City of Detroit v. C. H. Little Co.

104 N.W. 1108, 141 Mich. 637, 1905 Mich. LEXIS 843
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 7, 1905
DocketDocket No. 46
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 104 N.W. 1108 (City of Detroit v. C. H. Little Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Detroit v. C. H. Little Co., 104 N.W. 1108, 141 Mich. 637, 1905 Mich. LEXIS 843 (Mich. 1905).

Opinion

Mooee, C. J.

Several years prior to August, 1903, the C. H. Little Company established a yard on the south side of Michigan avenue, in Detroit, at the crossing with the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad, where it dealt in sand, lime, mortar, stone, and other building and paving materials. It maintained the yard several years, and had erected a large warehouse and stables, put in a set of 10-ton platform scales, and had other utilities for the conduct of its business. It occupied the premises under a lease from the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway Company, which lease contained a clause for its renewal from year to year; the last renewal being for one year from April 19, 1903. For the purpose of separating the grades upon certain streets in Detroit, the city entered into an agreement, the material portions of which are as follows:

“Agreement made this third day of July, 1903, between the city of Detroit, party of the first part, and the Michigan Central Railroad Company, the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway Company and the Grand Trunk Railway Company, of Canada, hereinafter called the ‘Railroad Companies,’ and the Detroit United Railway Company, hereinafter called the ‘Street Railway Company,’ parties of the second part, witnesseth:
‘ ‘ Whereas, the city desires to discontinue, as soon as may be reasonably practicable, the grade crossings in the said city of Detroit at the intersections of the several streets, in the district between Woodward and Michigan avenues, inclusive, with the rights of way owned, used or occupied by the said railroad companies, and to substitute therefor overhead crossings by said railroads, and the parties thereto, by their duly authorized representatives, have agreed upon a uniform profile, fixing the level to which the tracks of the said railroad companies shall be elevated, to provide for the separation of grades of the several streets, and have reached an argreement determining the method, the terms, and the conditions of, and general specifications for, effecting such changes in said crossings, and in furtherance of such general arrangements have now agreed upon the particular plans and specifications therefor, * * * at the crossing of the tracks of the said Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway Company and Grand Trunk Railway of Canada:
[639]*639“Now therefore, in consideration of the premises and the mutual undertakings of the parties hereinafter expressed, it is agreed:
“1. That the city of Detroit shall, by proper ordinance, adopt the line shown on the profile, as the profile permanently fixing the levels for said district, to provide for the separation of the grades of the streets at present opened and used, within the limits, of said district, and the city hereby covenants and agrees that the separation of grades at all street crossings in said district shall be effected hereafter by lowering the grade of the streets sufficiently to allow the streets to pass under the railroad tracks when so elevated.
“ 2. That the city shall, from time to time, by proper ordinances, whenever required for the separation of grades, change and lower the grades of the several streets now opened and used across said right of way, so as to permit the separation of grades in accordance with said profile and shall thereby authorize the construction of the said railroads overhead across such new grades, and shall, and does hereby, assume the payment of all abuttal damages, to property or persons, other than said second parties, arising in any way from such change of grade, and all cost, expense, charges, or liability in any proceedings which may be instituted to effect such separation or which may be instituted to prevent the performance of this agreement, it being understood that the performance on their part of this contract shall release and discharge said railroad companies from any and all assessments, charges, damages, or liabilities and be accepted as a full discharge and acquittal of all obligations, present or future, to abutting owners, or arising from the failure of the city to adjust or pay such damages, costs and expenses in connection with such grade separation and changes of grade, and the city hereby assumes to itself and agrees to pay and assume and indemnify and save harmless the said second parties from and against all such assessments, damages, costs or expenses, except for construction, without charge, recourse to, or recharge over against said second parties, or any of them, and the parties of the second part hereby waive any and all claim for damage by reason of the change of grade of any of said streets to any .abutting property owned or controlled by them, or any of them.
“3. In consideration thereof, the second parties shall [640]*640construct and build the entire work involved in said changes of grade and all excavating, paving, and repaving, etc. The work to be done by said second parties shall include all excavations necessary or made necessary by the said change of grade as well on the intersecting streets as on the streets crossed. All such work to be done in accordance with the said profile and the general specifications. * * *
“11. The city shall, as soon as practicable, by proper ordinance, change the grade of said Michigan avenue at said crossing, and the said city shall and does agree to assume and perform, with respect to the work of the separation of grades, all of the undertakings and obligations hereinbefore mentioned, to be kept and performed by said city.”

In August, 1903, the separation of grades work began, at which time the buildings, scales, and utilities of the appellant were removed to the north of said Michigan avenue, and its yard abandoned, owing to the deep excavations in said avenue and the loss of ingress and egress to and from said yard.

The C. EL Little Company sought to recover damages because of the change of grade. The city claimed that as the C. H. Little Company’s yard and business were on railroad property that because of the agreement of the railroads with the city the claimant could not recover. The claimant sought to show its damages, when objection was made to his introducing testimony. The following then occurred:

‘1 Mr. Warner: I have a small claim here, and would not want to have all the testimony in the case written up to appeal this claim.
“Mr. Hall: You have your right to appeal. You have but about three pages of record for your claim. You can take it up on your offer.
“The Court: I think I will do that. I think I will allow Mr. Warner to offer it and I will exclude it. I don’t think it a proper element, in view of the agreement between the company and the city.
‘ ‘ Mr. Warner: I offer to show our damages, expecting to show with reference to the damage of the C. H. Little Company.
[641]*641“ The Court: I suggest, Mr. Warner, you make that offer in the form of a typewritten statement and submit it as a part of the record and save time, and you can make it more accurately.
“Mr. Hall: Then I object to that testimony.
The Court: He offers to show, I understand, that the damage to his client amounts to $1,807.40, by reason of the construction of the grade.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
104 N.W. 1108, 141 Mich. 637, 1905 Mich. LEXIS 843, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-detroit-v-c-h-little-co-mich-1905.