Compton v. City of Seattle

80 P. 757, 38 Wash. 514, 1905 Wash. LEXIS 1201
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedApril 28, 1905
DocketNo. 5453
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 80 P. 757 (Compton v. City of Seattle) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Compton v. City of Seattle, 80 P. 757, 38 Wash. 514, 1905 Wash. LEXIS 1201 (Wash. 1905).

Opinion

Grow, J.

This action was commenced by appellants Horace F. Compton and Anna. B. Compton, his wife, against the city of Seattle; a municipal corporation, and B. H. Thomson, A. Lincoln Walters, and Luther B. Young, as members of the board of public works of said city, respondents, to enjoin said respondents from entering upon, taking, and damaging certain real estate of appellants. The complaint alleges, that appellants were, at the time of filing said complaint, and had been at all times for ten years prior thereto, the owners in fee simple of the easterly one hundred and eight feet of lot 4 in block 48 of Bell & Denny’s Third Addition to the city of Seattle, King county, Washington; that at all of said times they had been, and were still, in the actual, notori-ous, and peaceable possession thereof; that said lot ahuts on Second avenue, extending along the easterly side there[516]*516of a distance-of sixty feet; that there were situated on said lot two houses, one of the value of $1,500, and one of the value of $2,500; that the value of the aforesaid lot, exclusive of said buildings, was $8,000, and that the value of said westerly seventy-seven feet, exclusive of any improve* ments, was at least $7,000; that Second avenue was a graded and sidewalked street in said city, and had been continuously in use as such for more than ten years; that said street immediately in front of said lot' was about seventeen feet below the surface thereof, and that, by means of steps, easy access was had to- the houses situated' thereon; that the respondents have ordered a change in the grade of said Second avenue, which will cause a further excavation or cut in front of said lot, to a depth of forty-four feet, so that the surface of said street will be at least seventy-seven feet below the average surfaco of said lot; that, in cutting down said street, - respondents are claiming the right to go- upon the westerly seventy-seven feet of said lot, and cut away the surface thereof, so as to leave the same sloping from the surface of said street, as the same shall be re-graded, back upon said lot at an angle of forty-five degrees, thereby occupying the westerly seventy-seven feet of said lot with said slope; that respondents claim the right to establish and maintain said slope at their pleasure-, to- remove all improvements now upon said westerly seventy-seven feet, and to- exclude plaintiffs therefrom; that, unless restrained, respondents will take physical possession of said lot to- within thirty-one feet of the easterly line thereof, and will proceed to tear down and remove said buildings-, and wholly remove and destroy all improvements upon said seventy-seven feet, taking full and 'exclusive possession thereof; that the 'first of said buildings is situated wholly upon said seventy-[517]*517seven feet; that the second of said buildings is so situated that ten feet of the front thereof extends over and upon said seventy-seven feet; that respondents claim to have an estate in all of said lot except the easterly thirty-one feet thereof, and to have the sole and absolute right to use and control the same; that said threatened acts of respondents will destroy valuable property rights of appellants in and to the entire one hundred and eight feet, and cause them irreparable loss, in the sum of $12,000 unless respondents be enjoined from doing said work; that the claims of respondents are publicly made and constitute a cloud upon appellants’ title, so that much of the value of said property is destroyed. Appellants asked for an injunction restraining respondents from prosecuting said work, and also demanded other equitable relief.

To this complaint respondents, on October 13, 1901, filed an amended and supplemental answer, in which, after making certain denials, they, by way of a separate further and affirmative defense^ alleged that on the. 2d day of March, 1903, the council of said city duly passed an ordinance' No. 9311, entitled:

“An ordinance providing for the opening, widening and altering, and for making changes in the grade of Second avenue and Second avenue North, and contiguous and proximate cross streets; and for the construction of all slopes or retaining walls for cuts and fills upon real property abutting on said avenue and said cross streets, between Pike street and John street, in the city of Seattle; and providing for the taking and damaging of land and other property necessary therefor, and for the ascertainment and payment of the just compensation to be made for the private property to be taken or damaged for said purpose; and for .an assessment upon the property specially benefited for the purpose of making such compensation; [518]*518and authorizing the corporation counsel to employ an assistant in prosecuting said proceedings.”

Section 2 of said ordinance, inter alia, provided, that

“All lands, rights and privileges and other property within the limits of the above bounden and described territory, necessary to be used for the construction of slopes or retaining walls for cuts and fills upon real property abutting on any street or avenue in said above described territory, are hereby condemned and appropriated to the public use for the purposes of the construction of said slopes or of said retaining walls, for such length of time as such slopes or such retaining walls may be necessary to protect said avenue from slides which may occur upon real prop erty abutting,” etc.

Respondents further aSeged, that said ordinance is in full force and effect; that, in pursuance of the provisions thereof, the corporation counsel of said city did, prior to the commencement of this action, file in the superior court of Xing county, Washington, a petition in condemnation proceedings, praying that compensation be made for private property to be taken or damaged for the purposes mentioned in said ordinance, the same to be ascertained by a jury, or by the court in case a jury be waived; that said petition in all respects complied with the act of the legislature of the state of Washington entitled,

“An act to enable cities of the first class to exercise the right of eminent domain for the taking and damaging of land and property for public purposes, providing a method for making compensation therefor, and providing for special assessments in certain cases upon property benefited, and declaring an emergency,”

approved March 9, 1893 (Bal. Code, § 775, et seq.); that in said condemnation proceeding appellants appeared by their attorney; that trial was had before said court and a jury; that the damages to appellants’ said lot by reason [519]

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Bluebook (online)
80 P. 757, 38 Wash. 514, 1905 Wash. LEXIS 1201, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/compton-v-city-of-seattle-wash-1905.