Sparling v. Dwenger

60 Ind. 72
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 15, 1877
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 60 Ind. 72 (Sparling v. Dwenger) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sparling v. Dwenger, 60 Ind. 72 (Ind. 1877).

Opinion

Howk, J.

In this action, the appellee was plaintiff, and the appellant was defendant, in the court below.

In his complaint, the appellee alleged, in substance, that he was the owner and in possession of an entire section of land, particularly described, all in road district No. 11, in Marion township, Jasper county, Indiana; that, on the 7th day of December, 1874, William C. Pierce and others presented to the board of commissioners of said county a petition, asking for the location of a public highway on the following line, to wit: Commencing at a point in the range line dividing ranges 6 and 7 west, [73]*73where the half-section line, running east and west through the centre of section 12, in township 28 north, of range 7 west, crosses said range line, and running thence north, on said range line, to the township line between townships 28 and 29 north, and from thence north, in the same direction as said range line, 52 chains, and from thence north, bearing west, in a direct line, to the southeast corner of the west half of the south-west quarter of section 30, in township 29 north, of range 6 west, and from thence north one-half mile to the north-east corner of said west half of said quarter section; that viewers were appointed by'said board of commissioners to view said proposed highway, and afterward, on the 24th day of February, 1875, made a report to said board, of their view of said highway, recommending that the same be established; that said board of commissioners, at its regular March term,. 1875, made an order for the establishment of said highway, and’directing the county auditor to notify the trustee of said Marion township, and the trustees of the town of Rensselaer, to open and keep the same in repair; that said highway, when opened, will pass through appellee’s said real estate; that the north half of his said section is enclosed, and has been so for a long time; that the same was used and cultivated as a farm, and the opening of said highway through his said farm would cause him to build more than one mile of additional fence, at a cost of not less than three hundred dollars, and would greatly damage said farm, to wit, in the sum of six hundred dollars; that all that part of said proposed highway in section 30, being one-half mile of the north end thereof, was inside of the corporate limits of the town of Rensselaer; that the appellee was informed by his counsel, and verily believed, that the board of commissioners of said county had not the legal right to locate a public highway inside of the corporate limits of an incorporated town; that said town of Rensselaer was then, and had been for more than five years last [74]*74passed, an incorporated town; that the appellee was informed by his attorneys, and verily believed, that said board of commissioners had no legal right or authority to entertain said petition of said William C. Pierce and others, nor to appoint viewers to view said proposed highway; that said viewers had no legal authority to view said proposed highway and make report thereon to' said board, and that said board had no legal authority to make an order for the location of said highway; that all of said proceedings were illegal and void, for the reason that part of said highway proposed to be located, to wit, one-half mile in length of the north end thereof, was within the corporate limits of said town of Rensselaer; that no order or proceedings had ever been made or had by the trustees of said town of Rensselaer, for the location or establishment of that part of said proposed highway lying within the corporate limits of said towu; that there was no street nor highway leading from the point where said pretended highway strikes the limits of said town of Rensselaer, into said town, or into any other highway; that the appellant, Abraham L. Sparling, was supervisor of said road district No. 11, in said township, county and State; that, as such supervisor, and acting under the orders of the trustee of said township, the appellant was threatening to enter upon the appellee’s said land, with a large force of men, for the avowed purpose of removing the appellee’s fences and opening said pretended highway over and across appellee’s said land; that the appellant, acting under the orders of the township trustee, unless restrained, will, as such supervisor, warn out the men liable to work on the public highways in said road district, and with said men will enter upon appellee’s said land, and remove his fences and open said highway through and across his said land and farm; that the appellant was insolvent, and nothing whatever could be collected from him by execution; that, the appellant being supervisor and acting under the orders of the [75]*75township trustee, his acts would he regarded by the public generally as being done by authority of law; that said pretended highway having been ordered to be opened by the county board, if the appellant, acting as supervisor and apparently with authority, should throw down the appellee’s fences, and thereby open said pretended highway, so that the travelling public could pass through on the same over.the appellee’s lands, (as the appellant certainly would do, uuless restrained,) the same having thus been opened to the public apparently by authority of law, the travelling public would continue to travel along said pretended highway over said land and through said farm of the appellee, in spite of the appellee’s efforts to prevent it; whereby he would be compelled to resort to-a multiplicity of lawsuits to collect damages for trespass, and to protect himself in his legal and equitable rights; that, should said pretended highway be opened by appellant, the efforts of the travelling public to travel the same would so expose the appellee’s crops, which he expected to raise on said farm, as to materially interfere with his raising a crop the then coming season; that the-damages that would result to appellee from the threatened acts of the appellant would be irreparable; that,, should the appellee wait until the appellant had committed the threatened acts, and then bring suit for damages and recover a money judgment against the appellant, he could not collect it, owing to appellant’s insolvency; that unless the opening of said pretended highway was enjoined, he would bo continually annoyed by persons attempting to pass through his said farm in attempting to travel the same; and that, if he had any possible remedy by a suit at law, such remedy was not plain, adequate and efficient to the ends of justice. Wherefore appellee prayed for a temporary restraining order, and that, on final hearing, the appellant and his successors in office might be forever enjoined from opening said highway through appellee’s said farm, and for other proper relief..

[76]*76To this complaint, the appellant demurred, upon the -ground that it did not state facts sufficient to entitle the appellee to the relief prayed for, which demurrer was •overruled, and to this decision the appellant excepted.

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

Related

Hawn v. Blunt
105 N.E. 785 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1914)
State v. Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway Co.
51 N.E. 914 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1898)
Keith v. Wilson
44 N.E. 13 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1896)
Chicago & Atlantic Railway Co. v. Sutton
30 N.E. 291 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1892)
Sunderland v. Martin
15 N.E. 689 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1888)
Tucker v. Conrad
2 N.E. 803 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1885)
McIntyre v. Marine
93 Ind. 193 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1884)
Green v. Elliott
86 Ind. 53 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1882)
Schmied v. Keeney
72 Ind. 309 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1880)
Suits v. Murdock
63 Ind. 73 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1878)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
60 Ind. 72, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sparling-v-dwenger-ind-1877.