Valley Railway Co. v. Pouchot

2 Ohio Cir. Dec. 492
CourtSummit Circuit Court
DecidedSeptember 15, 1889
StatusPublished

This text of 2 Ohio Cir. Dec. 492 (Valley Railway Co. v. Pouchot) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Summit Circuit Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Valley Railway Co. v. Pouchot, 2 Ohio Cir. Dec. 492 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1889).

Opinion

Upson, J.

This is a proceeding in error to reverse the judgment of the court of common pleas, affirming that of the probate court.

Louis Pouchot was the owner of certain lands on River street, in the city of Akron. The Valley Railway Company entered into an agreement with the city council, by which it was permitted to construct its railroad through that street. Pouchot claims that he was injured, and his rights as an owner of an abutting lot were destroyed by the construction of this railway through the street. The railway company, not instituting proceedings to appropriate his rights, he, under section 6448 of the statutes, notified the company to do so. The company refused to do it, and thereupon, in accordance with the provisions of that section, he himself instituted proceedings in the probate court. That court decided that he was entitled to maintain these appropriation proceedings against the company, and the company excepted to that decision.

A trial was had, which resulted in a verdict in favor of Pouchot, and judgment was rendered upon the verdict. The case was then taken by petition in error to the court of common pleas, and the judgment there affirmed.

There are several points of considerable importance which arise in the consideration of fhis case. Section 3283, Rev. Stat., provides that, “If it be necessary, in the location of any part of a railroad, to occupy any public road, street, alley, way, or ground of any kind, or any part thereof, the municipal or other corporation, or public officers or authorities, owning or having charge thereof, and the company may agree upon the manner, terms, and conditions upon which the same may be used or occupied; and if the parties be unable to-agree thereon, and it be necessary, in the judgment of the directors of such company, to use or occupy such road, street, alley, way, or ground, such company may appropriate so much of the same as may be necessary for the purposes of its road, in the manner and upon the same terms as is provided' for the appropriation of the property of individuals; but every company which lays a track upon any such street, alley, road, or ground, shall be responsible for injuries done thereby to private or public property lying upon or near to such ground, which may be recovered by civil action brought by the owner, before the proper court, at any time within two years from the completion of such track.”

It is claimed on behalf of the plaintiff in error that the remedy given by that section to the owner of lots abutting on a street is the only remedy to which he is [493]*493entitled; that, although the company itself would have the right to institute appropriation proceedings in order to take the property of the abutting proprietor— his property in the street- — that he, himself, cannot, by virtue of sec. 6448, institute those proceedings. This section, so far as it is applicable to this case, provides that, “When a corporation authorized by law to make appropriation of private property has taken possession of and is occupying or using the land of any person for any purpose and the land so occupied or used has not been appropriated and paid for by the corporation or is not held by any agreement in writing with the owner thereof, the owner or owners, or either of them, may serve notice in writing upon'the corporation, in the manner provided for the service of a summons against a corporation, to proceed under this chapter to appropriate theland; and on failure of such corporation, for ten days, to proceed, the owner or owners may file a petition,” etc.

The railroad company emphasizes the word “land,” as used in that section, and claims that it is- only applicable to cases where the railroad company is using and occupying “land” without having appropriated it, or otherwise acquired the right to use it, and that therefore the provisions of this section do not apply to a case like this, which leaves as the only remedy on behalf of the adjoining proprietor an action for damages, under sec. 3283, Rev. Stat.

In determining whether that is a valid claim, it is necessary first to consider what are the rights of property which the owner of an abutting lot has in the street; and that has been so long established and so clearly decided in this state, that it is bardly necessary to do more than refer to the decisions of the supreme court upon that subject. The first case in which the principle was clearly laid down was the case of Crawford v. Village of Delaware, 7 O. S., 460, and it again came before the court in the case of Street Railway v. Cumminsville, 14 O. S., 523, in which the opinion of the court was rendered by Judge Ranney, and which is always referred to as one of the leading cases upon that subject: The principle decided is this: that the abutting lot owners “have a peculiar interest in the street, which neither the local nor the general public cán pretend to claim; a private right of the nature of an incorporeal hereditament, legally attached to their contiguous grounds, and the erections thereon; an incidental title to certain facilities and franchises, assured to them by contracts and by law, and without which their property would be comparatively of little value. This easement, appendant to the lots, unlike any right of one lot owner in the lot of another, is as much property as the lot itself.'1 It has been repeatedly decided by the supreme court of this state that this property is under the protection of the constitution, which provides that private property can not be taken for public uses without compensation being made to the owner.

In the case of Railway Co. v. Lawrence, 38 O. S., 41, it was held that, “Where the construction of a railroad in a street of a city! will work material injury to the abutting property, such construction may be enjoined, at the suit of the owners,, until the right to construct such road in the street shall first be acquired, under proceedings instituted against such owners as required by law for the’appropriation of private property. In such case it is immaterial whether the fee is vested in the city or in the abutting owners, so long as it is held upon the same defined uses.” And one claim made in this case is that the records show that Pouchot is not the owner of the fee in the street in front of his lands, but that it is vested in the city as provided by statute; that it is not liis land, and, therefore, that he can not compel an appropriation of it under this section of tlie statute. It will be seen that it is decided by the ’supreme court that he has a property in the street, and that his property in the street is protected by the constitution irrespective of the question whether the fee is vested in him or not.

The question came up again very recently, at the January Term, 1887, of the supreme court, in the case of Railway Company v. Gardner, 45 O. S., 309, and the court in the opinion say: “The plaintiffs below owned a valuable interest in the street taken by the railroad company for the use of its track. This is too well set-[494]*494tied By the adjudications of this court to justify the citation of authorities to sustain the proposition. This interest was a proper subject for appropriation and compensation by the company. It was taken without either. It was not within the power either of the city of Gallipolis, or of the general assembly, to authorize the company to take this property of the plaintiffs without compensation.

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

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2 Ohio Cir. Dec. 492, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/valley-railway-co-v-pouchot-ohcirctsummit-1889.