Slaback v. Wakefield

336 P.2d 609, 169 Cal. App. 2d 40, 1959 Cal. App. LEXIS 2032
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 23, 1959
DocketCiv. No. 5978
StatusPublished

This text of 336 P.2d 609 (Slaback v. Wakefield) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Slaback v. Wakefield, 336 P.2d 609, 169 Cal. App. 2d 40, 1959 Cal. App. LEXIS 2032 (Cal. Ct. App. 1959).

Opinion

GRIFFIN, P. J.

Plaintiffs-appellants, husband and wife, brought this action against defendant-respondent for claimed damages as a result of certain improvements to a roadway (designated as Lots A and B) in a tract of land laid out and dedicated by the owner-subdivider for the use and benefit of adjoining lot owners in the tract located in the foothills of eastern Orange County and used primarily for mountain homes. The general terrain was rough, wooded and brushy. Silverado Creek flowed through this tract and lands owned by plaintiffs which are designated as Parcels 1, 2, and 3, on a map marked plaintiff’s Exhibit 3 in evidence. Defendant owned [41]*41Lots 24 to 33 inclusive, designated on said Exhibit, which are located south of plaintiffs’ lots on a higher level. They sloped toward the intersecting roadway across plaintiffs’ lots located at a lower level to the level of the said Silverado Creek. Lots A and B (the tract roadway) were unimproved at the time the events occurred which are the basis of plaintiffs’ complaint. Each owner of lots in the tract was given the right to use said tract roadway for road purposes, including necessary slope easements for cuts and fills adjoining said roadways. Lot A (the roadway) extended over Silverado Creek and connected with Silverado Canyon Road, a paved public highway, at the time the tract map was filed, and no bridge crossed over said creek.

In 1952, defendant, desiring to make his lots available for sale, improved the roadway on Lot A, to which his lots adjoined, and erected a bridge over said creek, on Lot A, making his and other lots, including plaintiffs’, accessible to Silverado Canyon Road. He made certain necessary cuts and fills in grading the roadway for general use and built a small bridge over said creek, all on Lot A. The fill that approached the bridge was about 4 feet at its highest point above the surface of plaintiffs’ lot and was about 30 feet south of the bridge. Plaintiffs’ adjoining lot has two levels, the lower level being that part affected by the fill. This fill forms the basis of plaintiffs’ first claimed cause of action based on the theory that defendant barred plaintiffs from the free use of egress and ingress to their property.

The second cause of action arises out of claimed damages by reason of change of natural drainage waters flowing over a cliff located on the rear of one of defendant’s lots and thence traveling northerly in a well-defined channel across it to Lot A (the roadway) and thence across plaintiffs’ lot to the creek. It appears that defendant, as an addition to the improvements to the roadway, laid pipe in the bed of this channel, on his land, from a point below the waterfall to a standpipe in front of defendant’s lot and near the southerly edge of Lot A (the roadway) thus protecting his land from open flow of flood-waters and allowing him to level his lot for a building site. Later he laid a pipeline under the roadway to plaintiffs’ land and plaintiffs, by arrangements with defendant, and with full knowledge of the size of the pipe used and improvements installed, connected his pipeline to it and ran the water across plaintiffs’ land to the creek, thus eliminating any surplus flow of the water over plaintiffs’ land to the creek.

[42]*42According to plaintiffs’ complaint the filling of the natural channel by defendant on his own property and under Lot A (the road easement) caused plaintiffs to construct pipelines and ditches for the protection of their own property, and that they were accordingly damaged to the extent of $3,000.

A third cause of action alleges that during October, November, and December, 1955, defendant did, on the public highway in front of plaintiffs’ property, destroy certain trees, shrubs and underbrush growing on the edge thereof. An additional sum of $1,000 is claimed for this alleged damage. There is an additional allegation that defendant claims an interest in some form of easement or right of way for ingress and egress over Lot A adverse to plaintiffs and it is prayed that the defendant be required to lower the surface of Lot A to the level of plaintiffs’ property.

The court, after finding generally in favor of defendant and against the claims of plaintiffs, specifically found that both plaintiffs and defendant, as owners of lots in said tract, had the right, in common with other owners, to use said Lots A and B (roadways) for road purposes, including necessary slope easements for cuts and fills adjoining portions of said lots; that defendants raised the surface of Lot A adjoining the southeasterly portion of his property but it was reasonably necessary to make said Lot A usable as a roadway; that defendant claims no interest in said easement adverse to plaintiffs and that defendant has not barred plaintiffs from the use of said easement; that it was true that defendant, prior to three years before the filing of plaintiffs’ original complaint herein, installed on the bed of the natural water course channel, a pipeline over his property, as indicated, and changed the natural flow of water without the consent of plaintiffs; and that none of the work was done on plaintiffs’ property. The court concluded that the alleged cause of action was barred by section 338, subdivision 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, as pleaded in the answer.

As to the third cause of action, it found that defendant did destroy certain shrubs (apparently poison oak), growing on the public highway in front of plaintiffs’ land; that defendant’s land was in the hills in the country and no actual compensatory damage was suffered. Judgment was entered accordingly. Section 733 of the Code of Civil Procedure, upon which plaintiffs rely for a recovery on this last count would have no application to property of this description.

Plaintiffs, on this appeal, now claim the court erred [43]*43in failing to find whether Lot A was dedicated to public use, and whether it was accepted by a public user, the claim being that where a verified map has been recorded by the owner of the property showing lots and streets, this is an offer of dedication, and if the map is accepted, either by formal resolution of the governing body, or by the use of the roadway by the public generally, it becomes a public street, citing 15 California Jurisprudence 2d 298, section 30, and cases cited. The argument is that although there apparently was no acceptance of this roadway by the board of supervisors as a public roadway, it was in fact used as such and accordingly plaintiffs were entitled to rights flowing therefrom, and that no private individual has a right to take away another abutting property owner’s right to egress and ingress, citing Beals v. City of Los Angeles, 23 Cal.2d 381 [144 P.2d 839]; 15 California Jurisprudence 2d 366, section 67, and cases cited.

It affirmatively appears from the recorded map itself that Lots A and B (the roadway) was dedicated only to and for the use and benefit of the owners of lots in the subdivision, and it specifically dedicated to them the necessary slope easements for cuts and fills adjoining portions dedicated for road purposes. It does not affirmatively appear that the board of supervisors approved this map or accepted any dedication set forth therein. The form of certificate thereon, not signed by the clerk of the board, did affirmatively state that there may be an acceptance on behalf of the public of Silverado Canyon Road, but did not accept Lots “A” and “B” for highway purposes.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Beals v. City of Los Angeles
144 P.2d 839 (California Supreme Court, 1943)
Archer v. City of Los Angeles
119 P.2d 1 (California Supreme Court, 1941)
City of Santa Clara v. Ivancovich
118 P.2d 303 (California Court of Appeal, 1941)
Roth v. Cottrell
246 P.2d 958 (California Court of Appeal, 1952)
Crimmins v. Gould
308 P.2d 786 (California Court of Appeal, 1957)
Youngblood v. City of Los Angeles
325 P.2d 587 (California Court of Appeal, 1958)
Zimmerman v. Young
169 P.2d 37 (California Court of Appeal, 1946)
Eastman v. Piper
229 P. 1002 (California Court of Appeal, 1924)
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. Crockett Land & Cattle Co.
233 P. 370 (California Court of Appeal, 1924)
Noel v. Capobianco
23 P.2d 511 (California Supreme Court, 1933)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
336 P.2d 609, 169 Cal. App. 2d 40, 1959 Cal. App. LEXIS 2032, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/slaback-v-wakefield-calctapp-1959.