Lower Nueces River Water Supply District v. Collins

On Second Motion for Rehearing

POPE, Justice.

On motion for rehearing by appellees, this Court severed and partially affirmed the trial court’s judgment because appellant had made no assignments of error with respect to portions of the judgment. We altered our original judgment by affirming the award for oil, gas and minerals under all of the 1217 acres of land. We also affirmed the award for the surface estate of 168 acres lying above the seventy-five foot elevation and comprising a part of the pasture land, but not a part of the three islands. We affirmed the award for the surface estate of 840 acres below the seventy-five foot elevation, which was on occasions above the water and used in connection with the 168 acres of pasture land. Finally, we affirmed, with respect to the damages to crops and pumps in a former flood. While appellant preserved no points, it now has filed its motion for rehearing and urges that those awards are so hitched to the condemnation award about which it does complain, that a severance is not proper.

It quotes Phillips v. United States, 9 Cir., 243 F.2d 1, which says: “If we attempt to cut a condemnation proceeding into slices, it bleeds.” Appellant also cites Eagle Lake Improvement Co. v. United States, 5 Cir., 160 F.2d 182, in which the Court states that surface lands for which a residential use is claimed is inconsistent with a claim for subsurface oil values. Hence, the two damages are so tied together that they can not be severed. See also, Phillips v. United States, 243 F.2d 1.

Accordingly, we withdraw the opinion we wrote on appellees’ motion for rehearing. Our original opinion will stand, except that appellees will recover the sum of $8,-320 as damages to crops and pumps in a former flood.

Costs are adjudged against appellees.