City of New Haven v. Indiana Suburban Sewers, Inc.

287 N.E.2d 575, 153 Ind. App. 358, 1972 Ind. App. LEXIS 752
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 2, 1972
DocketNo. 371A58
StatusPublished

This text of 287 N.E.2d 575 (City of New Haven v. Indiana Suburban Sewers, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of New Haven v. Indiana Suburban Sewers, Inc., 287 N.E.2d 575, 153 Ind. App. 358, 1972 Ind. App. LEXIS 752 (Ind. Ct. App. 1972).

Opinion

White, J.

For several years prior to mid-July, 1970, the Town, now City, of New Haven (hereafter “New Haven”) received into its sanitary sewer and sewage disposal system the sewage collected by the sanitary sewers in an unincorporated residential area known as Meadowbrook or Meadow-brook Addition. New Haven also maintained the Meadowbrook sewers which had been constructed by the Meadowbrook developer. New Haven collected a monthly charge from each residence so served.

Sometime prior to May 1, 1968, residents became dissatisfied with New Haven’s service, particularly a proposal to increase the charge made for it. On that date Meadowbrook Community Association, Inc. (hereafter “Association”) describing itself as “a duly incorporated civic association, which represents in civic and utility service matters its member residents who reside in . . . [Meadowbrook]” entered into an agreement with Indiana Suburban Services, Inc., (hereafter “Suburban”), a rural sewage disposal company, for the latter to render disposal service to Meadowbrook. Since Suburban’s franchise territory did not include Meadowbrook (but extended to the Meadowbrook boundary), the Association agreed to construct a connecting line from the Meadow-brook collection system to Suburban’s franchised area and to be responsible for billing and collecting monthly charges from the individual users. Suburban agreed to accept Association “as a proper entity situated outside of the franchised territory which will be qualified to receive sewage disposal service at [360]*360the approved bulk rate,” Suburban to be responsible to maintain the Meadowbrook system.

When the connecting line was under construction and the change to Suburban became imminent, New Haven filed a complaint to enjoin Suburban (and its subsidiary Suburban Service), the Association, and various contractors from interfering with continued service by New Haven. The complaint alleged, inter alia, “that the sewers in Meadowbrook and environs . . . are owned and maintained by the plaintiff and are a part of the municipal sewage system owned and operated by plaintiff.” A restraining order, later a temporary injunction, was issued. The temporary injunction was afterwards dissolved, and finally, after trial, a permanent injunction was denied. Shortly before trial New Haven requested leave to amend its complaint to include a prayer that it be declared the owner of the Meadowbrook sewers and that defendants be adjudged to have no right, title or interest in said sewers. Leave was denied. That denial is not assigned as error in the appeal.

On trial, at the conclusion of the plaintiff’s evidence, defendant moved for dismissal and judgment pursuant to Trial Rule 41 (B). The court sustained the motion and rendered judgment for defendants. Findings made by the court include the following:

“1. Plaintiff City of New Haven, as the complaining party seeking equitable relief by way of injunction from this Court, has the burden of proof and must establish as the minimum basis thereof that (i) it has a property right or ownership interest in the subject sewer system in the Meadowbrook Additions; (ii) that defendants, or some of them, have committed, or are threatening to commit a wrongful act in regard to plaintiff’s property right or ownership interest; (iii) that as a result of such wrongful act of defendants, or some of them, plaintiff’s property right or ownership interest will be irreparably damaged; and (iv) that plaintiff has no adequate remedy at law.
“2. Plaintiff City of New Haven is a municipality which has extended its municipal sewer lines beyond its corporate limits and permitted the developers of the rural sub[361]*361divisions known as the Meadowbrook Additions to connect the sewer system which said developers paid for and constructed in said subdivisions, to plaintiff’s municipal sewer system, and that plaintiff has thereafter rendered sewage disposal service to said rural subdivisions; that while plaintiff City of New Haven has statutory authority to make such extension of its lines outside of its corporate limits, it does not thereby acquire any exclusive right to render such service to such rural area or to be free of competition therein by any other public utility; that plaintiff City of New Haven did not follow the statutory procedure provided by Burns Section 48-3939 for acquiring title to said sewer system in said rural Meadowbrook Additions; that accordingly, plaintiff City of New Haven which did not build or pay for said sewer system, has not only failed to prove that it has any property rights or ownership interest in said sewer system in said rural Meadowbrook Additions, but to the contrary has conclusively proven that it did not construct, buy or acquire title to said sewer system by any other means, and the Court finds that plaintiff City of New Haven does not own or have a protectable interest in said sewer system.
“7. Since plaintiff City of New Haven does not have any property right or ownership interest in the sewers of the Meadowbrook Additions which is entitled to protection by a Court of equity, and since none of the defendants are committing any wrongful act in regard to any protectable property interest of plaintiff City of New Haven, plaintiff City of New Haven has not proven any irreparable injury.
“8. The Court specifically finds in terms of Trial Rule 41(B) that considering all the evidence and reasonable inferences therefrom in favor of plaintiff to be true, there is no substantial evidence of probative value to sustain the material allegations of plaintiff’s complaint and supplemental complaints, and that plaintiff has, accordingly, failed to prove a prima facie case which would require the defendants to proceed and offer any evidence.”

Finding No. 8, it will be noted, recognizes that under Trial Rule 41(B) the court can grant defendants’ motion and dismiss the action only if “considering all the evidence and reasonable inferences therefrom in favor of . . . [plaintiff] to be true, there is no substantial evidence of probative value to sustain the material allegations of . . . [plaintiff’s complaint].” [362]*362Ohio Casualty Insurance Company v. Verzele (1971), 148 Ind App. 429, 267 N. E. 2d 193, 24 Ind. Dec. 695. See also Mamula v. Ford Motor Company (1971), 150 Ind. App. 179, 181, n. 1, 275 N. E. 2d 849, 851, n. 1, 28 Ind. Dec. 110, 113, n. 1. Therefore, we give effect to finding No. 8 by reading No. 2 and No. 7 as saying that “[there is no substantial evidence of probative value before the court from which it can find] that plaintiff City of New Haven . . . has any property right or ownership interest in said sewer system in said rural Meadowbrook [or from which it can find that] plaintiff City of New Haven . . . [has] any property right or ownership ' interest in the sewers of the Meadowbrook Addition which is entitled to protection by a court of equity.”

To determine whether there is, in fact, any substantial evidence of probative value from which the trial court could have found that New Haven had a protectable interest, we have carefully examined every item of evidence called to our attention by New Haven to support its assertion that it made out a prima facie case in that respect. Having made that examination we find no reason to disturb the trial court’s judgment.

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Related

Mamula v. Ford Motor Company
275 N.E.2d 849 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1971)
Wischmeyer v. Finch
107 N.E.2d 661 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1952)
Ohio Casualty Insurance v. Verzele
267 N.E.2d 193 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1971)
Walmer v. Town of Bremen
191 N.E. 175 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1934)
Smith v. State
29 N.E.2d 786 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1940)
Schneider v. Town of Princes Lake
249 N.E.2d 508 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1969)

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Bluebook (online)
287 N.E.2d 575, 153 Ind. App. 358, 1972 Ind. App. LEXIS 752, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-new-haven-v-indiana-suburban-sewers-inc-indctapp-1972.