Balliet v. Kaschak

89 Pa. D. & C. 121, 1954 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 378
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Luzerne County
DecidedMarch 31, 1954
Docketno. 27
StatusPublished

This text of 89 Pa. D. & C. 121 (Balliet v. Kaschak) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Luzerne County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Balliet v. Kaschak, 89 Pa. D. & C. 121, 1954 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 378 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1954).

Opinion

Pinola, J.,

Plaintiff seeks to enjoin defendants from interfering with her access to and use of certain farm land situate in Butler Township, Luzerne County. Defendants, claiming to own the farm, posted it with “No Trespass” signs and erected barriers preventing plaintiff and her employes from entering upon one of its fields.

[122]*122 Statement of Pleadings and Issues Raised

To the amended complaint defendants filed an answer, including new matter. Whereupon plaintiff filed a reply.

A preliminary injunction was granted, following which a final hearing was held. After argument, the court of its own motion reopened the case for further testimony in connection with damages.

The issues raised are:

(a) Do defendants own any part of the property which they posted and barricaded?

(b) If not, what damages did plaintiff suffer as the result of being excluded therefrom by defendants?

From the testimony and exhibits, we make the following

Findings of Fact

1. Plaintiff is the owner of a parcel of land in Butler Township bounded and described as follows, to wit:

“Beginning at a stone corner in a public road; thence by lands of Jacob Santee, North seventy-six degrees East, forty-nine and forty-eight hundredths perches to a corner of a cross road; thence by a public road leading to Hazleton, South five degrees and fifteen minutes West, six and twenty-eight hundredths perches to a corner; thence along said Hazleton road, by lands of said Jacob Santee, South fifty-six degrees and forty-five minutes West, thirty-seven and sixty-two hundredths perches to a corner; thence on and along a road lately laid out, North seventy-eight degrees and fifty-five minutes West, fourteen and forty-one hundredths perches to a corner; thence by said Jacob Santee’s land, North nine degrees and thirty minutes West, twelve and three-tenths perches to the place of beginning.
“Containing three acres and one hundred and forty-nine perches, more or less.”

[123]*123Excepting therefrom two smaller parcels, to wit:

“ (a) Land described in deed from Harrison Houseknecht to the Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railway, recorded in Deed Book 407, page 39, (1901), now part of the abandoned right-of-way, which land is about sixty (60) feet in width and extends throughout the length of the above land; and,
“(b) Lot described in deed from Jacob Santee to Pardee Brothers & Company, recorded in Deed Book 465, page 367, (1909), which lot is approximately one hundred and twenty-five (125) feet in width and extends in a northwesterly direction across the above land.”

Plaintiff occupies a dwelling located on the property and uses the land for farm purposes.

2. Prior to June 1, 1887, the above-described premises were part of a larger tract of land owned by Jacob Santee.

3. On June 1, 1887, Jacob Santee by deed recorded in the Office for the Recording of Deeds in and for Luzerne County, in deed book no. 327, page 608, conveyed the premises above-described to Harrison Houseknecht.

4. On June 13, 1919, the above-described premises were conveyed to plaintiff and John C. Balliet, her husband, by deed of the heirs of Harrison Houseknecht, recorded in Luzerne County in deed book 528, page 432.

5. John C. Balliet died May 21, 1948, thereby vesting the entire title to said premises in plaintiff, Jennie V. Balliet.

6. Plaintiff’s premises are bounded on the south by a public road leading from Fritzingertown to Hazleton, now known as the “Old Hazleton Highway”.

7. Leading from this public road into the farm and wholly upon land of plaintiff, there is a private road, which is the means of entry into what is known as [124]*124the south field of the farm. It is bordered on the north by the abandoned railway right-of-way and on the east by a clover field.

8. At the intersection of the private road and the public road, defendants erected or caused to be erected, on or about July 28, 1953, a barrier or blockade on plaintiff’s land, across the entrance to the private road, thus preventing access to the private road and the south field of plaintiff; they also posted or caused to be posted a sign thereon warning all persons of trespassing, said sign purporting to be signed by defendant, Peter J. Kasehak.

9. The premises owned by plaintiff are bounded on the south by an abandoned road.

10. Defendants placed a barrier across the abandoned road at the southeastern end of plaintiff’s property and also at the southwestern end where the same formerly intersected the “Old Hazleton Highway”.

11. This interference by defendants with plaintiff’s rights of access to her field has caused her serious harm, in that she was unable to use this field for farming purposes for which it was intended and was unable to properly tend to Crops which had already been planted in the field.

12. By reason of the inability of plaintiff to properly tend the crops planted by her, as the result of the interference of defendants, plaintiff has suffered damages in the amount of $348.62.

13. One of the defendants, Peter J. Kasehak, threatened to do bodily harm to plaintiff, members of her family and employes.

Discussion

Defendants had purchased a property adjoining that of plaintiff. The description included a very large tract of land subject, however, to 15 exceptions. Plaintiff’s property was erroneously omitted from the list of ex[125]*125ceptions. This omission led defendants to believe that they owned the property occupied by plaintiff. Thereupon they posted part of the farm and prevented plaintiff from using it. A preliminary injunction was granted by the court restraining interference. Whereupon the barriers were removed.

There is no doubt as to the title of plaintiff to the land which defendants posted and from which they sought to keep plaintiff, members of her family and employes.

We interrupted the hearing and went to view the premises. There we compared the maps in the presence of both engineers, John J. DePierro for plaintiff, and Anthony Reese for defendants. It was obvious and all agreed that the land which had been posted and barricaded belonged to plaintiff. It further appeared from the testimony that defendant’s engineer, Mr. Reese, had discovered the omission of the exception of plaintiff’s property from defendants’ deed in 1948 and at that time he told defendants that they had no title to any of the property described in plaintiff’s deed.

The obstruction was erected on or about July 28, 1953, and was not removed until September 17, 1953. In the meantime plaintiff was prevented from properly caring for the crops which had been planted in that part of the farm. She was prevented from dusting them with insecticides, from harrowing and otherwise cultivating the land, with the result that she obtained crops which were less in quantity and inferior in quality than she would have obtained had she been able to properly care for them.

Her witnesses testified to the amounts received from the sale of the crops and the amounts that she would have received had they been properly cared for.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Sloss-Sheffield Steel & Iron Co. v. Wilkes
165 So. 764 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1936)
Chism v. Majors
1923 OK 411 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1923)
Andes v. Andes
173 A. 452 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1934)
Fell v. Pitts
106 A. 574 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1919)
Taylor v. Canton Township
30 Pa. Super. 305 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1906)
Kirschbaum v. Kirschbaum
111 A. 697 (New Jersey Court of Chancery, 1920)
United States Smelting Co. v. Sisam
191 F. 293 (Eighth Circuit, 1911)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
89 Pa. D. & C. 121, 1954 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 378, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/balliet-v-kaschak-pactcomplluzern-1954.