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Section yi62 of the Compiled Laws authorizes the Court in a condemnation case on motion of the p la in t iff at any time after commencement o f the suit to permit the plaint i f f to occupy the premises sought to he condemned pending the action* On th is preliminary request the Court is required to take proof of the value of the premises sought to be condemned, the reasons fo r requiring a speedy occupation, and is required to grant or refuse the motion according to the equity o f the case and the rela tive damages which may accrue to the p arties. I f the Court permits the p la in t iff to take possession, i t must require the p la in t iff to execute and f i l e in Court a surety bond in not less than double the value of the premises sought to be condemned as determined by the Court. I believe that LVL&WCo. should be able to successfu lly re s is t an application o f the D istrict to take possession o f it s property pending the t r ia l of the action . I do not now see any pressing need fo r the D istrict to have possession pending the t r ia l and I think that we could show many elements of damage, both to ourselves and to the pu blic, i f such possession were sought by the D is tr ic t. Section 9169 of the Compiled Laws provides that at any time a fter the entry o f judgment or pending an appeal from the judgment, whenever the p la in t iff shall have paid into Court fo r the defendant the f u ll amount o f the judgment and such fu rther sum as may be required by the Court as a fund to pay any further damages and costs that may be recovered in the proceedings, the D istrict Court may authorize the p la in t iff to take possession and use the property u n til fin a l conclusion o f the lit ig a t io n . I have already noted a special provision to the same e ffe c t in the amended Section 20 o f the Act creating the D is trict. You w ill notice that after a t r ia l of the action the p la in t iff can only obtain possession of the property pending an appeal by paying into Court the f u ll amount of the judgment plus such additional sum as the Court may f ix . I think i t is quite probable that the D istrict would seek to obtain possession o f the property a fter the t r ia l Court had fixed the damages even though we may take an appeal. The Court would not have any d iscretion to refuse th£ request i f the p la in t iff complied with the provisions of the statute with reference to payment of funds into Court. You have also asked whether the D istrict could prosecute a condemnation action prior to the authorization and sale of it s bonds. There is nothing in the eminent domain statutes which expressly prohibits filin g of an action p rior to the time a plaint i f f is fin a n cia lly able to pay the judgment. 1 have not yet encountered any cases in which th is exact situation has arisen.
