Pawlowicz v. American Locomotive Co.

90 Misc. 450, 154 N.Y.S. 768
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedMay 15, 1915
StatusPublished

This text of 90 Misc. 450 (Pawlowicz v. American Locomotive Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pawlowicz v. American Locomotive Co., 90 Misc. 450, 154 N.Y.S. 768 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1915).

Opinion

Van Kirk, J.

This is an action for an injunction restraining a nuisance and for damages. The defendant operates a drop forge shop in the city of Schenectady. The plaintiffs own a house upon the opposite side of Front street from said shop, the lower floor of which they use for a saloon and the other parts as a residence. It is claimed that the operation of this drop forge shop causes a nuisance because of the noise and jar and because of the smoke and gases coming therefrom.

The defendant is conducting a lawful business; there is no negligence or want of care in the manner of the construction of its shop and works,.or in their use. It. does not appear that improvements or reconstruction would lessen any of the alleged elements of nuisance, nor does it appear that any annoyance suffered by the plaintiffs is not a necessary result of the business,when conducted in a prudent, careful manner, in a properly equipped shop.

There is some smoke, which escapes from the shop, when the windows are open, for a short time when the works are started in the morning. There are some odors and gases from the fuel oil and from the heated metal. There is some noise and there is some jar and consequent vibration felt in plaintiffs’ premises when the shop is in operation. The noise and the vibration are [452]*452chiefly due to the heavier forges. There was more annoyance when the shop was run nights. At the time of the trial the shop was not operated nights. The automobile construction work has been discontinued permanently, and there is no necessity for operating, and no intention to operate,, this shop nights in the future.

But it does not appear that there is sufficient smoke or gases to render the occupation of plaintiffs ’ premises specially uncomfortable, or that there is a sufficient noise to disturb ordinary conversation at any time, or that the vibration occasioned by the operation of the forges is more noticeable than the vibration caused by persons walking across the floors of the plaintiffs’' building. The evidence does not justify a finding that there is more dirt, dust, odor, noise or jar than is occasioned in any manufacturing district in a city by the blowing of the dust and dirt in the street, by the smoke from mills and factories, by the noise and jar of trolleys or heavy trucks passing over hard or rough pavements. The plaintiffs’ premises are situated in a manufacturing district in the city of Schenectady, in the neighborhood of railroad lines and where heavy trucking and much traffic pass. This section has been a manufacturing section since 1850 or earlier.

Before it can be held that the defendant is guilty of maintaining a nuisance, it must be shown that its use of the property, under all the circumstances, is unlawful or unreasonable, or that plaintiffs have, because of such use, suffered some unnecessary damage or annoyance which is material and specially injurious. Campbell v. Seaman, 63 N. Y. 568. No one may make an unreasonable use of his own premises to the material injury of his neighbor’s premises, if thereby the enjoyment of life and property of his neighbor is materially lessened. The question whether a certain condition [453]*453creates an actionable nuisance is usually a question of fact, whether the use is reasonable or not, under all the circumstances. A use that is reasonable under one state of facts may be unreasonable under another. Unless the fact that the use is unreasonable is found, or it is an inference of law from other facts found, no nuisance is established, even though plaintiff shows that he had suffered some damage, annoyance and injury. McCarty v. Natural Carbonic Gas Co., 189 N. Y. 46, 47. ‘ ‘ Whether the use of property by one person is reasonable, with reference to the comfortable enjoyment of his own property by another, generally depends upon many and varied facts; such as location, nature of the use, character of the neighborhood, extent and frequency of the injury, the effect on the enjoyment of life, health and property and the like. ’ ’ Id. 47. ‘ ‘ If the use is reasonable there can be no private nuisance, but, if the use is unreasonable and results in substantial injury, an actionable nuisance exists. Trifling results are disregarded,.for the courts proceed with great caution and will not interfere with the use of property by the owner thereof, unless such use is unreasonable, the injury material and actual, not fanciful and sentimental. ’ ’ Id. 49.

The annoyance and discomfort suffered by these plaintiffs from the operation of defendant’s drop forge shop is comparatively slight. If .the two properties were situated in a country district, it may be that the court would be justified in putting some restrictions upon the defendant; but, in a thickly populated district, devoted largely to manufacturing, it is necessary that residents should endure some inconvenience and annoyance; and the people who live in cities are subjected to the noise of traffic, the dirt and dust of the street, the pollution of the air with smoke and gases. This is part of the [454]*454price they pay for the privileges of the city, or of the manufacturing district. Though they may receive some injury, they receive compensation therefor in the advantages furnished. The court is not justified on the evidence in finding that the defendant is maintaining a private nuisance. The use of its property is a reasonable use under the circumstances and surroundings. The industry is one of the large industries of the city of Schenectady, on whose operation thousands of residents depend for their support. It is not shown that, in any respect, by a change of method or of construction, any relief can be granted to the plaintiffs from such annoyance as they may suffer. Belief can be had only by restraining in full the operation of the shop. I find therefore that the use is a reasonable use and a restraining order should not issue.

This is not an action to recover fee damages. The measure of damages is the loss or injury to the usable value of the property. Bates v. Holbrook, 89 App. Div. 558. Generally this is the rental value of the premises; but the plaintiffs were occupying the entire premises and no loss of business is alleged or proved. There is no evidence of amount of damages from smoke, gas or noise. Stowers v. Gilbert, 156 N. Y. 600. The one element of damages presented by the evidence is the injury to the building itself; cracks in walls, distortion in frame work and settling of walls and floors. If such injury is due to the vibrations caused by the forges, there is some damage, otherwise none. Plaintiffs’ house is a balloon framed wooden building, two stories and a cellar. Shortly after purchasing in 1901, the plaintiff Dennis Pawlowicz remodeled the house; he removed one long, longitudinal partition and several short partitions, leaving on the first floor a large room which he converted into a room for saloon purposes. [455]*455He put in no support in place of the removed partitions. The cellar wall is laid up with unshaped stone and mortar resting upon the soil, without any footing. The wall is about eighteen inches thick. Running lengthwise of the building is a bearing beam of wood, six by eight inches, supported at the ends by the cellar wall, with three intervening brick piers about twelve inches square, each pier resting upon a flat stone some three or four inches thick and about sixteen inches square. At the front of the building was a bay window extending from the ground up two stories.

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Related

Campbell v. . Seaman
63 N.Y. 568 (New York Court of Appeals, 1876)
McCarty v. . Natural Carbonic Gas Co.
81 N.E. 549 (New York Court of Appeals, 1907)
Stowers v. . Gilbert
51 N.E. 282 (New York Court of Appeals, 1898)
Bates v. Holbrook
89 A.D. 548 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1904)

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Bluebook (online)
90 Misc. 450, 154 N.Y.S. 768, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pawlowicz-v-american-locomotive-co-nysupct-1915.