Seaboard Air Line Railway v. Southern Investment Co.

53 Fla. 832
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJanuary 15, 1907
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 53 Fla. 832 (Seaboard Air Line Railway v. Southern Investment Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Seaboard Air Line Railway v. Southern Investment Co., 53 Fla. 832 (Fla. 1907).

Opinion

Parkhill, J.:

On the 7th day of September, A. D. 1906,. appellee, filed its bill of complaint against appellants,, alleging as follows: “Southern Investment Company, a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the state of Delaware, by John P. Wall, its solicitor, brings its hill against the Florida West Shore Railway, a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the state of Florida, and the Seaboard Air Line Railway, a corporation organized and existing under the laws of Yir[834]*834■ginia; and thereupon your orator complains and says: That your orator is the owner and seized in fee of the following described real property in the county of Manatee and state of Florida, to wit: Blocks sixteen (16), seventeen (17), twenty (20) and twenty-one (21) of the Southern Investment Company’s subdivision according to the map or plat thereof, recorded in the office of the' clerk of the circuit court of Manatee county, Florida, on the fourth day of May, A. D. 1903, in plat book No. 1, on page 155; which said real property adjoins and abuts on a public street or thoroughfare in the town of Manatee, which street or thoroughfare is known and designated as Stebbins avenue, as will be more particularly shown by the blue print hereto attached and made a part of your orator’s bill of complaint; that the Florida West Shore Railway is organized and incorporated for the purpose of constructing and operating a railroad for the transportation of passengers from a point at or near Turkey Creek, in the county of Hillsborough and state ©f Florida, through the counties of Hillsborough and Manatee, to a point on the gulf coast of the state of Florida, below the said town of Manatee, and the property so owned by your orator; and that the Seaboard Air Line Railway is organized and incorporated for the purpose of maintaining a trunk line of railway for the transportation of passengers and owns and controls a line of railway from some point in the state of Virginia, running southwardly through the states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, to Turkey Creek, in the state of Florida, and by lease or some other arrangements, the exact terms of which are unknown to* your orator, the said Seaboard Air Line Railway controls and operates [835]*835the line of railway owned by the said Florida West Coast Railway.

Your orator further represents unto youir honor that the defendants have unlawfully and forcibly entered in and upon said Stebbins avenue, adjoining to and in front of the said real property of your orator, above described, for the purpose of constructing a spur track in and upon the said Stebbins avenue, from the town of Manatep to the town of Bradentown, and the said defendants propose to operate over said spur track its engines and cars for the transportation of passengers and freight; and that the' said defendants have dug up the surface of said Stebbins avenue, and are now engaged in making excavations in said avenue, and have so occupied and obstructed said avenuue as to permanently impair the use of said avenue as a public thoroughfare, and especially to prevent your orator, its officers, agents and employees from going to and from its said real property over along said avenue, to the great and irreparable injury, of your orator’s said property.

Your orator charges that your orator has never consented to the location or construction of a railway of any kind in and along said avenue, that the damage to the land of your orator abutting on said avenue, on account of the location and construction of said proposed railway has not been ascertained and paid to your orator as required by law; that if the said location and construction' of said railway upon said avenue is not prohibited and its location and construction is not restrained, your orator will sustain irreparable injury to* the damage to its said real property aforesaid, and adequate remedy cannot be afforded to your orator by an action for damages.

[836]*836Wherefore your orator prays that the defendant may be perpetually restrained or enjoined from entering into or upon said avenue for the purpose of locating and constructing or operating a railway therein, adjoining or in front of your oi’ator’s said real property, or from digging up or subverting the soil, surface or paving of said Stebbins avenue, or from doing any other act in said avenue intending to obstruct in any way the free and common use thereof, as the same has been enjoyed, and that in the meantime a temporary injunction may be allowed, restraining the said defendants, their associates, counselors, attorney, solicitors, agents, contractors and servants and all persons acting in the aid or assistance of them or either of them from obstructing said avenue adjoining to or in front of your orator’s said property in any way, and especially from digging in said avenue, and from locating or constructing any railway therein, and for such other and further relief as to the court may seem just and proper.”

The bill was sworn to in the following affidavit:

“State of Florida, County of Hillsborough.

I hereby certify, that before me, the undersigned authority, personally appeared John P. Wall, who being first duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is the solicitor for the Southern Investment Company, the complainant in the foregoing bill of complaint, and he further says that the statements and allegations contained in the foregoing bill of complaint are true, and that unless immediate remedy is afforded the said complainant will suffer irreparable injury.

Affiant further says that to give the defendant notice [837]*837of the application for a temporary injunction would accelerate the injury apprehended, and that before, said application could be heard, the defendants would be able to lay their track and have their cars in operation over that part of the said Stebbins avenue, upon which the complainant is an abutting property owner. John P. Wall.

Sworn to and subscribed before me this 7th day of September, A. D. 1906.

(Seal.) Grace H. Gardner.

Notary Public, in and for the State of Florida at Large.”

Thereupon, on the 7th day of September, 1906, the chancellor made an order granting a temporary restraining order, whereby the defendant corporations were restrained until further order of the court, from obstructing the said Stebbins avenue, adjoining to and in front'of the parcels of land described in the bill of complaint, and especially from digging in said avenue and from locating or constructing any railway therein, upon the giving of bond, &c.

From the order of the 7th day of September, 1906, an appeal was taken and made returnable to the present term of this court.

The errors assigned are: First, the court erred in granting the temporary injunction adjudged by said order against the defendants. Second, the court erred in .making said injunctional order.

Appellants urge several reasons why the injunctional order appealed from should not have been granted.

I. It is contended that the injunctional order appealed from should not have been granted because “the bill does not show that the complainant’s ownership, or the boun[838]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
53 Fla. 832, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/seaboard-air-line-railway-v-southern-investment-co-fla-1907.