Schmidt v. City of Milwaukee

135 N.W. 883, 149 Wis. 367, 1912 Wisc. LEXIS 149
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedApril 23, 1912
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 135 N.W. 883 (Schmidt v. City of Milwaukee) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schmidt v. City of Milwaukee, 135 N.W. 883, 149 Wis. 367, 1912 Wisc. LEXIS 149 (Wis. 1912).

Opinion

TimxiN, J.

The defendant makes two points on its appeal: (1) The circuit court erred in denying defendant’s motion to dismiss the appeals from the board of public works to that court. (2) That part of the judgment which awards damages caused by the bridges is erroneous. The first is in the nature of a preliminary ohjection; the second can best be considered in connection with the errors assigned by plaintiff’s counsel.

The notices of appeal made by the plaintiff each end with a sort of sweeping condemnation to the effect that “said proceedings are illegal and void.” The city by counsel assents to this and apparently thinks that it has in this way gained a point on its adversary and brought the matter within the rule sometimes applied that an appeal confers no jurisdiction upon the appellate tribunal if it can be shown that the tribunal below had no jurisdiction. Counsel for the city attempts to support this further by pointing out with reference to North avenue that only lot 39 west of the alley abuts on that street, while the damages to lots 31 to 39 inclusive were found by the board of public works, and further that the lots are found to have been damaged notwithstanding no benefits were found. [376]*376The objection bere goes to jurisdiction of tbe subject matter, because it must be obvious that the parties were before the court. There is a- rule of law applicable to some appeals under which the appellate tribunal acquires no jurisdiction provided the tribunal whose act is sought to be reviewed had none. Stringham v. Winnebago Co. 24 Wis. 594; Birdsall v. Kewaunee Co. 124 Wis. 576, 103 N. W. 1. This rule is, however, to be applied with caution and discretion and rests upon a construction of the statutes authorizing the review of the decision below; but in any case no mere admission that proceedings are void could show that the tribunal below had no jurisdiction of the subject matter, for the same reason that no consent could confer such jurisdiction. An admission that a tribunal has no jurisdiction of the subject matter is like an admission that no statutes exist when we have the public statutes before us showing the contrary. Jurisdiction is the power and authority conferred by law upon the officer or tribunal, and in order to ascertain its existence and scope we must go to the statutes. The idea that such power and authority should become lost or nonexistent by slip of the tongue or pen or even by express stipulation is, to say the least, very novel and fundamentally unsound. The statutes dispose not only of this alleged error but of several others relied upon by the plaintiff for reversal of this judgment.

The somewhat complicated situation presented by the facts is further complicated by the contentions and variant theories of counsel. On the part of the appellant Schmidt, who appears by two different counsel who file separate briefs and present separate theories of the case, it is contended (1) that the damages caused by the depression or sinking of the railway tracks should not have been excluded from the recovery; (2) that damages for loss of sidetrack and the drying up of a spring on the premises should have been included; (3) that the plaintiff’s property should have been considered as a unit and the inquiry directed to an investigation of the damages [377]*377caused to it as a whole; (4) that after tbe consolidation of appeals tbe damages from tbe change of grade on Oakland avenue and those arising from the change of grade on North avenue should not have been considered separately but should have been lumped together; (5) that if the plaintiff’s premises should not be considered as a unit it should at least have been considered as two units, one lying east and one west of the alley, for the purpose of estimating damages, and not at all considered by separate lots; (6) that the court should have submitted to the jury the damages caused by the change of grade of North avenue to lot 1 because a part of that lot owned by plaintiff fronted on North avenue; (7) that the charge of the court was incorrect in that it conflicted with the foregoing claims and in that it did not permit the jury to consider certain testimony relative to the cost of restoration, but confined them to damages for depreciation in value caused by the improvement, and was incorrect in other particulars; (8) that the verdict is not supported by evidence and is inconsistent and perverse; (9) that errors occurred in the admission and exclusion of evidence, and that there were other detail errors not necessary to notice, but nearly or remotely related to some or all of the foregoing points.

The city charter, sec. 8, ch. VII, upon conditions there mentioned, gives to the owner of any lot or parcel of land which may be affected or injured in consequence of an alteration of the grade of the streets compensation therefor. The board of public works is authorized, at the time of assessing benefits caused by street improvements, to consider, determine, and assess against the lots which they may deem benefited by the proposed improvement, to the amount of such benefits, the damages, costs, and charges, including the cost of such improvement, arising from such alteration of grade. A construction of this section which might limit the right of the lotowner to damages only for the purpose of reducing benefits or as an offset against benefits was rejected in Milwaukee T. Co. v. Mil [378]*378waukee, 146 Wis. 245, 131 N. W. 439, and in Filer & S. Co. v. Milwaukee, 146 Wis. 221, 131 N. W. 345. Sec. 8 does not expressly mention abutting owners or abutting lots, but it does permit the board to “consider, determine, and assess” the damages to the lots which they deem benefited. Sec. 7 speaks of these lots as lots fronting on the improvement. This has been generally understood to refer to abutting lots, but not solely with reference to their platted identity. The plat is only one factor in the result; occupancy as a single inclosure and conveyances are others. Loewenbach v. Milwaukee, 139 Wis. 49, 119 N. W. 888. There can rarely arise under this statute questions not readily solvable by common sense. Lots front- • ing on the improvement may be either lots as designated on the plat or parcels forming a distinct homestead or other inclosure, a messuage or unit of property which fronts on the improvement, but which is laid out, occupied, or inclosed without reference to platted lines. This description is illustrative, not exhaustive. It is, however, an error to contend that in ascertaining whether or not a given parcel is a lot fronting pn the street or an assessable unit you could cross other street or alley lines. It is also manifestly erroneous to attempt to apply the rule relative to damages in condemnation cases to damages caused by change of grade. We must always bear in mind that where a new right is given by statute together with a remedy for its enforcement, that remedy is exclusive, except in some cases where the party injured has been prevented by the wrong of the other party from resorting to such statutory remedy. Where two parcels are separated by a public street or alley, no matter how they are used or occupied, they cannot under these provisions of the charter be considered as a unit for the purpose of assessment. The reason is obvious. The board of public works is authorized to determine and assess the damages arising from such alteration of grade against the lots which are liable to be assessed for benefits. This means, first, lots fronting on the improvement, and, second, lots not sepa[379]*379rated from tbe improvement by another public street or alley.

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Bluebook (online)
135 N.W. 883, 149 Wis. 367, 1912 Wisc. LEXIS 149, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schmidt-v-city-of-milwaukee-wis-1912.