History
  • No items yet
midpage
Sandown v. Kelley
97 N.H. 418
| N.H. | 1952
|
Check Treatment
97 N.H. 418 (1952)

SANDOWN
v.
HARRY C. KELLEY & a.

No. 4123.

Supreme Court of New Hampshire.

July 1, 1952.

*419 Grinnell & Grinnell (George H. Grinnell orally), for the plaintiff.

John W. Perkins and Everett P. Holland (Mr. Perkins orally), for the defendants.

DUNCAN, J.

The defendants' general exception presents no question of the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the findings and decree; the issue to be determined by this court is whether there are errors of law apparent upon the face of the findings and rulings made. Eastman v. Waisman, 94 N. H. 253, 254.

While the Trial Court found that the way in question had been used continuously for more than twenty years, there was no ruling it was a public highway, nor did the relief sought by the plaintiff's bill call for such a ruling. Moreover it may be doubted whether the evidence would warrant such a ruling. Wason v. Nashua, 85 N. H. 192.

It is plain that the plaintiff acquired a right of way by grant the use of which might extend to "all necessary purposes of entrance and egress." Under these circumstances, the rights of the parties are to be determined "by reference to the rule of reason." Sakansky v. Wein, 86 N. H. 337, 339. See True v. McAlpine, 81 N. H. 314. The Trial Court found that the use made of the plaintiff's land prior to trial was not unreasonable, and ruled that while the easement might not be converted into a public way by general use, it could be used "for all purposes to which dominant [tenement] could be devoted." The requirement of reasonable use is implied *420 in this definition of the plaintiff's right (Abbott v. Butler, 59 N.H. 317), and the decree for the plaintiff implied a ruling that the use disclosed by the evidence was reasonable.

The exceptions present no error of law.

Exceptions overruled.

All concurred.

Case Details

Case Name: Sandown v. Kelley
Court Name: Supreme Court of New Hampshire
Date Published: Jul 1, 1952
Citation: 97 N.H. 418
Docket Number: 4123
Court Abbreviation: N.H.
AI-generated responses must be verified and are not legal advice.
Your Notebook is empty. To add cases, bookmark them from your search, or select Add Cases to extract citations from a PDF or a block of text.