48 So. 6 | Miss. | 1909
Lead Opinion
delivered the first opinion of the court, the oneafterwards withdrawn.
During the year 1906 the Meridian Light & Railway Company obtained from the municipal authorities of the city of Meridian the right to construct and operate a street railway line on certain streets in tho city of Meridian, one of the streets being Twelfth avenue. This avenue is only forty feet wide from property line to property line. The sidewalk on one side is-eight feet wide, and the sidewalk on the other side is nine feet wide, leaving a space for the street proper of twenty-three feet, down the center of which the railway company has placed its line. When a car is in operation it occupies a space of eight feet in the center of the street, leaving a space of six feet and two inches between the outer edge of the car and the curb. The standard-guage wagon is about six feet from outer edge to outer edge of hub, according to the testimony, leaving only about two inches of space between the cár and ’wagon when passing on the street. It is true that it is shown by the testimony that the city ordinances permit only an eight foot sidewalk on avenues of this character and width; but this cannot alter the principle in this case. Mrs. Slaughter owns an entire block abutting this street, except about seventy-two feet owned by another party; Mrs. Slaughter’s frontage being about two hundred seventeen feet on .this avenue. On the 12th day of July, 1906, Mrs. Slaughter filed a bill in the chancery court seeking to restrain the railway
The property in question had formerly belonged to the mother of Mrs. Slaughter; but, the mother having been killed by a cyclone some time in March, 1906, Mrs. Slaughter had inherited the property and was sole owner. The record shows that there were various protests entered against the placing of this railway on the avenue by the different owners of the property before the track was- placed in the street, so that no question •of waiver or estoppel is presented in any way. The narrowness of the street makes it difficult and almost impossible for a vehicle to be in the street at the same time with the car, and the street is rendered much less available for ordinary traffic since the •occupation of the street by the railroad company. Of this there can be no doubt. The testimony fails to show that Mrs. Slaughter was damaged by any excavations made by the railroad company, and the chancellor so found as a fact, and we think correctly. If Mrs. Slaughter is damaged by any excavations, such excavations as produced the damage were made by the city, and not the railway company. But the testimony shows that by the maintenance and operation of this railway the property of Mrs. Slaughter is depreciated in value in a sum variously estimated at from $500 to $1,250. On the hearing the chancellor adjudged that Mrs. Slaughter was not entitled to recover, and dismissed the bill, from which judgment an appeal is prosecuted to this court.
The sole question presented by this record is whether or not a street railway and its maintenance and operation may be said to be one of the legitimate uses of a street, in contemplation of the parties at the time of the original taking, so as not to impose an additional burden on the street when afterwards placed there, .and precluding abutting property owners from claiming addi
In order to properly understand this question, it will be necessary to review to a limited extent tbe history of street railways and tbe decisions bearing upon this subject. Tbe first street railway of which we have any history was constructed by one John Stephenson in 1831 in tbe city of New York. This venture proved a failure from a commercial standpoint, and in a short while was abandoned. Tbe enterprise was again resumed in 1845, and from this date it may be said that this system of street traffic became firmly established. Tbe first street railway was operated in Boston in 1856, in Philadelphia in 1857, and in New Orleans in 1861. Tbe first electric street railway was constructed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1884. It is thus seen that tbe street railway as now in use in nearly all tbe cities is a thing of modern origin. Tbe common law cannot be resorted to, to ascertain whether or not such uses of tbe street can be said to have been within tbe contemplation of tbe parties at tbe time of tbe
It was a known fact that under the Constitution of 1869, providing for compensation to the owner of property for public use, the property owner often suffered damage as a consequence of the taking for which there could be no' recovery. When the constitutional convention met in 1890 a more liberal and just rule was established, in that by sec. 17 it was provided that the property owner should be compensated for both the taking and for damaging. Under this section of the Constitution individual rights are guarded completely, and it is now impossible for an individual to suffer damage to his property rights through public uses without full compensation. No narrow construction should ever be given to this clause of the Constitution, adopted, as it was, to more fully secure individual right.
The first construction of this section of the Constitution was in the case of Vicksburg v. Herman, 72 Miss. 211, 16 South. 434. Herman owned certain lots in the city of Vicksburg fronting on Belmont and Monroe streets. These streets had originally been dedicated to public use and a grade established thereon. Subsequently a new grade was established by the city; and in so doing the property of Herman was damaged as a consequence. The streets in question had originally been used by the public, and the change in grade was merely for the purpose of improving the street and making it more available for public uses. The ■court, speaking through Judge Woods, said: “Under our former Constitutions, which provided only for due compensation to the ■owner for taking private property for public use, it had been long held that, to entitle the private owner to compensation for the taking of his property for public use, there must be an invasion of the property, a trespass upon 'it, and an appropriation ■of it to public use. There must have been, formerly, that which .amounted to a deprivation of the owner of his property; and
In the case of Warren County v. Rand, 88 Miss. 395, 40 South. 481, where tire suit was by Rand for damage done his property as a mere consequence of a change of grade in the highway already dedicated to public use, the court held the county liable for the consequential injury. To the same effect was the case of Williams v. City of Jackson (Miss.) 46 South. 551. In the case of King v. Railway Co., 88 Miss. 456, 42 South. 204, 6 L. R. A. (N. S.) 1036, 117 Am. St. Rep. 749; Campbell, Special Judge, delivering the opinion of the court said that: “Const. 1890, § 17, makes the right of the owner of private property superior to that of the public, reversing the former rule that the individual might be made to suffer loss for the public. He may still be compelled to part with his property for public use, but only on full payment for it, or any right in relation to it. Before the Constitution of 1890 it was held that a muni
The object in citing these cases is to show that under this section of the Constitution our court has held that although there has been a prior taking of private property for street uses, and the change made in the-street or highway is only for the purpose of maldng the use of the street as such more efficient and for the greater convenience of the public, and for only the ordinary purposes, yet any new thing done to the street, producing damage to the abutter as a consequence, entitles him to additional compensation, thus giving a broad construction to the Constitution and precluding the idea of damage without responsibility therefor. This holding of the court is in the face of many authors treating the subject of eminent domain. Thus, in Lewis on Eminent Domain, § 92, it is held that there can be no recovery for a mere change in the grade of a street or highway. To the same effect is 2 Abbott on Municipal Corporations, § 810, and almost all authorities writing on this subject. We cite these authorities to show that our own court is not in line with this holding, but under sec. 17 of the Constitution has adopted a different rule.
Having shown by our authorities that there can be no change
In the case of Stowers v. Telegraph Company, 68 Miss. 559, 9 South. 356, 12 L. R. A. 864, 24 Am. St. Rep. 290, it was held that a municipal corporation could not authorize a telegraph company to construct its' line along a public street without making compensation to the owner, holding that it was an additional servitude. In this case,- and in the case of Theobold v. L. N. O. & T. Ry., 66 Miss. 279, 6 South. 230, 4 L. R. A. 735, 14 Am. St. Rep. 564, it was also held that this was true, regardless of whether or not the fee was in the public or the abutting owner. In this case of Telephone Co. v. Cassedy, 78 Miss. 666, 29 South. 762, the same was held in regard to telephone companies. If it
All holdings contrary to this came about through a wrong viev of the real classification of the street car. It has been classified with hacks, carriages, wagons, buggies, drays, etc., usually occupying streets. The public use which they subserved and the public necessity for their operation has led to this confusion, and the rights of private individuals have been lost sight of. While a street car is a public utility, it is not to be forgotten that it is operated purely for private gain in most instances; few street railways would be maintained for' the public good alone, if private gain was not the controlling consideration. They are not like other vehicles on the street. They have fixed lines over which to run, and when so doing they can turn neither to the right nor to the left. All other transportation in or use of the street must yield to the street car. Its track is appropriated exclusively while in operation, and is not subject to a common use. It must obtain a special franchise before it can occupy a street or highway. That is not the case with any other vehicle using the street. It is readily seen, therefore, that it affords greater obstruction to the common use of the street than any other vehicle. Its exclusive uses of the street- and its impediment to a .common use of same is well known. Unless the street is very broad, property is more valuable and brings higher prices on the market near to, but not fronting on, a street railway line. All this shows that a street railway is looked upon as a damage to property fronting thereon, varying'in degree according to its proximity. No other traffic in the street produces this effect on property; hence the street railway cannot be regarded as the
In Cooley on Constitutional Limitations (7th Ed.) p. 802, it is stated in the text that a street railway is a legitimate use of the street. As authority for this text, dropping into the common error, several earlier cases are cited, decided at a time when street railways were not common, and little understood. We differ from this learned author with much reluctance, but the text was written in 1868, when few cities had any street railway system, and when the decisions upon this subject were meager. But this same authority holds on page 795 that, if the street be a narrow street, the abutter would be entitled to additional compensation. It is difficult for us to understand how it can be held that the use of the street for railway purposes is a legitimate use, one of the ordinary purposes for which it was intended at the time of the taLing, and for which the owner has been fully compensated, and yet hold that, because it happens to be a narrow street, the owner having already been fully compensated for all legitimate uses, he can recover additional damages because the street is narrow. It does not seem to us that such reasoning is sound.
In Lewis on Eminent Domain, vol. 1, p. 268, the author says a “review of cases shows how conflicting and irreconcilable are the authorities. The weight of authority is that a street passenger railroad, laid on the surface or established grade of a street, is a legitimate street use, while all other railroads are not. But what rational basis is there for a distinction between freight and passenger traffic? ... To say that one railroad is a legitimate street use because it carries only passengers, and that another is not a legitimate use because it carries both freight and passengers, is purely arbitrary. It is a distinction which cannot be founded upon the nature and' uses of streets. ... It seems to the writer that there is no rational basis for a distinction between surface roads, and that either all should be admit
Fn Keasby on Electric Wires, p. 177, after a review of all the authorities, showing that a large majority of the cases hold that a street railway imposes no additional servitude on the street, the author says: “It is no doubt true that all railroads do affect in some degree the use of a street. They do claim some exclusive use. They divide the street into two parts, and, if it narrow, they make it impossible to leave a wagon standing at the curbstone. The electric road may have some additional elements of danger and obstruction, and it may well be that the solution
The authorities are unanimous to the effect that the motive power used is not determinative. The principle is the same in its application, whether the motive power be electricity, cable, or .horse power. Mr. Elliott in his work on Roads and Streets (§ 700), malees the question of additional servitude depend upon the width of the street, a reasoning which we have heretofore seen is not to be sustained. From the authorities already cited it will be seen that the courts and the law Writers have been dissatisfied with the holding that street railways imposed no additional servitude. It has been their endeavor to get away from this line of authority, realizing the error of it. While the authorities are unanimous on the proposition that steam railways impose additional servitude, it has not always been so held. In the case of Morris & Essex Railway Company v. City of Newark, 10 N. J. Eq. 352, decided in 1855, before experience and mature thought had taught better, it was held that a steam railway might lawfully occupy a street without imposing any additional burden thereon. The same thing was held in the early history of railroads by other states. All such decisions have long since been departed from and are now looked upon as mere curiosities in the law. It is worthy of note that, in order to obviate the rule laid down by many courts that no additional servitude is imposed by the use of the street for street railway purposes, many states have passed statutes making them liable. See note in 2 Am. & Eng. Annotated Cases, p. 537.
In the case of Detroit Railway Co. v. Mills, 85 Mich. 634, 48 N. W. 1007, the court consisted of five judges, three of whom held that an additional servitude was imposed upon a street by its use for street railway purposes, and in this case McGrath, J., says:
“The case hinges upon the question as to whether or not the construction and operation of a street railway in a street, and, as
‘.‘It is urged that this use of streets ‘must be supposed to have been contemplated.’ Is it possible that a use of a street which is not common to all streets, and which depends upon the desire of a street car company or the will of a common council, must be supposed to have been contemplated % Can this special use, depending upon the question of profit to its promoters, be deemed to be one of the ordinary purposes for which property for a street was taken ? Can it be that the use of a street, as a mere outlet for a traffic which in the absence of that use would be distributed over several streets, can be said to be a use contemplated
The error into which the courts have fallen, in our judgment, is the error of holding that a street railway was a legitimate use of the street. Such means of street travel differ from all other ordinary uses of the street. There can be no difference between the damage done by a steam railway and a street railway, save in the degree of the damage. We have no hesitancy in holding, that a street railway is an additional servitude on the street, entitling an abutting owner to additional compensation, and it can make no difference in principle whether the street be broad or narrow, except as to the extent of the damage. In the one-case it may be great, and in the other so small as not to be material ; but the principle is the same. This additional servitude is imposed by each line or switch that may be laid in the street, and is a new, additional servitude, just as the number of tracks are multiplied. We do not intimate what the amount of recovery should be. in this case, but leave this question open.
Reversed and remanded.
After the delivery of the foregoing opinion an elaborate suggestion of error was presented by counsel, for appellee. Pending the suggestion of error the cause was remanded for argument.
delivered the final and controlling opinion of the court, in response to the suggestion of error.
Twelfth Avenue, the one involved in this litigation, as shown in the original opinion, is only forty feet wide from property line to property line. The sidewalk on one side is eight feet wide, and the sidewalk on the other side is nine feet wide, leaving a space for the street proper of only twenty-three feet, down the center of which the railroad company laid its line. The electric car occupies a space of eight feet in the center of the street, leaving a space of about six feet two inches between the body of the car and the curb. A standard guage wagon is shown by the evidence to1 be about six feet from the outer-edge of the hubs to the •outer-edge of the hubs1, and thus there is left a space of about only two inches between the car and a wagon when passing each •other on the street. Mrs. Slaughter owns an entire block abutting on this street, except about seventy-two feet owned by a abutting party; Mrs. Slaughter’s frontage being about two hundred seventeen feet on this avenue. On the 12th of July, 1906, Mrs. Slaughter filed a bill in the chancery court, seeking to restrain the railway company from operating its road on Twelfth Avenue until the company had compensated her for the damage done her property by the street railway, and further, for damage claimed for certain excavations alleged to have been made by the company. This last claim for damages may be laid out of view since, according to the testimony, it is not shown that these excavations had actually been made by the electric railway company.
This simple statement, showing there are but two inches of space between the body of the car and the hub of an ordinary standard wagon, demonstrates beyond any cavil the fact that the laying of the street railway on this avenue in this manner practically destroys the use of the avenue for all purposes except this street car use, and that consequently the construction of this
We do not think, upon mature reflection, 'that the question
Wherefore the suggestion of error is sustained to the extent of withdrawing the former opinion but the decree of the chancellor is reversed, for the reasons herein indicated above, and the cause remanded.
Reversed and remanded.
Concurrence Opinion
delivered the following concurring opinion in response to the suggestion of error, concurring in the result only.
My view of the law applicable to this case is found in the original opinion. I do not think the suggestion of error ought to be sustained in any particular. The majority opinion makes
Tbe original opinion is directed to be set out in tbe record of tbis case, containing all authorities I rely on.