessity, is an impracticable route, and was intended as a private convenience for appellees, which, by reason of existing roads, they do not need. But these objections to the opening of the road presented questions of fact that were fully considered on the trial. In road cases, as well as in other cases involving' questions of fact, the verdict of a properly instructed jury should not be disturbed unless it is flagrantly against the evidence, and we are not prepared to say that the verdict in this case is.
It is also contended that the court erred in refusing to instruct the jury that—
“Unless they shall believe from the evidence that the route of the proposed road is the most practicable route for a road for the people who would use the proposed road were it opened, they will find for the defendant. ’ ’
The court instructed the jury that—
“If you shall believe from the evidence that the establishment of the proposed road * * # is necessary for the use and conveniences of the traveling public, getting to or from the city of Henderson, or public warehouses located therein' as mentioned, in the evidence; and if you shall further believe from the evidence that the said proposed route is a practicable one for such purpose, then and in that event you should find for the petitioners that said road should be established.”
The only material difference between the instruction offered and the one given is that in the offered instruction the jury were not authorized to open the road unless they believed it was the “most” practicable route. It is said in argument by counsel for appellant that any route that engineering skill and money can construct might be a practicable route, but that the statute contemplates that a proposed new road should be opened over the “most” practicable route. We do not so construe the statute. Indeed, we doubt if it was necessary that the court should have submitted to the jury at all the question of the practicability of the route. The essential inquiry in these cases is the necessity for the road as a public convenience. If the proposed road is necessary for the convenience of the public, it naturally follows that it must be constructed over a practicable route — otherwise it would be of little use to the public. A road might be useful and necessary to the public and be constructed on an entirely practicable route, and yet the route might not be the “most” practicable one. The pract-icibility of the route is to be determined by the commissioners who locate it and it is for the jury to
A consideration of the record furnishes no reason for disturbing the judgment of the lower court, and it is affirmed.