California Court of Appeal

Where two cell phone companies used water company's easement for non-water-related purposes on plaintiffs' land, companies acted as simple trespassers and no inverse condemnation could be found; public utility does not have power of eminent domain to take private property for a purpose which is unrelated to the actual service provided to the public.

Appellate Information

• Decided 04/16/2002
• Published 04/16/2002

Judges

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
•  Palmieri, Tyler, Wiener, Wilhelm & Waldron and Bruce W. Dannemeyer, Santa Ana, for Plaintiffs and Appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• O'Melveny & Myers, James W. Colbert, III, Los Angeles, and Todd A. Green for Defendant and Respondent Southern California Water Company., Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart, Oliver & Hedges and Harold W. Hopp, Redwood Shores, for Defendant and Respondent Smart SMR of California, doing business as Nextel Communications.,  Gray, Cary, Ware & Freidenrich, William N. Kammer and Mary A. Lehman, San Diego, for Defendant and Respondent Cox Communications PCS, L.P.