Deregibus v. Silberman Furniture Co., Inc.

2 Conn. Super. Ct. 156, 2 Conn. Supp. 156, 1935 Conn. Super. LEXIS 237
CourtConnecticut Superior Court
DecidedSeptember 9, 1935
DocketFile #45315
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 2 Conn. Super. Ct. 156 (Deregibus v. Silberman Furniture Co., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Deregibus v. Silberman Furniture Co., Inc., 2 Conn. Super. Ct. 156, 2 Conn. Supp. 156, 1935 Conn. Super. LEXIS 237 (Colo. Ct. App. 1935).

Opinion

BALDWIN, J.

The plaintiff and the defendant own adjoining properties located on the northerly side of State Street *157 in Stamford. The dividing line between these properties runs back from the street line in a northerly direction sixty'five feet. The line then deflects at a right angle, or at approxi' mately a right angle, to the right and thence runs easterly in a straight line twentymine feet. The line then deflects to the left at a right angle, or at approximately a right angle, and thence runs northerly in a straight line until it intersects the rear line of the plaintiff’s and the defendant’s properties.

Each party has a building upon the property respectively owned by such party, the westerly side of plaintiff’s building being eleven and thirtyffour hundredths feet easterly of the sixty'five feet line and the easterly side of defendant’s build' ing being eight and sixty'six hundredths feet westerly of the sixty-five feet line. There is therefore an open space between these buildings twenty'five feet in width. This space is twenty feet wide at the front or street end of the space and it is twenty and two'tenths feet wide at the rear end of plaintiff’s house. These buildings are so constructed that the space between them continues along the twentymine feet dividing line having a width of fifteen and ninety'three hundredths feet, an outer wall or side of defendant’s building, running parallel with this twentymine feet line .and eight and six' hundredths feet distant therefrom. A part of the rear of defendant’s building runs also parallel to this line and seven and eighty'seven hundredths feet distant therefrom and then plaintiff’s building is so constructed that it comes within about two feet from this line near its easterly end.

It will be seen from the foregoing that defendant’s building is so constructed that it extends farther back from the street than does plaintiff’s building and that a wing of defendant’s building extends easterly and is to the rear or northerly end of plaintiff’s building.

Upon the northeasterly comer of plaintiff’s land he has a garage and there is an open space at the rear of his building and between this garage and the wing referred to of defend' ant’s building.

The space hereinbefore described leading back from the street between plaintiff’s and defendant’s building along the sixty-five feet line and thence along the twentymine feet line leads to the open space back of plaintiff’s building and in front of his garage. He uses this space leading back from the street as a means of ingress and egress to and from the rear of his *158 building and the open space at the rear and the garage, and claims a right of way over the defendant’s property located between the defendant’s building and the sixty-five feet dividing line and between the defendant’s building and the twenty-nine feet dividing line to the open space referred to.

These buildings have been standing in their present locations, insofar as described herein, for more than thirty years, and the space leading back from the street to the open space referred to has also existed for more than thirty years.

July 28, 1905, James F. Shannon and Charles H. McNally by warranty deed received title to the property now owned by the plaintiff and in the fall of that year Shannon and McNally leased the premises to Gennaro Rosa and Vito Romano who conducted a saloon on the ground floor in the westerly part of the building. In 1908 plaintiff leased from Rosa and Romano the store on the ground floor in the easterly part of the building, where he conducted a store and restaurant and rooms upstairs where he has since lived.

In 1913, plaintiff took a lease of the store and restaurant in the name of his father-in-law from Shannon and McNally. He, however, continued to conduct his store and restaurant under the lease which he had taken in his father-in-law’s name.

In 1914 or 1915, plaintiff took over the whole building including the business theretofore conducted by Rosa and Romano and he has continued to occupy the building ever since, taking title by warranty deed April 25, 1922.

Since some time prior to 1905 when Shannon and McNally bought the premises now owned by the plaintiff, the space between plaintiff’s and defendant’s buildings leading from the street back to the open space described, including that strip of land between the sixty-five feet and the twenty-nine feet dividing line and defendant’s building has been used by the tenants occupying plaintiff’s building and by those who had occasion to make deliveries of merchandise to those tenants.

Rosa and Romano during the time of their occupancy from 1905 to 1914 or 1915 used this as a way for teams to the space at the rear of the building they occupied, as did trucks employed in delivering beer and other merchandise to their saloon.

*? The plaintiff from the time of his occupancy of a part of the building in 1908 has used this space as a way to the rear of his building, the garage and the open space referred to. During the early part of plaintiff’s occupancy he had a horse and wagon which he kept in a barn at the rear of his build' ing and this space between the buildings was the way used to drive into and out from his barn. About 1918, the use of the horse and wagon was discontinued and plaintiff ac' quired an automobile and the barn became converted into a garage and the use of this way was continued for the purpose of driving in and out the automobile and for other incidental uses.

Walter N. and Charles F. Maguire were predecessors in title of the defendant’s property, acquiring such title May 2, 1921, which they held until October 16, 1922. While they held this title improvements were made in the building upon defendant’s land in making these improvements old materials were dumped in this way alongside of defendant’s building and other materials were placed alongside this building and allowed to remain there during a period of time. Defendant claims an interruption of the use of this way resulting from the deposit of such material. It was also claimed that horses were hitched to rings in the side of defendant’s building by occupants of that property along this way and because of such uses no right of way has been acquired over the land between the dividing line described and defendant’s building.

The defendant acquired title to its property October 18, 1929, and its immediate predecessor in title, Philip Silberman, acquired the title May 24, 1927. In 1931 or 1932, a repre' sentative of the defendant offered to lease to the plaintiff the right to continue to use the way upon payment of one dollar a year as a result of which plaintiff made a proposal of pur' chasing from defendant some of its property and straightening the dividing line between them from the street back to the rear line.

This was not a proposal to purchase a right of way, nor merely to purchase only that land over which the claimed right of way existed. It involved the purchase of land upon which the easterly wing of defendant’s building stood includ' ing that part of the building as well as the land over which the claimed right of way existed.

*160

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2 Conn. Super. Ct. 156, 2 Conn. Supp. 156, 1935 Conn. Super. LEXIS 237, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/deregibus-v-silberman-furniture-co-inc-connsuperct-1935.