Lide v. Hadley

36 Ala. 627
Supreme Court of Alabama·Decided June 15, 1860·Published·Cited by 18 cases

Opinion

R. W. WALKER, J.

The will of William Godfrey contained an express grant to Mrs. Underwood of a right of way from the public road to the laud devised to her, over the intermediate land of the testator. This right was appurtenant to the land devised, and not a right in gross; and passed by a conveyance of the land to the alienee, without express mention of the appurtenances. — Coke’s Litt. 121 (b.); Smiles v. Hastings, 24 Barb. 44, 48; Underwood v. Carney, 1 Cushing, 285, 290; Trustees v. Cowen, 4 Paige, 510, 514; Pitkin v. L. I. R. R. Co., 2 Barb. Ch. R. 231; Williams on Real Prop. 269; 2 Hilliard on Real Property, (3d ed.) p. 16, §§ 60, 62-3, he. In like manner, it was'a charge upon the intermediate laud; and when the defendant purchased that land, he took it subject to the easement.-Wissler v. Hersey, 23 Penn. St. R. 333; Hills v. Miller, 3 Paige, 254; Wolfe v. Frost, 4 Sandf. Ch. 72.

'A right of way of necessity ceases with the necessity which gave rise to it; so that, if a public road is opened, or the grantee purchases other land, which gives him a •way over his own land, the first right of way ceases. [632] Collins v. Prentice, 15 Conn. 39; Pierce v. Selleck, 18 Conn. 321; N. Y. Life Ins. Co. v. Milnor, 1 Barb. Ch. R. 353 ; Holmes v. Goring, 2 Bing. 76. But the case is otherwise, where the owner of land has a right of way to the same, over the premises of another, by prescription, or by express grant. — N. Y. Life Ins. Co. v. Milnor, 1 Barb. Ch. 362. Even if it be conceded, that the right which the complainant obtained by his purchase from Mrs. Underwood, would terminate whenever he acquired another way to the land devised; it certainly is not impaired by the fact, that he has a mere -permission, revocable at any time, to pass over Chapman’s land, so as to reach his own. A privilege which is held by mere favor, and which may be withdrawn at any moment, can in no sense be deemed a right; and we apprehend that it is the acquisition of a legal right to another way, which terminates a prior’'way of necessity.

[2.] The difficulty in the case is not as to the existence of the complainant’s right, but as to whether there is any ground of equitable jurisdiction. The testator,, in granting the right, prescribed the general direction of the way, but did not designate its specific track. He left this to be done by agreement between the devisee of the right and his other heirs, and provided that, in the event they could not agree upon the location of the way, they should select three disinterested persons to lay off the road. The devisee and the heirs parted with .the dominant and servient estates, without having located the way, or selected commissioners for that purpose; and the right and duty of making the location, or, in case of disagreement, of selecting third persons to do so, have devolved upon their respective alienees. At all events, the devisee of the right, and the heirs who were the owners of the land subject to it, have, by conveying to others their interest in the property, divested themselves of all authority in reference to the location of the way. The right to have a way allotted to him certainly passed to the complainant; and if he obtained the right, unattended by the privilege which the will conferred on Mrs. Underwood, to participate in the specific location of the road, or to. have a voice in the se~ [633] lection of commissioners for that purpose, this, of itself, would seem to justify the interposition of chancery; otherwise, there would be a clear right to have a way, but no means of designating and laying off its specific track.

Nor is the result different, if we assume, as we think may properly be done, that the complainant and the defendant have, by their purchases, been substituted to all the rights which the will conferred on the heirs and devisee, in reference to the location of the road. True, it is not shown that the complainant called upon Lide to join him in designating the track of the, way, or in selecting commissioners for that purpose. But it'is alleged and proved, that the defendant denied entirely the existence of any right in the complainant to have a way over the lands in question; and it is shown by the defendant’s answer, as well as by his previous acts, that a demand for the location of the road, either by the parties themselves, or by third persons to be chosen by them, would have been useless. It was not necessary, therefore, to allege or prove such demand; and the rights of the parties, in a court of chancery, are just what they would have been if the making and refusal of such demand had been alleged and proved. — Elliott v. Boaz, 9 Ala. 779. This being so, the case presented is briefly this: The complainant has, by express grant, a right to have- a way'over the lands of the defendant. By the terms of the grant, the specific location of the way is to he determined by the joint action of both parties, either by laying off the road themselves, or by selecting three disinterested third persons to do so. The defendant, however, denies the right of the complainant, and repudiates all obligation on his part to act in the premises. By his refusal to perform the duty cast upon him by his purchase of the servient estate, the means which, by the terms of the grant, were provided for the location of the way, have failed. The right of the complainant, however, is not thereby destroyed. That is still perfect, although the defendant’s refusal to perform his duty may have deprived the complainant of the means of specifically defining the way to which he is entitled. Under these circumstances, it seems clear that the complain[634] ant may come into a court of equity, to enforce specific performance of the grant. — See 2 Story’s Eq. § 788.

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Lide v. Hadley, 36 Ala. 627 (Ala. 1860).

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