Wolfe v. Hammer

303 S.W.2d 716, 202 Tenn. 170, 6 McCanless 170, 1957 Tenn. LEXIS 377
CourtTennessee Supreme Court
DecidedJune 7, 1957
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 303 S.W.2d 716 (Wolfe v. Hammer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Tennessee Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wolfe v. Hammer, 303 S.W.2d 716, 202 Tenn. 170, 6 McCanless 170, 1957 Tenn. LEXIS 377 (Tenn. 1957).

Opinion

Mr. Chief Justice Neil

delivered the opinion of the Court.

[172]*172Tlie complainant, William Wolfe, filed Ms original bill in the Chancery Court of Knox County seeMng a review of a former decree of the Court of Appeals and to have the same declared null and void on the ground that it undertook to, and did, determine an issue not within the scope of the pleadings.

The original suit, in which the decree of the Court of Appeals is herein assailed, involved certain water rights which the said complainants claimed were reserved to them in a deed of conveyance. This original bill was filed by Vola Wolfe Hammer, Adm’x v. William Wolfe.

The reservation is as follows: ‘ ‘ The party of the first part hereby retains the water right to the spring.”

It seems that prior to this conveyance the spring, and water flowing from it, had been used for domestic purposes, and the “reservation” was to enable him, the grantor, to continue that right. The original bill alleged that he (Clyde Wolfe) “has taken possession of a portion of complainants ’ barn and cut her stock away from water and pasture and interferes with her possession” etc. The Chancellor sustained the reservation in and to the alleged water rights, but limited that right to the. spring alone. On appeal to the Court of Appeals that court modified the decree and held that the reservation included the right of complainants’ cattle to the use of water from the spring branch.

An examination of the entire record, including the opinion of the Chancellor and Judge. Hale of the Court of Appeals, shows beyond question that the issue as to the reservation of water rights included rights to the use of the spring and rights to water flowing from the spring.

[173]*173The present suit seeks a nullification of the decree of the Court of Appeals because rights to the “spring branch” was not an issue in the original suit. It is insisted that the decree is impossible of enforcement, and void. The defendants demurred and also moved to strike the bill because the bill, and exhibits thereto (record in the Court of Appeals) merely seek to relitigate the original issues. The Chancellor sustained the defendants’ contention and dismissed the bill.

We think the Chancellor was correct and his decree must be affirmed. In support of our view we find that appellant’s counsel in his petition for certiorari to this Court assigned as error the following:

“The Honorable Court of Appeals erred in reversing a part of the Decree of the Chancellor, and particularly in decreeing that the reservation of the water right to the spring authorized the Complainants to have their stock go over and across the land of Defendant to drink, at the spring branch. It should have found and held that the reservation authorized Complainants to take water from the spring, as found by the Chancellor and as conceded by the Defendant at all stages of the proceedings.” (Emphasis ours.)

The supporting brief of counsel clearly shows that the original suit dealt with every phase of the alleged “reservation of water rights”.

The original suit involved the location of alleged property lines and also water rights. Judge Hale in his opinion discussed both issues at length, and the evidence relating thereto. Among other things he said: “While this suit was brewing the defendant erected a wire fence [174]*174along the dividing line, using the iron pin as a corner, which cut complainants off from using the spring in question which was on the defendant’s land, some 250 feet from the line between the parties.” (Emphasis ours.)

He then discussed the meaning of water rights to the spring and the evidence relating to that issue. He observed that the facts revealed “that the parties each knew this water had two uses, one from the spring for household use, and two, from the spring branch for the use of their cattle.”

The defendant was insisting that the complainants had no right to use this spring branch for watering their stock.

We think his construction of “water rights in the spring” was correct in that it included water flowing from the spring. This was an issue from the beginning of this long drawn out lawsuit.

In the present suit the bill complains that the fence cuts the complainant’s land apart and thereby is a serious damage to its use and value. Now the original fence, referred to in Judge Hale’s opinion, which was alleged to be an interference with the then complainants’ use of the spring, was an important issue in the original suit.

The first assignment of error complains that “The learned Chancellor erred in failing and refusing to require the defendants to interpose their defenses in the order prescribed, so that the cause could proceed in an orderly manner. He should have held that the filing of a demurrer operated to waive defenses made by plea in abatement and motion to dismiss. And he should have held that the filing of an answer operated to waive de[175]*175fenses made by all previous defenses, including plea in abatement, motion to dismiss, and demurrer.”

Tbe second assignment is: “ The learned Chancellor erred in ignoring the allegation in the bill to the effect that the decree of the Court of Appeals was physically incapable of being executed on the ground. And he erred in ignoring the allegation that the execution of the decree would destroy the farm of complainant to the extent of from fifty to eighty percent, and at the same time would not result in any benefit to defendants, for the reason that it had been established in the former case that defendants had not been damaged by being cut off from the use of the spring. ’ ’

In deciding the present controversy the Chancellor considered not only the formal allegations of the bill and other pleadings, but gave consideration to the entire record in the original suit, including the opinion of Judge Hale and the action of this Court in denying the petition for certiorari. He filed a short “memo” as follows:

“The original bill was filed by William Wolfe against Vola Wolfe Hammer et al., No. 37377, in which it is maintained that a decree rendered by the Court of Appeals pertaining to the use of water in the branch, was not embraced in the pleadings in the case of Vola Wolfe Hammer, Adm’x v. Bill Wolfe, No. 34244. To this original bill was filed a motion to strike a demurrer and a plea, in all of which it was asserted that the bill should be dismissed because the matters alleged in the original bill No. 37377 had been fully considered by the Court and disposed of in Cause No. 34244.
[176]*176"It appearing to the Court that the complainant, "William Wolfe, in his former law suit No. 34244 in his petition for writ of certiorari, expressly raised the question of whether or not the' pleadings extended to the right to use the water from the spring branch and that this was considered by the Supreme Court, resulting in a denial of the petition for writ of certiorari as not being well taken.
“This being the case, the Court sustains the motion to strike (which, amounts to a motion to dismiss the bill) the demurrer and the plea, and the bill is accordingly dismissed, with costs against the complainant.”

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
303 S.W.2d 716, 202 Tenn. 170, 6 McCanless 170, 1957 Tenn. LEXIS 377, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wolfe-v-hammer-tenn-1957.