City & County of San Francisco v. Superior Court

This is an original proceeding in mandamus to require the respondent Superior Court to modify an interlocutory judgment in eminent domain proceedings to conform to the verdict of the jury rendered after a trial of the issues.

The petitioner City and County of San Francisco instituted condemnation proceedings to condemn various parcels of real property owned by the various defendants. A trial by jury was demanded and was not waived by any party to the suit. Such a trial was had which resulted in a verdict assessing the damages to one of the defendants in the sum of $8,000 and to another in the sum of $500. When the verdict was returned to the court and entered, counsel for these defendants moved that it be modified by increasing the amount of damages awarded to them by the jury. This motion was resisted by the city, but the trial judge ordered the awards increased and thereupon entered an interlocutory decree in favor of the city permitting it to take the property upon payment to these defendants of damages which he assessed to be $9,000 in the one instance and $1,000 in the other. Upon the entry of this interlocutory decree the city moved the trial court to modify the judgment to…