13 N.Y.S. 511 | N.Y. Sup. Ct. | 1891
Lead Opinion
The plaintiffs became the owners in the year 1873 of premises situated on the north-west corner of Greenwich and Liberty streets, in the city of Yew York, fronting on Greenwich street 24 feet 8| inches, and on Liberty street 86 feet and 4 inches, and have continued to be the owners thereof from that time to the trial of the action. The Yew York Elevated Railroad Company completed the erection of its elevated railroad in Greenwich street in or about the year 1876, and it afterwards leased the structure to the Manhattan Railway Company, the other defendant in the action. The structure extended over the surface of the street at the height of about 14 feet therefrom, and thereby excluded the light, and interfered with the access to and from the lower portion of the plaintiffs’ five-story brick building, situated upon and extending 60 feet back from the corner. The superstructure extended upwards nearly to the level of the middle of the second-story windows of the building, and the cars used in the trains of the defendants extended still higher, and above the level of the middle of the third story of the building. In the operation of the railroad the light passing through the front windows into the building was interfered with, and smoke and cinders carried into the rooms when the wind approached from an easterly direction; and it was to recover damages which had been in this manner sustained in the use and enjoyment of the plaintiffs’ property, and to enjoin the further maintenance of the structure and the passage of trains upon it, that the action was brought. And by the judgment which has been recovered the plaintiffs have been awarded damages to the amount of $1,800, with interest thereon from the 15th of July, 1890, which was nearly or precisely the time of the decision of the action; and it was further adjudged that the defendants should be enjoined from maintaining or using the railway structure, and from operating trains of cars
At the opening of the trial an application was made to strike the cause front the special term calendar, and send it to the circuit for trial by a jury, on the ground that the defendants were entitled to such a trial of the issues; and “also upon the ground that this is in an action for a nuisance, and that the defendants are entitled to a trial by jury of the issues in such an action by the Code of Civil Procedure.” The motion was denied, and the defendants excepted to its denial. In the complaint it was charged “that the trains of the said defendants make so much noise as greatly to interfere with the enjoyment of the said premises; the locomotives by which they are propelled emit foul gases, smoke, and cinders, which are a nuisance; and that by reason of the premises the value of the said property has greatly deteriorated. ” And that characterized the action, certainly so far as damages were claimed to be recovered for the injury to the plaintiffs’ premises, as an action for a nuisance; and by subdivision 2 of section 968 of the Code of Civil Procedure the action to that extent certainly has been required to be tried by a jury. Wheelock v. Lee, 74 N. Y. 495. And this has recently been held to be the construction to which this subdivision should be subjected in Libmann v. Railway Co., ante, 378, (by this general term;) and the result is that this exception is well founded. The succeeding provisions contained in the Code on the-same subject contemplate that the trial before the jury shall first take place-in the action; and after that has been disposed of, then the remainder of the-issues are triable before the court. Code Civil Proc. § 976. It is true, while-this objection was presented prior to the commencement of the trial, that the-point has not been urged by the counsel upon the attention of the court.. But still it is in the case, and prominently so, too, and cannot be held to liavebeen waived or surrendered by the proceedings which subsequently took place-in the action; and the court is consequently bound to give to this exception! its fair and appropriate effect in the disposition of the appeals; and that cam only be done by still providing the defendants with this mode of trial. It appeared that the premises in question, which included only those standing upon the land on the corner of Greenwich and Liberty streets, have been im the occupancy of tenants, and were in such occupancy at the time of the trial, under a lease extending into the year 1892; and for that reason objection was taken to the right of the plaintiffs to maintain the action. But in Hine v. Railroad Co., ante, 510, (decided by this general term,) it is held that the occupancy of the premises affected by tenants interposes no legal obstacle in the way of the owner to maintain such an action for the recovery of the damages sustained by him; and there seems to be a very solid foundation for this conclusion, for, as is the fact in the present case, the rental value of the property must often be seriously injured and depreciated in consequence of the erection and use of the structure as a railway. In this instance it is quite evident that it must be attended with that effect, from the manner in which the structure has been made to occupy the street above the surface, and to affect the premises by the running of the defendants’ trains upon it; and evidence was given to prove the fact, which was not contradicted in the case, that the amount of rents yielded by the premises had failed to appreciate, and were comparatively reduced, during the existence and use of this railway. Evidence was elicited from the witnesses also tending to prove the depreciation of property upon the street by this occupancy and use of it by the defendants. But it has been contended that the court at the trial erred in
Concurrence Opinion
I concur, except as to that portion of the opinion which makes the McGean decision applicable to actions of this nature.
O’Brien, J. I concur.