Fin & Feather Club v. Thomas

138 S.W. 150, 1911 Tex. App. LEXIS 803
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 6, 1911
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 138 S.W. 150 (Fin & Feather Club v. Thomas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fin & Feather Club v. Thomas, 138 S.W. 150, 1911 Tex. App. LEXIS 803 (Tex. Ct. App. 1911).

Opinion

BOOKHOUT, J.

This suit was brought' in the district court of Dallas county, Tex., by W. L. Thomas, as plaintiff, against the Fin & Feather Club, a corporation, duly incorporated under the laws of Texas, and residing in Dallas county. Plaintiff alleges: That he purchased and became the owner of 186 acres of land on the 8th day of September, 1908; that at the time of the purchase of said land there was on said land, and had been for many years, a valuable lake of water which enhanced greatly the market value of the entire tract of 186 acres. That said tract of land consisted of a farm on which was situated a residence and other improvements. That plaintiff moved on said land at date of purchase and occupied it as a home for himself and family, and, in addition to the cultivation of said premises as a farm, he used said lake of water which covered part of his farm for his convenience, and that of his family, and proceeded .to make improvements and preparations whereby he could make said lake profitable to him. He built a house on margin of lake, and purchased boats, and advertised the benefits and advantages of said lake, and offered for sale to sportsmen and others seeking pleasure fishing privileges at said lake. That, after plaintiff had gone to expense and made preparation for the profitable use of said lake, the defendant became angered at plain *151 tiff for said use and drained the lake on plaintiff’s premises, and drew off the fish that were in said water, and totally destroyed said lake.* That as a result of the removal of said lake from the premises of plaintiff the 186 acres of land belonging to plaintiff was depreciated in its market value in the sum of $10,000. That he was also deprived of the revenue which he was entitled» to obtain, and would have obtained from said lake, had it been permitted to remain on said premises, of not less than $20 per day. In addition to said actual damages, plaintiff also sued for $2,500 exemplary damages. As to the ownership of the said lake that covered a portion of plaintiff’s land, it was alleged that said lake was lawfully on the land- of plaintiff and defendant. That the water in said lake had been impounded by a dam or embankment erected on thd land of the defendant, which dam had been maintained for a period of 20 years. That defendant had acquired a prescriptive right to back the water on plaintiff’s premises, and that plaintiff had in law and equity acquired and become vested with a mutual or reciprocal right to have the said lake kept on his premises and maintained at substantially the same level at which it had been kept and -maintained during said prescriptive period 'That at the time said lake was drained by the defendant the plaintiff and the defendant each had the mutual right that said lake should continue, in that the same had been in existence, and each of the said premises had enjoyed and been subjected to the mutual easement of the existence of said lake, ■notoriously and undisputedly with a claim and a recognition of the mutual right therein for a period of more than 20 years prior to the wrongful acts complained of in destroying plaintiff’s lake. That the defendant and the predecessors in plaintiff’s title of the 186 acres acquired by plaintiff, as aforesaid, had mutually contributed to the creation and the ■maintenance and the pleasant enjoyment of the said lake as a whole from the beginning ■of its existence, and thereby each had become impliedly bound, by implied covenant and agreement, that said lake should be so •continued and maintained. That defendant •drew water from said lake by cutting its levee or¡ dam on its own land next to the land of plaintiff and thereby drew water from its own lake; and, as the waters on its own lake receded, the waters on the plaintiff’s lake likewise receded and were •drawn off. That the drawing off of said water did not destroy the lake of defendant, but, on account of the higher lay of the land on plaintiff’s premises, the water from "his premísés was entirely drawn off and his lake totally destroyed.

The defendant answered by a general de-nial, and specially pleaded that, if defendant owned the right to back the water on plaintiff’s land by prescription, said right was ¡acquired for the exclusive purpose of hunting and fishing, and expressly denied any reciprocal rights of plaintiff in said water, and denied that any of plaintiff’s predecessors in title ever contributed to the creation, maintenance, and enjoyment of said lake, and denied any covenant or agreement that said lake should be continued and maintained for plaintiff or those from whom he bought. Defendant, further answering, alleges: That, if it cut down and drew water through its dam from its own lake, it was only for a temporary purpose of supplying one of its adjoining lakes with sufficient water to protect its fish from threatened destruction, and, when 19 inches of water had been drawn off through opening in said dam, the opening was closed, and it was restored to its original condition for impounding water from the expected spring rains that usually fall in March, April, May, and June. That by the act of God said rains did not come and the extreme drouth of the spring and the summer of 1909 dried up the water of defendant’s lakes until the surface area of said lakes was reduced from 500 to 50 acres, and that part of the lake on plaintiff’s land called Gaston slough was left without water by said drouth. That, when the usual and customary rains fall, the said lakes will be filled and restored, and the waters will again be backed up and maintained on plaintiff’s premises. That during the past 20 years said slough has frequently been dry, and no particular water level has ever been maintained, but said water is high or low according to the seasons and rainfall during the past 20 years. That for the past 10 years prior to the suit defendant has annually drawn water from one lake t'o another for the protection of its fish and the good of the club. Defendant, further answering, alleges that it owned the exclusive right to hunt' and fish in said lake, to the utter exclusion of the public, and that Gaston slough, on plaintiff’s premises, formed a part of its lake. That defendant acquired an easement in said Gaston slough, and exclusively owned the dominant estate therein for hunting and fishing. Plaintiff bought said 186 acres of land with full notice of defendant’s rights therein, and soon thereafter commenced to trespass on defendant’s rights and to assert absolute title to said Gaston slough and to the hunting and fishing privileges therein, and ejected defendant therefrom, and stretched a wire fence across said slough so defendant could not use it, and put nets and' seines in said slough, and by means thereof took and destroyed the fish in the waters of said slough, and invited the public to said slough and offered to sell hunting and fishing privileges in said slough against the protest of the defendant, and in violation of its rules and regulations, and sought to vex and annoy and harass defendant and to injure ■ its property. That defendant had a written agreement with M. R. Bateman, from whom plaintiff bought his 186 acres of land. That said Gaston slough could *152 not be used by Bateman except under rules of the club. That poachers should be kept off and out of the slough and denied the privilege of hunting and fishing and there should be no seining and netting of fish. By supplemental petition, plaintiff alleged, in reply to the defendant's plea, that defendant had a written contract with M. R.

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Bluebook (online)
138 S.W. 150, 1911 Tex. App. LEXIS 803, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fin-feather-club-v-thomas-texapp-1911.