Scott Lumber Company, Inc. v. United States

This appeal arises from a condemnation proceeding instituted by the United States, on behalf of the United States Forest Service, seeking to acquire an estate in timber land belonging to ap-pellánt, Scott Lumber Company, Inc., consisting of “easements for highways in all existing roads and all timber thereon, subject to easements for existing public utilities, if any, and in case of permanent abandonment of said right-of-way by plaintiff, the title and interest therein taken shall end, cease and determine, and title shall revert to the then owner of the underlying interests in said right-of-way.” The use for which the property is to be taken is “for the construction, maintenance and permanent use of highways for the purpose of removing timber and other products from the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, and for the use, conservation and protection and general administration of said forests, and for all other lawful purposes.”

The United States filed a declaration of taking at the time of the filing of the complaint on May 18, 1960, and deposited in the court an estimated just compensation. On the same day the district court entered an order for delivery of possession.

The…