Ft. Worth & D. C. Ry. Co. v. Ayers

149 S.W. 1068, 1912 Tex. App. LEXIS 750
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 22, 1912
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 149 S.W. 1068 (Ft. Worth & D. C. Ry. Co. v. Ayers) 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
Ft. Worth & D. C. Ry. Co. v. Ayers, 149 S.W. 1068, 1912 Tex. App. LEXIS 750 (Tex. Ct. App. 1912).

Opinion

HALE, J.

Appellee filed this suit against appellant Railway Company in the district court of Potter county, praying for an injunction against appellant to restrain it from removing a certain switch track, and from erecting a fence on appellant’s right of way, in the city of Amarillo. Appellee alleges that he is the owner of a certain town lot in the town of Amarillo, which is 50 feet by 150 feet, lying just north of First street and between Buchanan and Pierce streets, in said city, and which is south of and adjoins appellant’s right of way; that his lot abuts on Pierce street 50 feet and on First street 150 feet; that appellant has constructed a new passenger depot upon its said right of way, between Buchanan and Filmore streets, just north of appellee’s lot; that there is now at this time, and has been for many years, a switch track extending along the south side of appellant’s right of way just north of appellee’s property, which was used for the setting of cars and unloading purposes; that appellee has now, and for many years prior to this time had,’ an ice cream factory upon his said lot, where he has been engaged in the business of manufacturing and shipping ice cream and in conducting said business has used said track of appellant railway company, setting and loading ears in the handling of shipments of materials, etc., used in conducting his business; that, by reason of his property being close to appellant’s right of way and passenger depot, said lot was convenient and valuable for use by ap-pellee in constructing and establishing their various and sundry character of business, such as restaurants, cigar stores, barber shops, confectionery stores, rooming houses, and other business which would be valuable on account of their location and close proximity to said depot of appellant, where a large number of persons would go to take passage on appellant’s trains, and that said land was valuable for appellee’s present business which was being conducted thereon. It is further alleged that appellant has threatened and made preparation and started to construct a board fence between appellee’s said tract of land and appellant’s new depot, said fence being just north of appellee’s lot and on the south side of appellant’s right of way; that said fence would be permanent, and would be maintained by appellant to prevent any of the uses of appellee’s property to which it is adapted, rendering the property of appellee valueless; that said fence would be constructed of wood and combustible material, and would increase the hazard of fire to any buildings or structures on ap-pellee’s land; that it was not necessary to the use and enjoyment of appellant’s right of way or its depot building; that its construction was in violation of the city ordinances forbidding the construction of wooden buildings within the fire limits; that it would interfere with appellee’s right of free ingress and egress, and that said fence was being constructed through a spirit of spite, animosity, and ill feeling toward appellee; that appellant enjoyed a heavy passenger traffic; that a large number of people came to and departed from Amarillo over appellant’s line of railway, and a large number of persons congregated around appellant’s depot at the time of arrival and departure of trains; that the fence would be a barrier and obstruction between said depot -and appellee’s property, and prevent access to any building or business that might be established thereon. A temporary writ of injunction was granted and issued, and appellant on November 20, 1909, filed its first original answer, containing general and special exceptions and general denial, and alleged that its said depot is located opposite the end of Pierce street, about midway between Buchanan street on the east and Filmore street on the west; that Pierce street does not extend to the right of way of this appellant, but a strip of land owned or claimed by private individuals intervenes between Pierce street and the right of way of appellant, so that the public can go to the depot of appellant only by way of Buchanan street on the east and Fil-more on the west; that a brick platform has been constructed from its depot to Buchanan street on the east and Filmore on the west side; that it was necessary to remove said switch track and to erect said fence to protect its employés and the traveling public at said depot; that it intended to erect a neat board fence six feet high for preventing appellant’s employés and other persons from trespassing on the adjoining property of appellee and others owning said adjoining property, and also to serve the purpose of shutting off the view from its depot of the rear premises of the Riley Hotel, which are in view of the depot.

The temporary injunction, restraining the railway company from removing its switch track, was dissolved, and the motion to dissolve the injunction restraining the erection of the fence was overruled. There is no appeal from the order of the court on the motion to dissolve the temporary injunction. By supplemental petition appellee specially pleaded that Pierce street is now and for *1070 many years prior to the institution of this suit has been open and kept open to the south boundary line of appellant’s right of way, and is now being used as a public street leading to and opening upon appellant’s right of way in the same manner as any other public street in the city, and that such use has continued for more than 10 years prior to the filing of this suit. On August 28, 1911, a trial was had before a jury, and, after the evidence had all been introduced, the court instructed the jury to find that the material allegations in appellee’s petition were true, and judgment was thereupon rendered enjoining appellant from the erection of said fence.

Appellee introduced in evidence a patent from the state of Texas to E. W. Levings, dated July 1, 1878, conveying 640 acres of land and other record testimony showing that Glidden & Sanborn became the owners of this section by mesne conveyances from the patentee and upon which property the lot in question is situated; also a deed from H. B. Sanborn to appellant Railway Company, containing this recital: “By these presents do grant, bargain and convey and relinquish to the said Ft. Worth & Denver City Railway Company the following described right of way over my lands, situated in the county of Potter and state of Texas, to wit:” Said deed then describes a strip of land 300 feet wide, and contains habendum, tenendum, and warranty clauses. It appears that ap-pellee’s property is only 40 feet from the depot, and that it can be plainly seen from the south doors of the depot; that the proposed fence ran along the north line'of ap-pellee’s property and west across the end of Pierce street, and is about 380 feet in length, the effect of which would have been to have required appellee to go either to Buchanan or Filmore streets in order to reach appellant’s depot. The damage was estimated at about one-half the value of the property, or $6,000. A blue print map appears in the record which shows that Pierce street extends to the right of way opening on to it immediately south of the depot.

[1-3] It seems that there was a vellum map from which some of the witnesses testified, showing that Pierce street did not extend further north than the southwest corner of appellee’s lot. It was shown that appellee’s property was being rented for storing oil, and was no longer used as an ice cream factory at th.e time of the trial.

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Bluebook (online)
149 S.W. 1068, 1912 Tex. App. LEXIS 750, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ft-worth-d-c-ry-co-v-ayers-texapp-1912.