Gray v. Doyle

Hart, J. (after stating the facts). The circuit court was right in holding that the commissioners of the drainage ditch were not personally liable for the damage caused by the erection of the embankments in question; it was wrong in holding that the drainage district was not liable. .It is claimed that the commissioners are individually liable because there was no legal authority for them to construct embankments, and because they had no authority to do anything after the construction of the drainage ditch was completed. We cannot agree with counsel in this contention. It is true that the object of the improvement district was to drain the lands within the boundaries of the district, and the general plan to do this was the digging of a drainage ditch. After the construction of the drainage ditch had been completed it was found that it was not fully adequate for the purpose for which it was intended, and the construction of the embankments across these sloughs was done by the commissioners in order to carry out the project of draining the lands within the boundaries of the district. It was thought that the damming up' of these sloughs would cause the water from above to flow down the drainage ditch, and not spread out over the lower lands, as it had done before. In aid of the project, the lower end of the drainage ditch was deepened to a certain extent, but this was not sufficient to carry off the waters which had been impounded by the construction of the embankments. This caused the waters to flow back over the land of the plaintiff and to materially damage it in a permanent manner. Section 3630 of Crawford & Moses’ Digest provides that the drainage district, after the completion of the drainage system, shall continue to exist for the purpose of preserving the same, of keeping the ditches clear from obstructions, and of extending, widening or deepening the ditches from time to time, as it may be found advantageous to the district. We think the authority here given includes the power to build the embankments in question for the purpose of turning the water into the drainage ditch in aid of the drainage system. As we have already seen, the erection of these embankments caused the water to flow back on the land of the plaintiff and to permanently damage it. This act of .the commissioners in building the embankments was a new taking or damage to the land of the plaintiff within the meaning of the Constitution, and, being in furtherance of the original plan of draining the lands of the district, the district was liable to the owner whose land was damaged, within the rule announced in Road Dist. No. 6 v. Hall, 140 Ark. 241. Again, in Sain v. Cypress Creek Drainage District 161 Ark. 529, it was held that injury to lands from the construction and operation of a drainage project is within art. 2, § 22, of our Constitution, providing that no private property shall be taken or damaged for public use without just compensation. In that case the majority of the court held that the damage complained of was one which was in contemplation at the time the drainage district was created, and was taken into consideration by the board of commissioners in assessing the benefits and arriving at the damages suffered by the landowners by the construction of the drainage ditch. Hence they found that there was no change of plans subsequent to the assessment of benefits, and no additional taking or damage to .the property, as was the case of Road Dist. No. 6 v. Hall, 140 Ark. 241. The writer wrote a dissent in that case, but it was based wholly upon the ground that practically the undisputed facts showed that there had been a new taking or damage to the property of the complaining landowners. It sufficiently appears, from the testimony of the plaintiff and his witnesses, that the construction of the embankments across the three sloughs as they now exist was not a part of the plans of the original improvement. The plaintiff says that the embankments that were constructed by the contractors were for the purpose of impounding the waters so that they might float the boats used in digging the canal, or drainage ditch, and was not a part of the improvement. The commissioners admit that they strengthened and built the embankments higher than they were originally. They also admit that this was done nine months after the drainage ditch was completed, and it is fairly inferable that it was not a part of their original plans. Hence the court erred in holding that there was no liability on the part of the drainage district, and in directing a verdict in its favor. As we have already seen, the. commissioners did not act without legal authority in building the embankments, and, for that reason, there is no personal liability against them. Section 3930 of Crawford & Moses’ Digest provides that, whenever any corporation authorized by law to appropriate private property for its own use shall have entered upon and appropriated such property, the owner shall have the right to bring an action against such corporation in the circuit court of the county in which the property is situated, for damages. The suit in the present case was brought within the statutory period, and it results, from the views that we have expressed, that the circuit court erred in directing a verdict in favor of the drainage district. Therefore the judgment will be reversed, and the cause remanded for further proceedings according to law and not inconsistent with this opinion.