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69 Ind. 304

Beck v. Pavey

Indiana Supreme Court

Decided November 15, 1879

Indiana Supreme Court · decided 1879-11-15

<p>Ditches and Drains. — Evidence.—Report of Appraisers.- — The report of * the appraisers of benefits to result from the construction of a ditch is not competent evidence on the trial of such proceeding in the circuit court.</p>

Relies on Freck v. Christian

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1879-11-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 5 later decisions — most recently December 1900

5 state decisions

301879188018901900decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Niblack, J.

¶1The appellee, Jesse Pavey, instituted proceedings before the Board of Commissioners of’ the county of Boone, to have the benefits which would accrue to certain lands in that county, belonging to the appellant, Palemón A. Beck, and to others, on account of the construction of a ditch through said lands to drain the same, assessed against such lands; also to have the damages to such lands assessed, if any should result thereto. 2 R. S. 1876, p. 684; 1 R. S. 1876, p. 428.

¶2The board of commissioners appointed three appraisers to assess such benefits and damages, who made an assessment of benefits in different amounts, against several tracts of land belonging to the appellant. The appellant then appealed to the circuit court, where, upon a trial before a jury, the court permitted the report of the appraisers, appointed as above, to be read in evidence over the objection of the appellant. The jury returned a verdict substantially affirming the assessment made by the appraisers against the appellant’s lands. Over a motion for a new ■trial, judgment was rendered in accordance with the verdict.

¶3The appellant contends that the circuit court erred in admitting the report of the appraisers in evidence, and that constitutes the only question for our consideration upon this appeal.

¶4The precise question involved in this case was ruled upon and decided in the case of McKinsey v. Bowman, 58 *305Inch 88. In that case it was held to he erroneous to admit the report of the appraisers in evidence, in a case like this, upon the trial in the circuit court; and, upon the authority1 of that case, the judgment in the proceeding before us will have to be reversed. See, also, Freck v. Christian, 55 Ind. 320.

¶5The judgment is reversed, with costs, and the cause re-' manded for a new trial. ■

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