Wright v. Floyd County

58 S.E. 72, 1 Ga. App. 582, 1907 Ga. App. LEXIS 46
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedApril 11, 1907
Docket219, 252
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 58 S.E. 72 (Wright v. Floyd County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wright v. Floyd County, 58 S.E. 72, 1 Ga. App. 582, 1907 Ga. App. LEXIS 46 (Ga. Ct. App. 1907).

Opinion

Powell, J.

On May 16, 1905, by a written contract, made between Wright and Floyd county, through its county commissioners, and reciting, that said Wright is the owner of the lands on both sides of the Armuchee creek at the old J ones mill in said county, including the mill and water rights, and the county is the owner of a bridge across the creek at or near said mill, on the Dalton, public road; that, it being necessary to repair said bridge by substituting two stone or concrete piers for the wooden bents now in use, one pier to be located at the north end and the other at the south end of said bridge, and Wright desiring to build his mili-dam and race anew at or near said bridge and to use said bridge for bulkheads or stays for the same, it was agreed, that Wright, at his expense, would build one of the piers, and the county, at its expense, the other, and that Wright should also build, at his expense, any additional concrete or stone pier, or work, which might in the discretion of either party be required to properly adjust the contemplated dam and race to the piers and to their use as safe and permanent supports to the bridge; all the work to be done according to the county’s plans and specifications and subject to its approval. As a further consideration it is recited that the said Wright “hereby sells and forever quitclaims to [the county] the right to "keep and maintain said bridge where now located, and to rebuild or replace the same as often as may be necessary in the future; also the right of way for a public rqad 30 feet wide on both sides of said creek, and along the line of the road leading through his land to and from said bridge.” On the county’s part, the contract states that it “agrees to allow Wright the privilege to construct his mill-dam at or near said bridge, and to make ,use of the piers before mentioned, as bullcheads or stays to his dam, the work to be done, as before stated, under the direction and subject to the approval of the county authorities,” and that “this instrument shall operate as a deed of conveyance as far. as applicable.” With the consent of Wright and at his instance, the county, after building the pier which they were to build, also-constructed the one which Wright was to erect. The cost of building the second pier was $517.10; and for this sum the county [584]*584brought suit against Wright. The latter defended the suit on. the ground that the county did not have the power to convey, or to grant to him the right to use, the portion of the bridge or public highway for the purpose set out in the contract, and that, therefore, there was no consideration for the agreement on his part to pay for building a portion of the work, it being necessary for the county to do the same in order to build the bridge. The court awarded judgment in favor of the county, and Wright excepts.

1. The whole case turns upon the one question as to whether the agreement between the parties is within the contractual capacity of the county commissioners. Wright is perfectly willing to pay the amount sued for if the county can grant him the benefits contemplated in the contract, and is unwilling to pay it unless he can get them. In fact, we gather from the argument that the suit has been brought and maintained for the purpose of settling this legal question before further money is spent by Wright in pursuance of the' contemplated work necessary to the completion of the dam. The county, in the brief of its able counsel, thus presents its contentions: “That the board of commissioners had jurisdiction of the subject-matter of the contract; 'that its discretion was practically unlimited; that such a broad discretion includes the right to agree upon price, when to be paid, how, and with what, to be paid, whether with draft on the treasurer or by transfer of property, or, as in this case, by the granting of a special license; that there is no prohibition against the board granting licenses on. public easements, but that it is consistent with the broad discretion granted them, and agrees with the rights of individuals as well as the rights of the public, and is in accord with the spirit of the law as well as the rulings of our courts; that this right applies ineontestibly when the grant of a license is to the owner of the fee. Further, that the record discloses that the conveyance of the right and easement specified in the contract, from the plaintiff in error to the defendant in error, was necessary to secure the public right thereto, and that this fact gives to the transaction a different character from that insisted on by the plaintiff in error.” On the other hand, the distinguished ex-judge of the superior courts who appeared for Mr. Wright asserts the propositions, that county authorities have no contractual powers, except [585]*585such as are expressly conferred by law; that their powers are enumerated, and are limited by the enumeration; that nowhere has any law, either general or special, ever given the board of county commissioners of Floyd county any power to make such a contract as that sued on; that the result of the contract is to create a relation in the nature of a partnership between the public and a private individual, and to grant to the latter, for purely private purposes, a use and an easement in a public bridge, such as is not enjoyed by other individuals; that the rise and easement would, by operation of universally-known natural laws, inevitably and constantly tend to injure and destroy the bridge and to impair its usefulness for public travel, and thereby to create a public nuisance.

By the State constitution, article 11, sec. l,.par. 1 (Civil Code, §5924), “Each county shall be a body corporate, with such powers and limitations as may be prescribed by law;” and by article 6, section 19, paragraph 1 (Civil Code, §5879), “The General Assembly shall have power to provide for the creation of county commissioners in such counties as may require them, and to define their duties.” The constitution of 1868 contained a similar provision as to county commissioners. It has been held, under these sections, that neither counties nor county commissioners possess any powers unless expressly conferred by, or fairly to be implied from, such statutes as may be passed in relation thereto. Albany Bottling Co. v. Watson, 103 Ga. 503. It is therefore necessary to consider what statutes have been passed upon this subject. By act of December 13, 1871 (Ga. Laws of 1871-2, p. 225),.the board of county commissioners of Floyd county was established. By the fourth section of this act it is provided: “That said board shall have exclusive jurisdiction, when sitting for county purposes, over the following subject-matters: in governing and controlling all property of the county, as they may deem expedient, according to law, . . in establishing, altering, and abolishing all roads, bridges, and ferries, in conformity to law.” The fifth section of the same act confers upon them all the powers possessed by the justices of the inferior court prior to the adoption of the constitution of 1868, so far as related to„county matters; and this, by reference, gave them the jurisdiction “to appbint the places for the erection of public bridges, county ferries, turnpikes, and causeways, and to [586]

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Bluebook (online)
58 S.E. 72, 1 Ga. App. 582, 1907 Ga. App. LEXIS 46, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wright-v-floyd-county-gactapp-1907.