Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. v. Leininger

28 Pa. D. & C.3d 547, 1983 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 217
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Carbon County
DecidedDecember 16, 1983
Docketno. 81 E 30
StatusPublished

This text of 28 Pa. D. & C.3d 547 (Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. v. Leininger) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Carbon County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. v. Leininger, 28 Pa. D. & C.3d 547, 1983 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 217 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1983).

Opinion

LAVELLE, P.J.

Plaintiff’s complaint in equity seeks to permanently enjoin defendant from obstructing or hindering plaintiff’s maintenance and use of its Hauto-Siegfiied trans[548]*548mission line easement over defendant’s property in Mahoning Township.

On December 4, 1981, plaintiff filed a petition for preliminary injunction against defendant, together with a rule to show cause why defendant should not be enjoined from interfering with plaintiff’s right of way. On December 11, 1981, after a hearing thereon, the court preliminarily enjoined defendant from interfering with plaintiff’s access to its easement and plaintiff was allowed to enter defendant’s property to perform necessary maintenance. Bond in the amount of $500 was filed with the prothonotary.

On or about May 21, 1982, defendant filed an answer and new matter admitting plaintiff had a 100 foot wide easement through defendant’s land. On June 11, 1982, plaintiff filed its reply to new matter.

On August 15, 1983, the final hearing was held in this matter. All of the testimony and exhibits of the preliminary hearing were made part of the final hearing. Subsequent thereto, the parties submitted their respective proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. Argument thereon was heard on November 2, 1983.

The case is now ripe for final disposition and we make the following

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Moses Zellner, Sr. by deed dated October 12, 1912, and recorded in the Office of Recorder of Deeds of Carbon County on March 7, 1913, in Deed Book Vol. 71, page 512, conveyed to Nesquehoning Electric Company an easement and right of way for the construction and maintenance of power lines used in transmission of electrical current.

2. Plaintiff, Pennsylvania Power and Light Company is the corporate successor in interest and title [549]*549of the Nesquehoning Electric Company to the abovesaid easement and as such is the owner of said easement and right of way.

3. The encumbrance clause of the deed conveyed the following uses appurtenant to said easement:

“[R]ight, liberty and privilege of ingress, egress and regress to the property aforesaid by the agents, employees and contractors of the party of the second part, its successors and assigns, with necessary forces, teams and other apparatus and appliances, for any and all of the purposes aforesaid, as well as the right, liberty and privilege of trimming and cutting down any and all trees upon the property above described or adjoining the same that may interfere with or menace the erection, construction, operation, maintenance or renewal of the said transmission lines or any appurtenances thereof or appliances therefore, without liability for damages, loss or injury that may be sustained by reason of the exercise of any of the said rights, liberties and privileges.”

4. At the present time and since approximately 1920, plaintiff’s 66 kilovolt transmission line (the Hauto Siegfried Line) is located on the said easement.

5. Said transmission line serves 11,000 of the plaintiff’s electricity customers in the following locations: Bowmanstown, part of Lehighton and Mahoning Valley, Coaldale (including Coaldale State Hospital), Nesquehoning, Lansford and Summit Hill.

6. The said transmission line is in periodic need of maintenance in that brush and trees growing on said easement and “danger” trees growing adjacent to plaintiff’s easement must be trimmed or removed. “Danger” trees are defined as those trees ad[550]*550jacent to PP&L’s easement whose branches would pass within five (5) feet of the transmission line if the said trees should fall.

7. Said easement is now located on the property of Bernard L. Leininger, defendant herein.

8. Said easement is approximately 119 feet wide by 800 feet long.

9. On September 2, 1981, a contractor, Forest Utilities, hired by plaintiff arrived on the easement in order to remove brush and trees from the easement and also to remove “danger” trees on land adjoining the easement. Notice was given to the defendant by the employees of PP&L, Pat Bohannon and Bryan Deeken, who met with defendant on August 26, 1981 and September 1, 1981, and explained to him the necessary work to be done. These employees agreed to cooperate with defendant by placing a barricade on the easement and piling felled “danger” trees to make the easement inaccessible to trespassers.

10. Defendant prevented said contractors from entering onto the easement on September 2, 1981, by screaming threats and obscenities at them, threatening the Line Clearance Supervisor of PP&L, Bryan Deeken, by raising a rock over Bryan Deeken’s head and by threatening violence to PP&L’s contractors and employees if they should go on the easement.

11. Defendant’s action prevented the entrance of PP&L’s contractors and employees onto approximately 3200 linear feet of the easement containing the transmission line because plaintiff must traverse its easement on defendant’s property in order to reach other easements containing the same transmission line.

12. Defendant has developed a reputation among the PP&L crews for interference and obstruction to [551]*551attempts by PP&L to enter onto its easement and PP&L’s crews are afraid to enter said easement because of threats of violence by defendant.

13. Said reputation and actions of defendant have prevented the plaintiffs entry onto its easement for approximately ten years for the purpose of doing vital maintenance work on the easement.

14. Plaintiffs unimpeded access to its easement on the property of defendant is especially crucial in the winter months when ice storms and snow can down transmission wires or cause trees to fall on transmission wires resulting in power interruptions to 11,000 customers. Plaintiffs unimpeded access must include access for maintenance vehicles and heavy equipment.

15. As of September 2, 1981, the easement contained brush approximately 15 feet high consisting of undergrowth and trees making passage in the easement impossible. The area also contained approximately 25 “danger” trees.

16. After hearing on the preliminary injunction in this matter and pursuant to court order of December 11, 1981, plaintiff entered onto its easement, removed approximately 20 “danger” trees on the easement and adjacent to the easement and also removed brush which interfered with access to the tranmission line.

17. Plaintiff is in need of immediate, continuous and unimpeded access to said easement in order to continually maintain and patrol said transmission line and to remove trees as they become “danger” trees and to deal with emergencies particularly in the winter months.

18. Plaintiff anticipates the need to go back to the easement in the next two to five years in order to remove other “danger” trees since plaintiffs work on said easement in December of 1981 only removed [552]*552those trees which presented an immediate threat to the transmission line.

19. Defendant’s interference and obstruction of the easement of PP&L presents a clear and present danger of irreparable harm to the well-being and safety of a substantial portion of population of Schuylkill and Carbon County in that “danger” trees may fall on transmission line causing power failures and blackouts if such trees are not removed.

20.

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Related

Williams v. Bridy
136 A.2d 832 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1957)
Tide Water Pipe Co. v. Bell
124 A. 351 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1924)

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Bluebook (online)
28 Pa. D. & C.3d 547, 1983 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 217, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pennsylvania-power-light-co-v-leininger-pactcomplcarbon-1983.