Mason v. Thwing

94 A.D. 77, 87 N.Y.S. 991
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedMay 15, 1904
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 94 A.D. 77 (Mason v. Thwing) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mason v. Thwing, 94 A.D. 77, 87 N.Y.S. 991 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1904).

Opinion

McLennan, P. J.:

Prior to April, 1855, one John Sprague was the owner of the entire premises involved in this litigation, which consisted of a farm of about seventy acres situated in the town of Manlius, in the coimty of Onondaga, upon either side of the High Bridge road, so called.

On the 17th day of April, 1855, the said John Sprague, by warranty deed, conveyed the portion of the premises lying upon the easterly side of the highway, consisting of about three acres, more or less, to one Ichabod Goodfellow, which deed contained the following reservation : Reserving thereout the cider mill lot with its water rights and privileges thereto belonging and appertaining or for any other hydraulic purpose. Also the right of throwing and carrying out on the east side of said cider mill the refuse, litter and pumice and cleanings from said mill. Also the right of taking the water from two springs on the east side of said road and conveying the same to the house and barn of said John Sprague by means of a hydraulic ram and fixtures in a manner similar to its present form and use, so as to convey a stream in a one-half (inch) lead or cement pipe or other suitable conductor of that size, with the right of always repairing, renewing or changing the manner of bringing said water, as may be proper and suitable hereafter.” The deed from Sprague to Goodfellow contained the usual covenant for quiet possession of the demised premises and warranty of title thereto.

At the time of such conveyance all the farm buildings of John Sprague were located upon that portion of the premises on the westerly side of the highway, upon which he resided, and it appears that the only natural supply of water for the same was the two springs reserved in the deed to Goodfellow.

Through mesne conveyances from Goodfellow, Sprague’s grantee, some of which deeds referred to the reservation of the springs in question and others of which did not, the defendant became the [80]*80owner of the three acres of land upon which, the springs were situated. Sprague, however, never conveyed, or attempted to convey, what he had reserved from the grant to Goodfellow to the defendant, or to any of the grantees of Goodfellow. In other words, the defendant and his grantor acquired by deed nothing more than Goodfellow took by virtue of his deed from Sprague, the original gfantor of the three-acre parcel.

On the 1st day of April, 1856, Sprague conveyed the premises upon" the' westerly side of the road (now owned by the plaintiff) to one Seneca Eddy, by warranty deed which contained the following grant: “ Also the right and privilege of taking the water from th& spring as at present used below the road by the hydraulic ram placed above the ditch that conveys the water to the cider mill and forcing the said water through any pipe with not more than a half inch bore for the use of house and barn and on said farm with right of ingress and egress at any and all times for the purpose of keeping said hydraulics, etc., in good order and repair, said Sprague excepting and reserving to himself, his heirs and assigns forever, the right and privilege of widening, deepening and extending the ditch on said' lands hereby conveyed, and of keeping the same clean so as to secure the greatest possible flow of water through the same to said cider mill, and of ingress and egress therefor, but neither party in the exercise of these privileges shall do any unnecessary damage. Together with all and singular the tenements, hereditaments and appurtenances thereunto belonging or in any wise appertaining and the reversion' and reversions, remainder and remainders, rents, issues and profits thereof,' and also all the estate, right, title, interest, dower, right of dower, property, possession, claim ánd demand whatsoever as well. in law as in equity of the said. par-, ties of the first part (Sprague and his wife) of, in or to the above described premises, and every part and parcel thereof with the appurtenances to have and to hold all and singular the above mentioned and described premises, together with the appurtenances. Unto the said party of the second part (Eddy) his heirs and assigns forever * *"

By mesne conveyances the plaintiff became the owner of the real estate and all the rights conveyed by John Sprague to Seneca Eddy.

It will be observed that the deed from Sprague to Eddy in terms [81]*81conveyed also the right and privilege of taking the water from the spring as at present used below the road,” and that the word “ springs ” is not used. It is, therefore, insisted on behalf of the defendant that Eddy did not acquire by virtue of such conveyance, nor did the plaintiff by mesne conveyances, any right to take the waters from any spring upon the defendant’s lands, except the one which was at that time used to supply the premises now owned by the plaintiff with water.

The spring which was then being used to supply the lands on the westerly side of the road at least seventeen years before the commencement of this action became useless and the ram was thereupon located so as to convey to those premises water from the other spring, and until interference therewith by the defendant such spring was continuously used for that purpose.

It is contended on the part of the plaintiff that the clause in the deed from Sprague to Eddy, plaintiff’s grantor, granting and conveying all the appurtenances to the lands therein described, had the effect of conveying all the rights reserved by Sprague from his conveyance to the defendant’s grantor, Goodfellow.

The conflicting claims of the parties to this action as to the proper construction of the conveyance to Eddy present the only question to be determined upon this appeal.

We are of the opinion that the reservation of the use of the springs contained in the deed from Sprague to Goodfellow for the use of the premises then owned by Sprague and subsequently acquired by the plaintiff, became and was an appurtenance to plaintiff’s property, and that it passed to her by virtue of the mesne conveyances of her predecessors in title. It will be noted that the grant in the deed from Sprague to Eddy, plaintiff’s grantor, is exceedingly broad and comprehensive. The grantor thereof parted with every vestige of right which he had, or which appertained to the premises, excepting only the right to keep the ditch connected with said springs clean and free so as to secure the greatest possible flow of water through the same for the benefit of the cider mill, and of ingress and egress for that purpose. The original reservation in the Goodfellow deed was for the use of the farm buildings standing upon the premises west of the highway and concededly no [82]*82use could be made of the water Under that reservation for any other purpose. Therefore, when Sprague conveyed to Eddy the premises upon which those buildings stood!, he could have had no object or purpose in retaining in himself any right or interest in the waters of either of the springs in question.

The general rule of law applicable to cases of this character is as follows : “ When a party grants a thing, he by implication grants whatever is incident to it and necessary to its beneficial enjoyment. The incident goes with the principal thing. * * * The idea and

definition of an easement incident to real estate granted, is a privilege oft and beyond the local boundaries of the land or tenement conveyed. Where there is a dominant, there is always a servient tenement. But it is not necessary they should be contiguous to each other.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Ringwald v. Sadlowski
237 A.D. 59 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1932)
Auburn & Syracuse Electric Railroad v. Jaeckel
118 Misc. 375 (New York Supreme Court, 1922)
Dunbar v. Sweeney
99 Misc. 373 (New York Supreme Court, 1917)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
94 A.D. 77, 87 N.Y.S. 991, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mason-v-thwing-nyappdiv-1904.