County of Madera v. Raymond Granite Co.

Appeal by the defendant from the judgment and from the final order condemning land of defendant for a private road. Wilhelmina McLennan filed her petition with the board of supervisors of Madera County for a private road. The proceedings before the supervisors culminated in an order to bring this action to condemn defendant’s land.

1. It is urged that the bond given in support of the petition for the road was insufficient. The petition and bond are set out in the complaint. The bond was in the penal sum of six hundred dollars, and recited that the probable cost of viewing and laying out of the proposed road would not exceed half that amount. The objection is, that section 2692 of the Political Code requires a bond not only in conformity with the bond required in petitioning for a public road (sec. 2683), but that it shall he further conditioned that the “bondsmen will pay to the person over whose lands said road is sought to he opened his necessary costs and disbursements in contesting the opening of such road, in case the petition be not granted and the road-finally opened.” It is contended that this provision can only be met by an unlimited and unconditional promise on the part…

The petition for a rehearing in this case is denied. We are of the opinion that the bond given upon the proceedings for the opening of the road was sufficient, and not subject to the criticism made upon it by the appellant. That portion of the opinion to the effect that the proceedings could not be attacked collaterally for a substantial defect in the bond is withdrawn.