Restitution -- 1964 Tennessee Survey

The most significant case during the Survey period is Gulf Oil Corp.v. Forcum. The State of Tennessee condemned for highway purposes certain property including the location of a filling station. Defendant was lessee of this property and had installed its own tanks, pumps and other equipment. Plaintiff had the contract to construct the highway and was entitled under this contract to salvage condemned property. Refusing to allow defendant\u27s agent to remove the service station equipment, plaintiff removed the equipment itself at considerable expense. When the condemnation proceeding was completed, defendant was awarded 2,000 dollars for the value of its leasehold, and 3,000 dollars for the reasonable costs of removing the equipment. It then sued plaintiff in replevin and recovered the equipment on the ground that it was personal property which had not been condemned. The present action is to recover 3,000 dollars, as the cost of removing and storing the equipment. The lower court held for the plaintiff and awarded 1,000 dollars as the reasonable value. This was reversed by the court of appeals