McCormick v. McCann

94 N.E.2d 55, 57 Ohio Law. Abs. 203, 1950 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 365
CourtMuskingum County Court of Common Pleas
DecidedApril 27, 1950
DocketNo. 37079
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 94 N.E.2d 55 (McCormick v. McCann) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Muskingum County Court of Common Pleas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McCormick v. McCann, 94 N.E.2d 55, 57 Ohio Law. Abs. 203, 1950 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 365 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1950).

Opinion

OPINION

By CROSSLAND, J.

This case being heard on the question of whether or not to grant a temporary injunction on plaintiff’s application therefor after seasonable notice to defendants and their denial of plaintiff’s right thereto, the following facts are presented by the petition and upon the evidence, to-wit, plaintiff and defendant Ring Realty Company hold title to adjoining and contiguous lots, with an improvement on both consisting of two houses erected as one building of three original sections having a dividing or partitioning wall from the basement to [204]*204the attic, a part of which from front to rear is brick and balance wood or lathe and plaster, with some open area beneath the roof, with two clothes closets on the second floor adjacent to each other of which the back of one and front of the other extends beyond said dividing or partitioning wall several inches over defendant’s property, with a door on the third floor rear opening through said wall into each part, rear third story dormer window partly in each half and a common roof, although the front of each such parts or portions are distinctly separate as to complete outward appearance, including separate porches and front walks thereto from sidewalk and street.

The evidence discloses that fifty-five years ago the two separately occupied parcels of real estate were owned by husbands of sisters, who, pursuant to a common plan between them, constructed the front section of said building, all of which was divided between them for separate dwelling purposes; that a line drawn through the middle of the house, front to rear, is the lot line between, and would further bisect exterior bricks front and rear; that said section of building then constructed was built with common funds with respect to the interior dividing wall and all necessary supports affixed and adjacent thereto, and that both portions-were used exclusively as dwellings until late 1946 or early 1947; that plaintiff purchased the east portion of said entire building in late 1946 or early 1947, and has since used it as-a doctor’s office in connection with the practice of his medical profession, the attendance thereat of medical patients, and as a dwelling house until April, 1949; and finally that defendant The Dunzweiler Construction Company began dismantling and demolishing the west portion of said building after its vacation some two or three weeks prior to this suit,, and after oral notice to plaintiff of its intention to do so.

Plaintiff complains that said actions of the defendants will cause great and irreparable damage and injury to plaintiff's premises and also to plaintiff in connection with the conduct of his profession therein, and that he has no adequate remedy at law.

Defendants propose to tear down and dismantle that portion of the west structure up to but not including any part of the dividing or partitioning wall, but which would expose an opening in the third story of the rear presently filled with approximately one-half of the aforesaid third story window and would likely open and expose the width and height of one said clothes closet and the entrance to said second clothes closet, and leave a generally uneven roof edge and front and rear brick wall as well as an unsightly and unfinished west. [205]*205wall and a generally unsuitable and unsightly condition and appearance, although the east structure would otherwise remain presently intact.

“Though the term is sometimes used to designate a mere division wall, it has been said that, strictly speaking, a ‘party wall’ is one built at the joint expense of adjoining land owners and upon ground owned in common, so that each has an undivided interest in every part of the wall and the ground on which it stands.” (31 O. Jur. 2, Sec. 2, with footnote reference to Hieatt v. Morris, 10 Oh St 523.)

“To entitle a party to an injunction his right must be clear. It is said that no rule in equity is better settled than this. Injunctions are issued to prevent injury to clear rights, and the cases which will justify interference of this kind are those of clear, incontestable, well-defined rights.” (21 O. Jur. 1000-1, Sec. 13.)

What are the rights and liabilities of the respective parties in the circumstances and in the contemplation of what defendants intend?

In the case of Brucks v. Weinig, 34 Oh Ap 1, relied upon by plaintiff and under and upon the authority of which plaintiff’s claim is largely predicated and presented, the opinion of the court of appeals of this district on page 4 states:

“Whatever may be the law outside of Ohio, it is well settled in this state, in Hieatt v. Morris, 10 Oh St., 527, 78 Am. Dec., 280, that ‘the rights and liabilities of the parties’ to a party wall agreement ‘must depend upon the provisions of the contract between them and the principles of law applicable to those provisions.’ ” (Emphasis ours.)

In Miller v. Brown, 33 Oh St 547, the complaining party and plaintiff in the Common Pleas Court was Brown, who had a written agreement with Miller whereby unless the latter paid Brown $100, which he did not do, the east wall of the building constructed by Brown was to be his, with the further right of Brown to acquire the land under it owned by Miller by a stipulated payment, which Brown offered to make, and that accordingly Brown was entitled to damages for injury to his construction resulting from the action of Miller in eliminating four outside inches of wall foundation on Miller’s land, which weakened Brown’s structure by resultant, settling and cracking, the court holding that:

[206]*206“An owner of ground, with whose consent an adjacent proprietor occupies a portion of his premises on which to build a joint wall, can not tear away such wall after a building has been erected thereon, upon the faith of his acquiesence in its location and construction.”

The opinion of Judge Wright, on page 554, recites:

“Brown spent his money upon the wall which was to be for the benefit of both; Miller saw him do it, saw him put the foundation just where he did. He can not tear it away.”

In that case Miller was precluded from disadvantaging Brown, who had advantaged Miller at Brown’s own expense.

The opinion of the Ohio Supreme Court in the case of William Hieatt v. Nicholas Morris, supra, is well reasoned, and of persuasive and compelling force, the syllabus of which reads in full as follows:

“The declaration set forth that T. and H., owners of adjoining lots in the city of Cincinnati in 1831, being about to build dwelling houses upon their respective lots, agreed to and did build a partition wall on the division line of their said lots for the support of their said houses, without any express stipulation as to the continuance of said partition wall, which houses continued to be occupied by them and their respective grantees for more than twenty-one years, when the grantee of H., desiring to erect upon his lot a building adapted to its increased value, notified plaintiff, grantee of T., of his intention to take down his half of said wall for the aforesaid purpose, and upon his refusal to join in or permit such removal, the defendant took down his part of the wall, using proper care to prevent injury to the part of the wall standing upon plaintiff’s lot, and which, notwithstanding such care, fell down and was destroyed. Held, on general demurrer, that the facts above stated do not constitute a cause of action.”

The Supreme Court in its opinion, page 427, says:

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558 N.E.2d 142 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1990)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
94 N.E.2d 55, 57 Ohio Law. Abs. 203, 1950 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 365, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mccormick-v-mccann-ohctcomplmuskin-1950.