21 Pa. Super. 526 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1902
Opinion by
The plaintiffs, in their statement, aver their ownership of a residence on Brandywine street, in the city of Philadelphia; that prior to the fall of 1898, “ the square was a quiet, reputable residence street; ” that in the fall of that year the defendants
The evidence established that the business carried on by the defendants was the manufacture of bread. This is a business
There was no evidence whatever of any permanent injury to the property of the plaintiffs. Let the machinery be stopped and the horses removed, and nothing will remain of which the plaintiffs have legal grounds for complaint. The mere presence of the bakery upon the property adjoining that of the plaintiffs does not give a cause of action. A schoolhouse, hospital, livery stable or licensed drinking saloon, and many other kinds of businesses, tend to affect the desirability of a neighborhood as a place of residence, and consequently to depreciate the value of surrounding property; but the owners of such property are without legal remedy for their loss. Nor will the fact that the business of the adjoining owner is a source of some personal discomfort and annoyance, give a right of action so long as the business is lawful and conducted in a lawful manner. There must be substantial injury done, and the act of negligence complained of must be the cause of the injury : Keiser v. Gas Co., 143 Pa. 276. The injury in such a case must be shown to have been real and substantial, not a trifling annoyance or injury, such as is a necessary incident to the business complained of: Price v. Grantz, supra. The only injury to these plaintiffs, disclosed by the1 evidence, was the discomfort caused by unpleasant odors and sounds, in addition to that resulting from the vibration of the building, which they had not averred in their statement; should the plaintiffs recover in the present action, it must be because the defendants have conducted a lawful business in an unlawful manner. Such recovery will not be a bar to a subsequent action to recover for future injuries of the same kind, resulting from the same cause. Should the plaintiffs sell their property, the purchaser might recover for any unlawful injury to his possession, resulting from an improper management of the defendants’ business. The owner of any other property in the neighborhood is possessed of the same rights. These plaintiffs cannot confer upon the defendants the right to conduct their business in an unlawful manner by recovering in this action damages for injuries to their property upon the theory that the unlawful operation is to be indefinitely continued. If the plaintiffs are entitled to recover in this case, the measure of damages is the injury which they have
The judgment is reversed and a venire facias de novo is awarded.