Municipality of Vega Baja v. Smith

27 P.R. 582
CourtSupreme Court of Puerto Rico
DecidedJuly 10, 1919
DocketNo. 1746
StatusPublished

This text of 27 P.R. 582 (Municipality of Vega Baja v. Smith) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Municipality of Vega Baja v. Smith, 27 P.R. 582 (prsupreme 1919).

Opinions

Me. J ustioe Hutchison

delivered the opinion of the court.

The municipality of Vega Baja broug’ht this suit to abate a nuisance and to enjoin the obstruction of a public road.

The district court dismissed the action after sustaining a demurrer to the amended complaint for want of facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action.

The essential averments are as follows;

"That within the municipality of Vega Baja, Porto Rico, there exists a neighborhood road called ‘Pugnado Afuera Saliente’ which, beginning in another road situated in the 'barrio Rio Arriba, traverses the barrio Pugnado Afuera Saliente and connects with the Insular highway from Vega Baja to Morovis at hectometer 6, kilometer l; that the said road passes from east, to west through a property of 93 cuerdas, more or less, belonging to defendant and situated in the barrios of Río Ahajo and Pugnado Afuera, entering the said property in the direction aforesaid at the boundary line' between [583]*583the same and another property owned by the Yega Baja Fruit Gom-pany'and leaving the property of defendant at the boundary line that'separates -the same from the farm of José Yoga; that the said road has existed always as a neighborhood road, respected by the former owners of the property now owned by defendant, having been in the service. of the public. for more than twenty years, and belonging to the municipality of Yega Baja by right of constant use, being of record together with others at page 66 of the proper volume in the Department of the Interior; that the defendant, Mrs. Smith, without right has closed the said road, refuses to consent, to travel-by the neighborhood over the portion thereof that crosses her property and persists in such refusal notwithstanding the demands made upon her that she consent to the free travel that has existed always; that the said conduct of the defendant interrupts the legal use of other properties in the community, impedes the comfortable enjoyment of its life and of its property and constitutes a nuisance to the plaintiff municipality, and especially to the neighbors José López, Ramón Montalvo, Juan Eusebio García, Hermenegildo Serrano, Diego López, Félix Colón, Paulino Pórtela, Francisco Cabrera, Camilo Cabrera and others.”

On reversing the judgment of the district court, in an opinion dated April 29, 1918, Ave said:

“Full proof of these facts would establish prima facie a dedication to public, use by the former owners of the property now belonging to defendant, and an acceptance by the public of such dedication.
“Even in the absence of any statutory provision, there would seem to be no sound reason why we should not be guided by the same rule that governs cases of this kind in other American courts.
“But, in addition to the broad equity powers conferred upon our courts by section 7 of the Civil Code, the principle involved has been recognized and acted upon by our legislature, with reference to bnrial grounds and municipal roads at least, in subdivisions No. 37 of section 102 of the Luav of Evidence and No. 4 of section 65 of ‘An Act to establish a system of local government, and for other purposes,’ approved March S, 1906.”

Thereupon appellee moved for a rehearing on the grounds, first, that the case had been heard and decided by only four members of this court and that it was the desire of plaintiff [584]*584to submit the question to a full bench; second, that the doctrine of dedication to public use, adopted by this court, had not been discussed by the parties, either in their briefs or at the hearing, and'appellee being of the opinion that such doctrine is not applicable in Porto Rico, desired to argue this point before' a full bench; third, that the doctrine of dedication is unknown to the civil law, but is a creature of the English common law, and therefore the application of this doctrine in Porto Rico deprives appellee of her property without the due process . of law guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and by the Civil (-ode of Porto Rico; fourth, that even if the said doctrine were applicable in Porto Rico, the facts stated in the complaint are not sufficient to constitute a cause of action.

Because of the importance of the question involved, of the fact that the doctrine in question had not been fully argued as such at the hearing, and because of- some doubt as to the sufficiency of the complaint, this motion was granted and. the caso was re-submitted.

The brief of appellee quotes 13 Oye. 437, to the effect that dedication (unknown to the civil law) is a common-law method of creating a public, easement. This is followed by a (¡notation from the same volume (p. 439, noté 16) to the effect that “the doctrine, of prescription as applicable to public easements does not seem to be recognized in England at all. The origin of easements from immemorial user is founded on custom,’’ etc., citing various British cases.

Attention is also called to the general rule, said to be an element of the doctrine of dedication and to have an important bearing on the question now under consideration, to the effect that on abandonment by the public of the use the reaí estate' reverts to the owner who made, the dedication. In this connection it is pointed out that under the civil law property of public ownership, when it ceases to be destined to general use, becomes a part of the property owned by the [585]*585State (bienes propiedad del Estado), citing article 341 of the Spanish Civil Code, Manresa thereon and Mitchell v. Bass, 33 Tex. 259.

It is also suggested that subdivision 37 of section 102 of the Law of Evidence refers solely and exclusively to cemeteries, does not mention roads and should not be extended to indude the latter.

As to section 65 of the Municipal Law, it is urged that tin- same cannot be given retroactive effect even if it should be regarded as establishing from and after the date of its enactment the doctrine, of dedication. The argument is that dedication being a matter of intention, an owner cannot be said to have intended to create a juridical situation unknown to the law,at the time.

It is further pointed out that the Municipal Law speaks of roads that through use have acquired this character; that this must be interpreted in accordance with the former law; that, according to the Siete Partidas, although a discontinuous servitude of passage might be acquired by prescription, yet it. was necessary in such case to show the existence of the servitude from timé immemorial (Díaz v. Vázquez, 19 P. R. R. 1094); and that the doctrine of the Siete Partidas was modified by section 539 (546) of the Civil Code, providing that “Continuous and not apparent servitudes and discontinuous servitudes, either apparent or not apparent, can only be acquired by virtue of a title.” Volume 5, page 839. Enciclopedia Jurídica Española, the commentary of Manresa on article 344 of the Spanish Civil Code, the Law of ('afretaras of 1877 (extended to Porto Eico in 1886), the Law of Eminent Domain for Cuba and Porto Eico of June 13, 1884, and the Law of Public Works for Porto Eico of 1881, are cited to show the various subdivisions of ordinary roads or carreteras recognized by Spain and the necessity, as a prerequisite to a taking of private property for public use.

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Bluebook (online)
27 P.R. 582, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/municipality-of-vega-baja-v-smith-prsupreme-1919.