Stubblefield v. Houston, E. & W. T. Ry. Co.

203 S.W. 936, 1918 Tex. App. LEXIS 521
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 21, 1918
DocketNo. 310.
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 203 S.W. 936 (Stubblefield v. Houston, E. & W. T. Ry. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stubblefield v. Houston, E. & W. T. Ry. Co., 203 S.W. 936, 1918 Tex. App. LEXIS 521 (Tex. Ct. App. 1918).

Opinion

HIGHTOWER, C. J.

The appellants, W. H. Stubblefield and his wife, brought this suit against the appellee, Houston, East & West Texas Railway Company, for damages alleged to have been caused on account of depreciation in the market value of three certain lots owned by them in the town of Cleveland, Tex., and occupied and used by them as a homestead, and also for damages on account of annoyance and personal inconvenience in consequence of noise, vibration, smoke, etc., which injuries were alleged to have been the result of the construction of a switch or side track in front of appellants’ property on the right of way of appellee. The appeal is from a judgment of the district court of Liberty county, sustaining a general demurrer and a special exception to appellants’ petition, and we therefore think best to here set out appellants’.petition in full, as follows:

“Now comes the plaintiffs, Mrs. W. H. Stub-blefield, joined by her husband, W. H. Stubble-field, and leave of the court being first had and obtained, file this, their first amended original petition in lieu of their original petition filed herein on the 20th day of June, 1916, and for cause of action represent:
“(1) That plaintiff Mrs. W. II. Stubblefield is married, and her husband is the plaintiff W. II. Stubblefield who joins her in this suit, and plaintiffs are residents of Liberty county, Tex., and the defendant is a corporation duly incorporated under the laws of the state of Texas, and has an agent at Cleveland, Liberty county, Tex., oh whom service of citation may be had.
“(2) That heretofore, to wit, on or about the 1st day of March, 1916, and ever since and now, the plaintiff Mrs. W. H. Stubblefield was, and has been and is, the owner of the following described lots or parcels of land, to wit, lots Nos. 18, 19, and 20, in block No. 10 in the town of Cleveland, Liberty county, Tex., and that the residence of plaintiffs during all of said time and for many years prior thereto has been on lot No. 20, above described, on which plaintiffs have a dwelling house, garden, barn, and such other houses as are usual and ordinary around a city residence, and also lots Nos. 18 and 19 are a part of plaintiffs’ residence and used in connection therewith.
“(3) Plaintiffs further say that they have, a family, and have actually resided upon said lot 20 in said house for a great many years, and are now residing upon same and making it their home; that the front of the house on said lot No. 20 is situated about 15 feet west of the east boundary line of said lot.
“(4) Now, plaintiffs show the court that the defendant company has a railroad and right of way through the town of Cleveland, and has had for a number of years; that defendant’s right of way lies east of plaintiffs’ property, to wit, lots Nos. 18, 19, and 20, in' block No. 10, above described. That just east of and .adjoining said three lots there is a street 25 feet in width; that the defendant has a right of way adjoining said street on the east, and said right of way is 150 feet in width, and defendant’s main line on said railroad is in the center of said right of way, and extends nearly north and south through the town of Cleveland, and said railroad always was in the center of said right of way, and said .main track was the only track that defendant had and maintained in front of plaintiffs’, house until about March 1, 1916.
“(5) That heretofore, to wit, on or about the 1st day of March, 1916, the defendant prolonged and constructed a switch, in conjunction with its railroad in Cleveland, and constructed and prolonged said switch along the west side of its main line and in front of, or east of, said lots Nos. 18, 19, and, 20, in block No. 10, and constructed said switch 30 feet east of the east line of said lots Nos. IS, 19, and 20, and along the entire east front of said lots. That said switch since that time has been used for the purpose of standing cars, switching cars by moving cars and engines along the same each and every day, and is used for the purpose of loading cars, all in front of and near plaintiff’s house and lots as aforesaid. Plaintiffs further say that since said time defendant has used the street or a part thereof as a yard or place for storing, stacking, and piling logs, ties, and other property to be loaded on cars of defendant. That part of defendant’s right of way adjoining said street and in. front of plaintiffs’ promises has been subjected to the storing, stacking, and piling of logs, ties, wood, and other property on ears on said switch. That wagons and teams unloading wood, ties, logs, and other property on *937 said part of right of way and street to be loaded on cars on said switch are continually in front of plaintiffs’ residence, both day and night, obstructing said street in front of plaintiffs’ house, and by loud talking and other noises making plaintiffs’ residence unfit and undesirable for a residence.
“(6) That by reason of the construction of said switch, the moving of cars thereon, the operation of trains thereon, and the standing of cars thereon, and the storing, stacking, and piling of property on said street and right of way, -and the loading of cars thereon, as aforesaid., the residence of plaintiffs has been made unpleasant and disagreeable from the noise, smoke, noxious vapors of the engines and cars operated on said switch, and also from the vibration caused by the operation of said powerful machinery, consisting of engines and cars, and from all other causes above named, which did not exist prior to the construction of said switch, as aforesaid, and that the market value of said residence of plaintiffs has been materially diminished, an'd the enjoyment of the property by plaintiffs as a home has been materially lessened, and will be undesirable as a residence, and plaintiffs say said property .is so located that it can be utilized for residence purposes only.
“Plaintiffs further say that on account of the noise, smoke, noxious vapors, and vibrations of said cars, and on account of using said switch as a storage place for cars, and on account of cars being loaded on said switch and street in front of said property, as aforesaid, and on account of the depreciated market value of said lots, the plaintiffs have been damaged in the sum of $3,000.
“(7) Plaintiffs say that prior to the time the said switch was prolonged and constructed in front of and near their -house and residence and property as hereinbefore described, the said right of way of defendant was not subjected, in any manner, to the uses and purposes as above described herein, and said street was not used for the purposes herein described, and when plaintiffs 'purchased said house and property the only use the defendant made of its said right of way was by running cars over the main line thereon,'which was situated in the middle of defendant’s right of way. That cars did not stop or stand, nor were they loaded, in front of plaintiffs’ house and premises; nor were the logs, ties, or other property unloaded, stored, stacked, and piled in said street near and in front of plaintiffs’ premises, nor on defendant’s right of way, near or in front of plaintiff’s premises prior to that time.

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Bluebook (online)
203 S.W. 936, 1918 Tex. App. LEXIS 521, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stubblefield-v-houston-e-w-t-ry-co-texapp-1918.