Drake v. Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Co.
Drake v. Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Co.
Opinion of the Court
Action to enjoin the defendant from maintaining its railroad on a public street in Worthington. There were findings and judgment for the defendant and plaintiff appeals.
βThe streets and alleys indicated on said plat are dedicated to the use of the public for streets and alleys only and in ease of the vacation of any such streets or alleys by any competent authority the reversion and title in fee of such vacated streets or alleys is hereby expressly reserved and declared to be in said proprietors, and the fee of any part of any street or alley is declared not to be included in or as part of any lot herein.β
The determination of the case rests upon the construction of this dedication. The work of construction consists in finding the intent of the platter. The fee of the street is not in the public nor in the village. It is either in the plaintiff or in the abutting owners. The presumption is that the owners of abutting property are the owners of the fee in the street. Rich v. City of Minneapolis, 37 Minn. 423, 35 N. W. 2, 5 Am. St. 861; In re Robbins, 34 Minn. 99, 24 N. W. 356, 57 Am. Rep. 40. Every intendment favors ownership in the abutters rather than a reservation of title in the platter, and to constitute such a reservation there must be something equivalent to an express declaration. See White v. Jefferson, 110 Minn. 276, 124 N. W. 373, 614, 125 N. W. 262, 32 L.R.A.(N.S.) 778, 784. The purchaser of abutting property takes subject to the conditions and limitations of the plat. Gilbert v. Eldridge, 47 Minn. 210, 49 N. W. 679, 13 L.R.A. 411; Wilder v. City of St. Paul, 12 Minn. 116 (192). The language of the dedication is not of doubtful meaning. It
We are not concerned upon this appeal with the rights of abutting owners, who do not own the fee of the street, when an additional servitude, such as is here shown, is imposed.
J udgment reversed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.