O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 46-8-121 (2019)

Acquisition of property by companies; approval by commission as prerequisite to exercise of power of eminent domain

✓ O.C.G.A. — 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)

Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section GA-LEGlegis.ga.gov (official) JustiaJustia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Statute text

Authority and power are granted to railroad companies to acquire by purchase or gift and to hold such real estate as may be necessary for all of the purposes mentioned in Code Section 46-8-120. If the real estate cannot be acquired by purchase or gift, then it may be acquired by condemnation in the manner provided in Title 22, provided that the right of condemnation under this Code section shall not be exercised until the commission, under such rules of procedure as it may provide, first approves the taking of the property.

History

(Ga. L. 1914, p. 144, §§ 1, 2; Code 1933, §§ 94-321, 94-322.)

Annotations

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Acquisition of unimproved land and condemnation of inhabited land by railroads. - Former Code 1933, §§ 84-321 and 94-322 (see O.C.G.A. § 46-8-121) did not limit acquisition by railroad companies to unimproved land and did not restrict their power to condemn lands on which houses were situated. Landers v. Georgia Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 217 Ga. 804, 125 S.E.2d 495 (1962).

Scope of Public Service Commission's approval power. - The Public Service Commission's power to approve a railroad's condemnation for the relocation and expansion of its existing rail yard facilities includes the power to determine the necessity, propriety and expediency of the condemnation. Georgia Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. Central of Ga. R.R., 179 Ga. App. 415, 346 S.E.2d 568 (1986).

Commission determines whether condemnation serves public purpose. - The commission, in ruling on the propriety of a condemnation of property by a railroad for the purpose of expansion and improvement, should seek to determine whether the condemnation serves a public purpose, not whether the condemnation "best serves" the public interest. Central of Ga. R.R. v. Georgia Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 257 Ga. 217, 356 S.E.2d 865 (1987).

Commission not obliged to approve condemnation for proposed purpose. - Whether a more suitable site is proposed is not controlling because the Public Service Commission is not obliged to approve a condemnation under O.C.G.A. § 46-8-121 for a proposed purpose. Georgia Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. Central of Ga. R.R., 179 Ga. App. 415, 346 S.E.2d 568 (1986).

Cited in Ammons v. Central of Ga. Ry., 215 Ga. 758, 113 S.E.2d 438 (1960); Georgia Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. Central of Ga. R.R., 184 Ga. App. 241, 361 S.E.2d 723 (1987).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d. - 26 Am. Jur. 2d, Eminent Domain, §§ 20, 23, 51, 123, 137. 65 Am. Jur. 2d, Railroads, §§ 39, 42 et seq.

C.J.S. - 29A C.J.S., Eminent Domain, § 33. 74 C.J.S., Railroads, §§ 133 et seq., 147, 148 et seq.

ALR. - Assessment of railroad right of way for local improvements, 37 A.L.R. 219; 82 A.L.R. 425.

Condemnation of premises or part thereof as affecting rights of landlord and tenant inter se, 163 A.L.R. 679.

Condemner's waiver, surrender, or limitation, after award, of rights or part of property acquired by condemnation, 5 A.L.R.2d 724.

Spur track and the like as constituting a use for which railroad can validly exercise right of eminent domain, 35 A.L.R.2d 1326.

Right to intervene in court review of zoning proceeding, 46 A.L.R.2d 1059.

Admissibility, in eminent domain proceeding, of evidence as to price paid for condemned real property during pendency of the proceeding, 55 A.L.R.2d 781.

Admissibility, in eminent domain proceeding, of evidence as to price paid for condemned real property on sale prior to the proceeding, 55 A.L.R.2d 791.

Right of adjoining landowners to intervene in condemnation proceedings on ground that they might suffer consequential damage, 61 A.L.R.2d 1292.

What constitutes abandonment of a railroad right of way, 95 A.L.R.2d 468.

Eminent domain: right of owner of land not originally taken or purchased as part of adjacent project to recover, on enlargement of project to include adjacent land, enhanced value of property by reason of proximity to original land - state cases, 95 A.L.R.3d 752.

Eminent domain: recovery of value of improvements made with knowledge of impending condemnation, 98 A.L.R.3d 504.

State statute of limitations applicable to inverse condemnation or similar proceedings by landowner to obtain compensation for direct appropriation of land without the institution or conclusion of formal proceedings against specific owner, 26 A.L.R.4th 68.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 6 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1986–2026 · leading case: Jones Creek Investors, LLC v. Columbia Cnty., 98 F. Supp. 3d 1279 (S.D. Ga. 2015).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Jones Creek Investors, LLC v. Columbia Cnty., 98 F. Supp. 3d 1279 (S.D. Ga. 2015). · cites it 6× “JCI argues that CSXT is a state actor for purposes of this condemnation because (1) as a railroad, it has been granted the power to condemn property under Georgia Code section 46-8-121; and (2) per the Georgia Court of Appeals, the right of condemnation comes with the reciprocal…”

Georgia Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. Cent. of Georgia R.R., 346 S.E.2d 568 (Ga. Ct. App. 1986). · cites it 9× “The Central of Georgia Railroad under OCGA § 46-8-121 petitioned the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) for approval of the railroad’s condemnation of certain land in Lee County, to be used to construct a new rail yard including track and switching facilities, to replace…”

Cent. of Georgia R.R. v. Georgia Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 356 S.E.2d 865 (Ga. 1987). · cites it 4× “§ 94-322 , and the new hybrid statute now lies at OCGA § 46-8-121. When this change was made, the phrase “for the public use or uses desired,” was deleted from the end of the new code section.”

Hartwell R.R. Co. v. Hartwell First United Methodist Church, Inc. (Ga. Ct. App. 2023). · cites it 2× “In a June 23, 2020 order, the STB concluded that the spur/runaround track is ancillary track 9 See OCGA § 46-8-121, which provides: Authority and power are granted to railroad companies to acquire by purchase or gift and to hold such real estate as may be necessary for all of…”

Sandersville R.R. Co. v. Robert Donald Garrett, Sr. (Ga. Ct. App. 2026). · cites it 2× “And under OCGA § 46-8-121, a railroad seeking to construct new facilities on land it does not own “may” acquire the land by condemnation, “provided that the right of condemnation .”

Georgia Pub. Serv. Comm'n v. Cent. of Georgia R.R., 361 S.E.2d 723 (Ga. Ct. App. 1987). · cites it 2× “415 ( 346 SE2d 568 ), wherein we held that under the plain terms of OCGA § 46-8-121 (and former Code § 94-321), the Georgia Public Service Commission has original approval power of the Railroad’s condemnation of the subject property, and that this approval power is not limited…”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.