Consolidated Turnpike Co. v. Norfolk & Ocean View Railway Co.

Background

A group of mortgage holders sued after a strip of land was condemned and the official valuation ignored permanent improvements placed there earlier by the Bay Shore Company, a predecessor in title. The commissioners set the land’s value at $6,200 without counting those improvements. The trial court accepted a rule that such improvements could enhance the mortgagees’ security, but the Virginia Supreme Court reversed and said the improvements should not be considered in measuring compensation.

Reasoning

The key question was whether the mortgage holders had properly raised a federal due‑process complaint in the Virginia courts so this Court could review it. The opinion explains that federal review under the statute requires a party to “specially set up” a claim under the U.S. Constitution in the state court record. The Court found no clear, timely federal claim in the record: the only federal reference was a vague exception and a late rehearing petition, which was denied without an opinion. A later certificate by a state judge did not become part of the record and could not supply jurisdiction.

Real world impact

Because the federal constitutional claim was not properly presented to the state court of last resort, the Supreme Court would not decide on the merits and dismissed the appeal. The dismissal leaves the Virginia court’s condemnation ruling in place and underscores that litigants must raise federal constitutional objections clearly and on time in state court if they want federal review.