140 Ala. 486 | Ala. | 1903
This bill is filed by the Pioneer Mining & Manufacturing Company against Mary J. Shamblin and others, her brothers and sisters, the heirs-at law of John Shamblin, deceased. As amended, its purpose and prayer is to enjoin the respondents from breaking or interfering with a pipe line carrying water which the complainant has laid and is operating on and across the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 35, township 20, range 6, west. The bill does not allege title in complainant to this land, but only that it owns an undivided one-half interest in the mineral deposits in the land; that the Tennessee Coal & Iron Company owns the other undivided interest in said deposits, and that the Tennessee Company has consented for complainant to lay, maintain and use this acqueduct on the land. The respondents have the fee in the land save the mineral interests. The minerals in this land are not being mined by the complainant, nor is its alleged right to maintain this pipe line at all rested on any easement it may have in respect of mining these mineral deposits. No argument, discussion or citation of authorities is needed to demonstrate that on the facts so far stated the complainant has no right whatever to maintain this pipe line on respondent’s land, and that there is no ground for any presumption or even anticipation that such right will ever be adjudged or decreed to complainant on the final hearing, and hence there is no occasion, so far, at least, as these facts are concerned, to consider the relative injury which may result on the one hand to the com
It is further averred in the bill that these respondents stood by and allowed complainant, without objection, to lay this pipe line at great cost, etc., etc., and hence that they are now estopped to insist upon its removal. On general principles, these averments present no case of estoppel. There is no pretense that the complainant was ignorant of the true state of the title or of any of respondent's rights in the premises. To the contrary the
If, as is argued by counsel, our cases hold that where the owner of land acquiesces'in by failing to object to the construction of a railway over his land, he is estopped to
In our opinion, the chancellor properly dissolved the injunction in this case, and the decree must be affirmed.
Affirmed.