Jamison
Jamison v. Department of Transportation
Opinion
Opinion
Nicholson, J.
The trial court enjoined the state Department of Transportation (Caltrans) from removing an obstruction plaintiff William O. Jamison placed against a ditch culvert within a state highway right-of-way without an encroachment permit. The trial court erred in granting the injunction, as no evidence supported an exception to the statutory bar prohibiting injunctions that prevent the execution of a public statute by public officers for public purposes. We reverse.
FACTS
Plaintiff owns large parcels of land near Sierraville in Sierra County. This land is commonly referred to as Alpers Ranch. Plaintiff grazes cattle on the land for about seven months each year.
State Route 49 (SR 49) runs across a 68-acre parcel of plaintiff’s land in a southwest-northeast direction. SR 49 has been a public right-of-way in the Sierraville area for over 100 years. (Sts. & Hy. Code, § 349.) Caltrans controls and maintains the SR 49 public right-of-way by authority of prescriptive easements. The easements encompass the width of land between existing fences. Plaintiff owns the underlying fee; he purchased Alpers Ranch subject to the highway easements.