United States v. 2,124.67 Acres of Land

As part of pretrial procedure under Rule 16, F.R.C.P., 28 U.S.C.A., the plaintiff and the defendants, Dwight Murphy and Grace Murphy, raise a question for determination prior to trial.

For the purpose of this ruling only, plaintiff concedes that the facts as set forth by defendant land owners are correct, and proceeding arguendo, contends that the land owners may not recover in this proceeding for an alleged loss of a stream of cold water, hot sulphur springs and a flow of hot sulphur water below the springs.

The declaration of taking was filed July 26, 1950, and on the same date the complaint was filed. The property taken from the Murphys was land in the Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara county. The hot springs and stream are not on such land.

The construction of the Tecolote Tunnel, through the mountains from the Santa Ynez Valley to the coastal plain above Santa Barbara was not commenced until long after the date of taking of the land in question. Nor was any land for the Tecolote Tunnel taken from these land owners. The Tecolote Tunnel was, constructed on land taken from other land owners.

Assuming that this later construction of the tunnel was the proximate cause of the…