143 A. 498 | Pa. | 1928
Argued May 21, 1928. Plaintiffs own and occupy a brick dwelling situated on the William Penn Highway in Swatara Township, Dauphin County, near the City of Harrisburg. Defendants *19 operate a limestone quarry on the opposite side of the highway, 125 feet back therefrom, and 300 feet from plaintiffs' dwelling. Plaintiffs' house was erected in 1926, while defendants have been operating the quarry for thirteen years, and it had been worked by defendants' predecessor in title for many years previous to that time. The process of operation of the quarry consisted in drilling holes in the surface to below the depth of the floor and about 15 feet back from the breast of the quarry, in which holes heavy charges of dynamite were deposited, with the result that upon discharging the explosive sufficient rock was severed to supply the needs of the quarry for an entire year. The large blocks of stone thus loosened and thrown to the floor of the quarry were required to be broken in small sizes for use. This was done by a process known as "mud capping," performed by placing sticks of dynamite on top of the stone, covering it with mud or dirt and exploding it with a fuse. This operation resulted in considerable vibration and noise and also threw pieces of broken stone onto surrounding property.
The court below found, among other things, substantially as follows: On December 29, 1926, a heavy blast was fired to break down the breast of the quarry, about 1,900 pounds of dynamite being used. An inspection of plaintiffs' house on the following day showed cracks in the plaster on the walls and ceiling, which the evidence tended to demonstrate was caused by concussion produced by the blast above mentioned. It also made doors in plaintiffs' house to open, books and other small articles of furniture to fall, and pictures to drop from their hangings, thus supporting the inference of very considerable vibration from the operation of the quarry. In addition to this, the concussion from the mud blasts, which were of greater frequency throughout the year, threw stones of various sizes onto plaintiffs' property with the resulting danger of personal injury, caused furniture to move, windows to rattle and affected the health of plaintiffs. *20 These findings of the court below are supported by the testimony.
The court concluded that defendants' acts constituted such injury to plaintiffs' property as entitled them to a decree restraining defendants from operating their quarry in such manner as to cause jarring and vibration of plaintiffs' house and premises so as to do injury to the property, causing stones and other materials to be thrown on plaintiffs' premises and constituting a nuisance, interfering with "the rights, comforts, health and property of plaintiffs"; a decree was entered accordingly. Defendants appealed.
The arguments presented on this appeal involve mainly a construction of the principles announced in Penna. Coal Co. v. Sanderson,
The burden was on defendants to show that the use of their property which caused the injury to plaintiffs was unavoidable or could not have been prevented except by an expenditure which would have substantially deprived them of the use of their property: Mc Cune v. Pittsburgh Baltimore Coal Co.,
In view of the evidence of the damage to plaintiffs' property, the throwing of stones thereon and the effect on the health of one of plaintiffs, it was unnecessary for them to show negligent operation of the quarry. The acts of defendants, since they caused damage to plaintiffs' property and interfered with the reasonable enjoyment of the same, constituted a nuisance (Stokes v. P. R. R. Co.,
The decree entered by the court below does not prevent defendants from operating their quarry in a proper manner and the evidence indicates that it is possible to do so without serious loss or inconvenience to defendants.
The decree is therefore affirmed at defendants' costs.