46 Colo. 102 | Colo. | 1909
delivered the opinion of the court:
In this action judgment was upon the pleadings. The plaintiff in error, being plaintiff in the court below, in his complaint filed April 11, 1900, alleged, in substance, the corporate capacity of the defendant; plaintiff’s ownership, July 24, 1894, and ever
A general and special demurrer was filed to this complaint challenging its sufficiency as to stating
Thereafter, an answer containing, first, a general denial, followed by ten separate and distinct special defenses was filed, to which special defenses demurrers were interposed and sustained, except as to the third and fourth, to which the demurrers were overruled; the plaintiff elected to stand by his demurrer; judgment was entered in favor of the defendant and plaintiff brings the case here upon error for review.
Able arguments, including many citations of authorities, have been presented and carefully considered upon the many vexatious and very important questions raised and discussed, and which are of general interest in this state, but most of which can be eliminated by basing our decision upon the ruling of the court below in overruling the plaintiff’s demurrer to the fourth separate and special defense which was, in substance, as follows:
That this action is barred by the statute of limitations, in this, to wit, that this action was not commenced until after the expiration of six years subsequent to the accruing of the right to sue, if any, for the injuries complained of, because said ditch was originally lawfully constructed and completed in 1889 for the conveyance of water for irrigating purposes; that said ditch was a lawful structure, carefully and properly built, by due warrant and authority of law, for the purpose of conveying water to be used for the irrigating of lands lying contiguous or near to the same, and belonging to individual stockholders of either the defendant company or its predecessors in interest. That said ditch was designed, intended and has always continued to be a permanent structure since its completion for the purposes aforesaid, and that water was conveyed into and con
And without passing upon the questions of the liability of can’al companies in all such-cases, or deciding whether in the absence of allegations of negligence in the construction and operation of canals, a complaint states a cause of action, for remote or consequential damages occasioned by waters seeping therefrom; but assuming for the purposes of this case, as is assumed by this defense (which invokes the statute of limitations), that the complaint states a cause of action, it then presents for our determination the question as to when, if at all, a cause of action accrues and the statute begins to run upon account of damages occasioned by waters . continuously seeping from an irrigation ditch which was properly built, being operated by due warrant of law, which was designed, has continued, and is intended, to be a permanent structure always, and with no direct, allegation- of negligence as to the manner of its operation.
In his original brief, it is admitted by plaintiff in error that no negligence was alleged in the complaint and it is claimed none need be; while in a supplemental brief filed later, counsel have taken a somewhat different position wherein they contend the allegation of the construction of the canal through loose, .porous soil, and its operation through such soil resulting in continuous seepage, is a sufficient allegation of negligence itself, and they contend that under the fifteenth section of the bill of rights, which declares that private property shall not be taken or damaged for public or private use without just compensation, and, under the provisions of our statutes which impose certain duties in .the construction and maintenance of irrigation ditches, the allegation of
It is further claimed the operation of the canal so long as it continues to seep, regardless of the degree of care exercised in its construction and want of negligence in its operation, constitutes a continuous nuisance, giving rise to a new cause of action each successive day until the seepage shall be abated, and that plaintiff would have the right to bring successive suits. It is further urged if this position is not accepted, and we should hold only one suit can be maintained, that, regardless of the period of time the injury has continued, the seepage constitutes a continuous nuisance, and plaintiff is entitled to recover in this suit'for all injury inflicted during the six years next preceding the institution of his action, and in their brief counsel state:
‘ ‘ What, then, is the cause of action set up in the complaint? It is not that the ditch was constructed; nor, primarily, that it was improperly constructed.; but that defendant has permitted it to be, during nearly six years last past, in such a condition as to allow the escape of water * * *. That is the offense, the improper use of a lawful structure, the neglect of defendant to discharge its duty to stop, the seepage * * *. Such being the ground of complaint, there was, as in all cases of a continuing nuisance, a new cause of action each day. Every day that passed in which the defendant neglected to flume, or otherwise improve that portion of the ditch at which this leakage occurred * * * witnessed a wrong for which a recovery is allowed by law. The constant wetting of the land is the nuisance, and its cause is the porous condition of the walls and bottom of the ditch, left thus by defendant’s fault. This wrong has no necessary connection with the location and construction of the ditch.”
Bat in eases of waters escaping by percolation and seepage from irrigation ditches, owing to the uncertainty of its course and extent, the length.of time required after the construction and operation of such properties for it to develop, as to its uncertain course and slow stage of career under the ground, depending upon the conditions of the earth through which it must pass, the lay of the land, arid all other elements tending to make uncertain its future location and extent, at least until it commences to show its results at certain places, we do not think the rule laid down by the above cases would make a practical,' equitable or fair test as to the time when a cause of action for damages in this class of cases should be held to accrue, or was so intended by the framers of our statute. But we cannot agree with plaintiff that the seepage makes of the canal a nuisance for which successive actions can be brought until it is abated, for then the statute of limitations would never commence to run in such cases. We do not think such a position is tenable, as it is well settled that a work which is authorized by law cannot be a nuisance, and that a public nuisance cannot exist in acts which are authorized by legislative sanction, even though the act complained of might, independent of statute, be a nuisance.—High on Injunctions (3d ed.), § 767; Danville, etc., Co. v. Commonwealth, 73 Pa. St. 29; Davis et al. v. Mayor of N. Y., 14 N. Y. 507; Easton and McMahon v. N. Y., etc., Co., 24 N. J. Eq. 49;. G. R. & I. R. R. Co. v. Heisel 38 Mich. 62; Harris v.
It is also well settled, that which the law authorizes cannot be a nuisance such as to give a common-law right of action.—Transportation Co. v. Chicago, 99 U. S. 635; Delaware, etc., Co. v. McKeen, 52 Pa. St. 117; Boothby v. Androscoggin River R. R. Co., 51 Me. 318; Hamlin v. Chicago, etc., Ry. Co., 61 Wis. 515; Gould on Waters (2d ed.), § 296; Sedgwick on Damages, vol. 1 (7th ed.), p. 207; Wood on Nuisances, p. 21.
But assuming, if, through natural causes, waters escape from a canal by seepage to the injury of adjacent or remote lands the owner will be entitled to compensation for the injuries thus sustained, his right of action cannot be predicated upon the theory the canal is a nuisance, for the injury which he has sustained is an injury, the inflicting of which is expressly authorized by the sovereign power; being a lawful injury, his right of action must accrue under the constitution and statutes, and, if it were not for them, it is questionable whether any liability could be held to exist, and in some of our adjoining sister states it has been held that the owners of irrigation canals, when built with due care and so operated, are not liable for seepage therefrom upon distant proprietors except in cases of negligence.—Fleming v. Lockwood, 92 Pac. (Mont.) 962; Howell v. Big Horn, etc., Co., 14 Wyo. 14.
But assuming under our constitution and legislative enactments the owners of canals are liable for damages to distant proprietors occasioned by waters seeping therefrom, although not negligent in their construction or operation,-they are not insurers and have never been so held by this court. Besides, the section of the constitution which provides that private property shall not be taken or damaged for pub-
Our statute in terms begins to run from the time the cause of action accrues. When the cause of action accrues is a judicial question, and to determine it in any particular case is to settle a general rule of law for a class of cases, which must be founded upon reason and justice. In framing and applying such rules of law it is the duty of the court to consider the interests which are liable to be affected, and if those interests are of a public or quasi public character, or if they concern the welfare of the community in general, it is presumed (in the construction of such
It will be noted by this ruling parties bringing suits for damages to lands for seepage from canals will have an advantage over the party through whose land the canal is constructed, in this, while in the condemnation proceeding it requires all such damages to be anticipated and assessed in favor of the party through whose land the canal is to be constructed, which is often done prior to the construction of the canal; in this class of cases the owners of such lands will have six years after such lands are visibly affected by the seepage within which to ascertain the result of its course and extent of such damages.
The contention the seepage makes of the canal a nuisance which can be abated by fluming or cementing that portion where the waters escape, or by some
The contention, if sustained, that one suit can be brought at any time and recovery had for all damages occasioned by waters seeping upon such lands during the six years preceding the commencement of the action, regardless of how long the injury has continued from the same source, would be to abrogate the statute of limitations or to hold that it did not apply to this class of cases, otherwise it is only consistent with the theory that each day’s injury
Seepage, when it commences to- affect land, usually gradually increases in quantity upon the lands affected, not necessarily because there is an increase in its escape from the canal, but from the
Another reason why a rule of tbis kind would not be equitable or just is, it would allow tbe owner of tbe land to select any time when tbe value of bis property was tbe highest to bring bis suit and such actions could be brought a great many years after, tbe damage bad first commenced and after tbe land bad greatly enhanced in value, often upon account of tbe construction and operation of tbe very ditch wbicb, in years to come, it would be claimed was tbe cause of the damage, and after tbe water therefrom bad made the real value to tbe land; and, again, such a ruling would be to open tbe doors of tbe courts of tbis state to hundreds of such eases, where for many years gone by, it has been assumed and accepted as tbe settled law within tbis jurisdiction, that no cause of action could, at tbis late date, be maintained upon account of such continuous seepage, and such a rule would leave no method or test by wbicb tbe investors of capital in such enterprises could ever ascertain as to tbe ultimate extent of their liability upon account of such enterprise, and would thus tend to prevent tbe development of tbe state along tbe lines upon wbicb its principal prosperity must depend.
It is contended tbe decision of our court of appeals in tbe case of The Consolidated Home Supply Ditch and R. Co. v. Hamlin, 6 Col. App. 341, is conclusive here and should be followed, and counsel say tbe court there lays down four propositions of law, all of wbicb are strictly in accord with their contention here. We have given that case very careful consideration and are unable to entirely harmonize
“ * * * 1st. That the court did not err in its application of the statute of limitations in restricting it to the six years preceding the bringing of the action.
“2d. That the injury being one that could not be foreseen nor the damage estimated, no cause of action arose from the construction of the ditch, such act being lawful, and a cause dr causes of action only arose subsequently, in which damage to the time of the bringing of suit, only, could be recovered.
“3d. That the nuisance of trespass was continuous, and the subsequent damage continually being incurred, that the ditch company were liable until the nuisance was abated and the cause of damage removed.
“4th. That successive suits might be brought and maintained for the damages sustained subsequent to the former recovery.”
The opinion on rehearing, delivered by Mr. Justice Thomson, expressly repudiates the last three conclusions reached by Mr. Justice Reed in which he, Thomson, held that all damages resulting from the operation of the ditch were recoverable in one action; that the ditches in question were necessary, the country required them, and it is presumed they will be maintained for an indefinite period; that the seepage was a necessary result of the character of the land, and will, therefore, continue and the same injury result from it so long as the ditches are used. ' The causes of the injury being permanent, the injury itself is permanent, and the verdict must he assumed to include the entire dam
The case of Power v. Munger, 52 Fed. 705, was an action for negligence resulting in tbe setting out of fires, by a locomotive.
St. L., I. M. & S. Ry. v. Biggs, 52 Ark. 240, was tbe negligent construction of a railway embankment wbicb caused tbe injury; tbe dictum being that its maintenance was a common-law nuisance wbicb could be abated, wbicb cited in support of this view Wood on Nuisances, sec. 865, upon tbe subject of continuing common-law nuisance.
The case of Town of Troy v. Cheshire R. R. Co.,
The case of Valley Ry. Co. v. Frans, 43 Ohio St. 623, involved the improper construction of a dam which caused the lands of plaintiff to be washed away; the defendant company having promised, from time to time, to remedy the defect, but failed, and its default in this behalf was deemed an important element in continuing the liability.
The case of Sullens v. Chicago, etc., Co., 74 Ia. 659, recognizes the statute of limitations begins to run from the time the first overflow occurred, which is in line with former decisions in that state.
The case of Drake v. C., R. I. & P. Co., 63 Ia. 302, was for damages caused by the construction of an embankment without proper ditches and culverts, which afterwards were made, and were successful until obstructed, and the Iowa court there held the statute did not apply for a later injury to a former one where it was not continuous, but distinguished it from Power v. Council Bluffs, 45 Ia. 652, which sustains our position here.
The case of Bare v. Huffman, 79 Pa. St. 73, concerned a common-law nuisance susceptible of improvement, and the gist of the reasoning there was, the presumption would be that necessary steps would be taken to prevent a recurrence of the injury complained of, and not having been done, the second action might be brought.
In Danielly v. Cheeves, 94 Ga. 263, it was also held, as stated by the court, “the plaintiff has a right to assume it will be abated.”
Wabash Co. v. Pearson, 120 Ind. 426, involved the maintenance of a bridge where the court held the cause of action did not accrue until the accident happened, although the bridge had been thus constructed for thirteen years.
The same principle is announced in Clark et al. v. Dyer, 81 Tesas 339.
The case of Hill et al. v. Empire State-Idaho M. & D. Co., 158 Fed. 881, was for damages to lands occasioned by the discharge from reduction works of large quantities of waste material containing poisonous matter into a stream which, in time of high water, were carried down the stream, obstructed it in places, and caused the overflow of the lands complained of, as the court there states, “due to the operation of a lawful enterprise in an unlawful or careless manner,” being a case not for continuing damages, but for such as might or might not again occur, as stated in the opinion:
“It was only by reason of the intervening agency of high water, the effect of which was uncertain and contingent, that the defendant’s acts indirectly resulted in the injury to plaintiffs’ land.”
The cases of C. & O. Canal Company v. Hitchings, 65 Me. 140, and Van Hoozier v. H. & St. J. R. R. Co., 70 Mo. 145, both admit the rule is well settled where injury to land occasioned by the commission of a nuisance is of such a permanent character that it goes to the entire value of the estate, recovery for the whole should be had in a single suit, and no-other action could be maintained. But distinguish from where, by reason of the diversion of a stream of running water, the plaintiff’s land is overflowed and his crops injured, and hold as such injury, does not go to the entire value of the estate, but being of yearly recurrence is susceptible of periodical apportionment; this, evidently, upon the theory that there may or may not be floods and hence may or
The case of Reed v. State, 108 N. Y. 407, is a case of admitted negligence in the construction of a dam across the stream and valley forming a reservoir wherein the water arose about thirty feet and where the court held the engineers were guilty of gross negligence in its • construction and in not taking proper precaution for its maintenance, and the decision in that case was not on the theory of the permanent appropriation of the land flooded. After summing' up most of the above and sundry other authorities, in their reply brief counsel for plaintiff in error state:
“The other cases cited all discuss improvements which are permanent, and properly hold that when the structure itself is permanent, and is the cause of injury, the injury is permanent, and all damages are to be recovered in one action, the right to which accrued with the beginning of the injury. With this law, we have m> controversy.”
We think this law clearly applicable here, for the reasons hereinbefore stated, as well as those given in the cases cited sustaining this position; this structure and irrigation canal is itself permanent, and, when used for the purposes for which it was authorized and is intended, it is the cause of the injury. The injury is permanent, and, in the language of Mr. Justice Thomson, in the Home Supply Company case, supra, the ditch in question was necessary to render the land through which it passes productive, the country required it and it is presumed it will be maintained for an indefinite period of time. The pleading is it was constructed in the ordinary and usual manner, and the seepage a necessary result of the character of the land; the seepage will, therefore, continue, and the same injury result
The judgment of the district court is affirmed.
Affirmed-.
-r. . . 7 Decision en banc