White v. Perkins

65 S.W.2d 423
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided October 20, 1933·No. No. 9898·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

PLEASANTS, Chief Justice.

This appeal is from an order of the judge of the district court of Jackson county made in vacation granting appellee an injunction restraining the appellants, the mayor, members of the board of commissioners, and the city marshal, of the city of - Eldna, from! preventing or interfering with appellee’s making what he alleges are only repairs of a building owned by him and situated within the fire limits of the city of Edna.

The petition sets out in full the ordinance of the city establishing the fire limits and prescribing the character of buildings authorized to be constructed therein, and also sets out in detail the proposed repairs and changes he intends to make in the building and the extent to which he had proceeded in carrying out his contemplated repairs and changes in the building.

The petition further alleges that before he began to make such repairs and changes in his building he filed an application with the city authorities for a permit to repair the building in the manner and to the extent stated in his petition, and that such permit was denied by the city council.

The petition also attacked the city ordinance therein set out on the ground that it is void because of the provision of section 19, article 1, of the state Constitution, which prohibits the taking of the individual’s property without due process of law, in that said ordinance denies appellee “the right of preserving his property and using it in such manner as to keep it fit for the purposes for which he acquired it, and for which he enjoys the use thereof.”

There are several immaterial allegations in the petition charging, in effect, that appel-lee knew when he commenced to repair his property that there had been open and notorious violations of the fire ordinance which “was generally disregarded by the citizens of [424] tlie town, as well as by its officers, to such an extent as in law would amount to an abrogation of said ordinance on the part of the City of Edna, and (believed) that he could proceed to make the repairs on said building, and not be held amenable to said ordinance by reason of its theretofore non observance.” The petition then proceeds:

“This applicant shows to the Court that the defendants are threatening to prosecute him for each and every day he works on said building in repairing the same, as herein outlined, and he verily believes they will so prosecute him unless restrained by an order not to do so by this Court.
“That said ordinance is an unreasonable one in so far as it restricts this applicant in his repair of said building, when same does not in any manner infringe upon the right of any other person in the free open enjoyment of his property and all privileges appurtenant thereto. And it- is unreasonable as to its limitation to material to be used in building or repairing buildings within said city fire limits.
‘,‘That the repair contemplated does not amount to a reconstruction of said building and said ordinance is violative of article 1, § 19 of the Constitution in prohibiting said repairs.
“That your applicant will appeal from the conviction had against him in the Corporation Court of Edna, Texas, for a violation of said ordinance and on such appeal will raise and determine the constitutionality of said ordinance here complained of.
“Wherefore, premises considered, the applicant prays that this Court issue a restraining order restraining the defendants and each of them from further prosecuting this applicant under said ordinance and in view of the present condition of his building with ■ the roof oil' of a part thereof resulting in great damage to him and which will continue and become even greater; he further prays that these defendants be restrained and enjoined from interfering with him in the repairs of his building along the lines herein described in order that he may complete said improvement.”

This petition, which was duly verified by the oath of appellee, was presented to Hon. J. P. Pool, the judge of the district court, in chambers, on July 9th, and upon consideration thereof the judge indorsed thereon his fiat directing the clerk of the court to issue notice to each of the defendants to appear before the judge in the district court room at Edna, Tex., on July 12th at 9 o’clock a. m., to show 'cause why the injunction prayed for should not be granted.

The date of the hearing was subsequently changed by the judge, with the agreement of parties, to July 13 th.

On the date last mentioned, the defendants appeared and filed answer to the petition, and the hearing proceeded. The answer of defendants contains a general demurrer, numerous special exceptions, a general denial, and special pleas. The nature of these special exceptions and pleas, in so far as may be deemed necessary in elucidating the questions discussed and decided in this opinion, will be hereinafter indicated.

This answer sought affirmative relief upon the following allegations: '

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White v. Perkins, 65 S.W.2d 423 (Tex. Ct. App. 1933).

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