Locust Street Subway Construction

177 A. 599, 117 Pa. Super. 86, 1935 Pa. Super. LEXIS 384
Superior Court of Pennsylvania·Decided November 13, 1934·No. Appeals 469 and 531·Published·Cited by 6 cases

Opinion

Opinion by

Keller, J.,

The City of Philadelphia, pursuant to lawful authority, constructed subways on Broad Street and on Locust Street, respectively, and in the excavation, construction and improvement of the tunnel for said subway it was necessary to blast Yvith giant powder, dynamite and other high explosives. While doing this blasting for the tunnel construction in a careful and non-negligent manner, the direct, immediate, unavoidable and necessary results of said construction were such that the buildings of certain property owers abutting on said streets directly facing on said subway construction were permanently injured, loosened, cracked and dislocated. Petitions for the appointment of viewers to view and assess the damages suffered by these property oYvners were presented to the Court of Common Pleas No. 5 and the Court of Common Pleas No. 1, respectively, on which juries of view were respectively appointed, who after viewing the premises and hearing the witnesses made reports finding that the Memorial Baptist Church had been so dam *88 aged in the construction of the Broad Street subway in the amount of $1,511; and the Finance Realty Corporation had been so damaged in the construction of the Locust Street subway in the amount of $607; that said damages were the direct, immediate, necessary and unavoidable result of a careful and non-negligent execution of the construction of said subways, and were not the consequence of any negligence or lack of care in ¡the doing of the work. The City of Philadelphia filed exceptions to the several reports denying any liability on its part to the injured property owners for the damages caused them by the construction of said subways in the manner aforesaid. The respective court's dismissed the exceptions, the opinion in Common Pleas No. 1 being filed by President Judge McDevctt, and that in Common Pleas No. 5 being filed by Judge Lamberton. Th© city has appealed from both orders.

The opinions filed by the learned judges of the courts below fully warrant their action in dismissing the exceptions of the city and confirming the reports of the viewers. Either of them would be sufficient to warrant an affirmance by this court, but, as they approach the matter from somewhat different standpoints, it is, perhaps, advisable to present both points pf view in this opinion.

At the outset it must be remembered that the city does not here deny that the damages for which compensation is sought in these proceedings are the direct, immediate, necessary and unavoidable result of the construction and enlargement of the city’s works. Any question as to the damages being the result of the careless or negligent doing of the work is here eliminated; for it was admitted by all parties that if they were due to or caused by any negligence or carelessness in the work of construction the remedy would have to be by action of trespass against the person or corpo *89 ration responsible for sncb negligence. The City of Philadelphia is a municipal corporation and hence directly within the provisions of Article XVI, Section 8 of the Constitution, as follows: “Property Taken, Injured or Destroyed by Private cmd Municipal Corporations. Municipal and other corporations and individuals invested with the privilege of taking private property for public use shall make just compensation for property taken, injured or destroyed by the construction or enlargement of their works, highways or improvements, which compensation shall be paid or secured before such taking, injury or destruction. The general assembly is hereby prohibited from depriving any person of an appeal from any preliminary assessment of damages against any such corporations or individuals made by viewers or otherwise; and the amount of such damages in all cases of appeal shall on the demand of either party be determined by a jury according to. the course of the common law. ’ ’ Furthermore, the injuries involved are not the consequential damages to a physically uninjured structure caused by a mere change of grade. The buildings themselves have been physically shattered and injured as the direct, immediate and unavoidable result of the construction and enlargement of the city’s works, highway and improvement. It would seem plain, therefore, that the City of Philadelphia must make just compensation for the property so injured.

On this point Judge Lamberton says very pertinently: “The City contends that, in spite of this provision in the Constitution, compensation need not be paid unless so provided by statute. Counsel overlooks the fact that the wording of the Constitution is mandatory, and that the Constitution is the supreme law of the State. To hold as the City requests would be to hold that an act of the legislature is more potent than a provision of the Constitution. It would mean *90 that, although the Constitution says a municipal corporation shall make just compensation, this need not be done unless the legislature so directs. Much confusion has arisen because of appellate court decisions involving the liability for consequential damages of governmental agencies not included within the wording of Article 16, Section 8, notably the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Article 16, Section 8, does not apply to the Commonwealth, and the only limitation upon the rights of the Commonwealth in such matters is that contained in Article 1, Section 10, which provides A.....nor shall private property be taken or applied to public use without authority of law and without just compensation being first made or secured.’ The Commonwealth is therefore not liable for consequential damages in the absence of a statute imposing such liability upon it, but the Commonwealth is liable for consequential damages if there is a statute so providing. State Highway Route No. 72, 265 Pa. 369. Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Bridge, 308 Pa. 487. If we were to follow the reasoning of the City, Article 16', Section 8, of the Constitution would be meaningless. Article 1, Section 10, applies to. municipalities as well as to the Commonwealth. If this provision stood alone, liability for consequential damages could be imposed upon the City by an act of assembly, just as it can be imposed upon the Commonwealth. What then is the meaning of Article 16, Section 8? According to the City it means nothing whatever.”

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Locust Street Subway Construction, 177 A. 599, 117 Pa. Super. 86, 1935 Pa. Super. LEXIS 384 (Pa. Ct. App. 1934).

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