Decker v. Goddard

233 A.D. 139, 251 N.Y.S. 440, 1931 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 11218
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedJune 30, 1931
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 233 A.D. 139 (Decker v. Goddard) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Decker v. Goddard, 233 A.D. 139, 251 N.Y.S. 440, 1931 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 11218 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1931).

Opinion

Taylor, J.

Plaintiff resides and his premises abut upon Plymouth avenue, south, one of Rochester’s many beautiful streets. Defendant admittedly parked his automobile at the curb immediately in front of plaintiff’s residence for a considerable number of days and for several hours a day, under a claim of right and against plaintiff’s protest. Plaintiff brought this action to enjoin defendant from so doing. He has failed in his suit and the case is now here upon appeal.

The streets of a city, its highways, are primarily constructed and maintained for public travel, vehicular and pedestrian, and, generally speaking, for such use only.

Streets must remain and be used as such and for no other purpose until otherwise directed by legislative enactment. Without this no authority exists for their invasion, or appropriation for a different purpose.” While property devoted to one public use may be applied to another, this can only be done when express authority is given for that purpose by the clearest provisions of law.” (People ex rel. Stranahan v. Thompson, 98 N. Y. 6, 11.)

Street user of a minor and incidental character — other than for travel — user such as will not interfere with public or private rights or privileges — is permissible and is constantly indulged in without question. Temporary stops by vehicles at the curblines for social or business purposes are reasonable and are not interdicted. But even in these days of almost countless automobiles, the storing of a vehicle for a considerable period of time at a curb in front of an owner’s residence may be a nuisance under the common law. (D., L. & W. R. R. Co. v. City of Buffalo, 158 N. Y. 266, 272; Holloway v. Southmayd, 139 id. 390, 405, 406; Cohen v. Mayor, etc., of New York, 113 id. 532; 1 Am. St. Rep. 840 [n.]; [141]*14111 Am. & Eng. Ann. Cas. 287; 17 id. 1128; 13 R. C. L. 220.) For this plaintiff, and all such abutting owners, are entitled to easements of access (ingress and egress), of light and air, and of the privilege of making observations, without unlawful obstruction, as to goings-on in the street. (Bohm v. Metropolitan El. R. Co., 129 N. Y. 576; Farley v. Mayor, etc., of New York, 152 id. 222, 225; Callanan v. Gilman, 107 id. 360; 13 R. C. L. 142, 144; 33 A. L. R. 354, 361; 3 McQuillin Mun. Corp. § 1322.) And parking, such as impelled the bringing of this action — unless legally authorized by constituted authority — may be stopped or prevented by an abutting owner by injunction in an action in equity, if such abutting owner be specially damaged. (Flynn v. Taylor, 127 N. Y. 596; Elliott Roads & Streets, § 1171.16, p. 1649.83.)

In Rex v. Cross (3 Campb. 224) Lord Ellenborough said: “ But every unauthorized obstruction of a highway, to the annoyance of the King’s subjects, is an indictable offense. * * * A stage-coach may set down or take up passengers in the street, this being necessary for public convenience: but it must be done in a reasonable time; and private premises must be procured for the coach to stop in during the interval between the end of one journey and the commencement of another. No one can make a stable yard of the King’s highway.” This is a more modern version: No one can make a private garage of the public street.” (Pugh v. City of Des Moines, 176 Iowa, 593.)

Lowell v. Pendleton Auto Co. (123 Ore. 383) was an action for an injunction to restrain defendant from continuing a nuisance, the claim being that defendant stored and repaired its automobiles, both day and night, on Johnson street in front of plaintiffs’ premises. The court said, in granting plaintiffs the relief asked: “ We do not believe that the parking ordinances of Pendleton (which permitted unlimited parking along Johnson Street) were intended to convert the streets into repair-shops and storage spaces, disregardful of the protests of the abutter. A parking ordinance is nothing more than a police regulation which settles the matter only between the owner of the automobile and the city.”

Our attention turns next to the question of statutory changes in the common law. The power to control and regulate the use of streets rests primarily in the Legislature. This power may be delegated to local authorities. “ It is settled that, within constitutional limits not exactly determined, the Legislature may change the common law as to nuisances, and may * * * make things lawful which were nuisances.” (Commonwealth v. Parks, 155 Mass. 531.) But the regulatory power never extends to unreasonable interference with public or private rights (Bradley v. Degnon [142]*142Contracting Co., 224 N. Y. 60; Vehicle & Traffic Law, § 54), and local authorities have no right of control or regulation in the absence of legislative delegation.

Subdivision 4 of section 90 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law (as amd. by Laws of 1930, chap. 756, § 3) reads in part as follows: “4. In addition to other powers delegated by this article, and subject to the restrictions thereinafter provided, the legislative body of any city * * * is hereby empowered to make, enforce and maintain such additional reasonable ordinances, rules and regulations with respect to traffic as special local conditions may require, and to prescribe penalties therefor, provided proper notices of such regulations be posted conspicuously in the highways to which such regulations apply.”

This is the general permissive statute applicable to the city of Rochester.

Section 86, subdivision 1, of the Vehicle and Traffic Law (as renum. and amd. by Laws of 1930, chap. 756, § 3) provides that municipalities may put into effect certain traffic regulations, among which is mentioned the establishment of safety zones and.parking spaces for automobiles. We find nothing else in sections 86 or 88, or elsewhere in this law, which is applicable to the present controversy.

Parking is defined in section 3 of article 1 of the Ordinances of the City of Rochester (“ Traffic Regulations ”) of August, 1925, as permitting a vehicle to stand in the street longer than necessary to receive or discharge passengers or load or unload merchandise.” Section 40 of article 5 of the Ordinances reads thus: “ Vehicles shall not be parked on any street in the limited district [which did not include plaintiff’s residence] between 8 A. m. and 7 p. m. for more than one hour on any day except Sunday, nor park on any street at any time for more than six hours except as otherwise hereinafter designated by ordinance or by orders of the Commissioner of Public Safety.”

This section does not establish a parking space pursuant to section 86, subdivision 1, of the Vehicle and Traffic Law. No other applicable parking regulation has been “ designated by ordinance or by orders of the Commissioner of Public Safety,” so far as the record discloses. The section quoted is not a permit by implication to citizens to park anywhere for six hours or less. A statute or ordinance granting the privilege of thus storing an automobile for many horns in front of a private residence would be clearly in derogation of the common-law rights of the resident. Wherefore, its permissive character must appear clearly — must be explicit, not tacit. (Matter of McCoy v. Apgar, 241 N. Y. 71, 77.) [143]

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

Related

Augusta v. Kwortnik
2018 NY Slip Op 3574 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2018)
Bryer v. Terleph
69 A.D.3d 894 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2010)
Duchein v. Lindsay
42 A.D.2d 100 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1973)
Fieldston Property Owners Ass'n v. Bianchi
29 Misc. 2d 326 (New York Supreme Court, 1961)
Reiser v. Meyer
323 S.W.2d 514 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1959)
People v. Littman
193 Misc. 40 (Long Beach City Court, 1948)
City of Decatur v. Robinson
36 So. 2d 673 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1948)
Good Humor Corp. v. City of New York
264 A.D. 620 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1942)
People v. Propp
172 Misc. 314 (Franklin County Court, 1939)
Gilsey Buildings, Inc. v. Incorporated Village of Great Neck Plaza
170 Misc. 945 (New York Supreme Court, 1939)
Breinig v. Allegheny County
2 A.2d 842 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1938)
Clark v. City of New Castle
32 Pa. D. & C. 371 (Lawrence County Court of Common Pleas, 1938)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
233 A.D. 139, 251 N.Y.S. 440, 1931 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 11218, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/decker-v-goddard-nyappdiv-1931.