Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad v. Lefoldt
Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad v. Lefoldt
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
In an action for damages to his real property, caused by raising the grade of the street in front of it, the plaintiff below, appellee here, showed in evidence that the defendant company did raise the street several feet; that this damaged his property to the amount of his recovery; that there was a grade of the street established and the street paved with rock by the city of Vicksburg, and that this was raised by defendant by the deposit of gravel, and that it was not necessary to raise the grade in order to keep it in repair with gravel. It appeared in the progress of the trial that (quoting from the record) “the defendant here offered to prove that under the ordinance of the city of Vicksburg granting the Louisville, New Orleans & Texas Railroad
Disregarding technical objections, it is not easy to find in this ordinance or the proceedings under it authority to raise the street or change the grade. But we think'the result should be the same if the ordinance purported to give such authority. The city must have the power before it can transfer it to appellant, and it did not have the power to so damage appellee without previous compensation. In reaching this conclusion we have examined, pro and con, the following: Theobald v. L., N. O. & T. R. R. Co., 66 Miss., 279 (6 South. Rep., 230; 4 L. R. A., 735; 14 Am. St. Rep., 564); Stowers v. Postal Tel. Co., 68 Miss., 559 (9 South. Rep., 356; 12 L. R. A., 864; 24 Am. St. Rep., 290); A. & V. R. R. Co. v. Bloom, 71 Miss., 247 (15 South. Rep., 72); Vicksburg v. Herman, 72 Miss., 211 (16 South. Rep., 434); O’Brien v. Philadelphia, 30 Am. St. Rep., 844, note; Conners v. Y. & M. V. R. R. Co. (Miss.), 38 South. Rep., 320; Gulf, etc., v. Bowers, 80 Miss., 570 (32 South. Rep., 113; 27 Am. & Eng. Ency. Law, 122); Fries v. N. Y., etc., R. R. Co. (N. Y.), 62 N. E., 358; Const. Miss., sec. 17; Charter City of Vicksburg, Acts 1884, ch. 391, arts. 15, 24, 26, sec. 28, pp. 439, 441, 442.
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Railroad Company v. Julius Lefoldt
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Municipalities. Railroads. Streets. Changing grade. Constitution 1890, sec. 17. Abutting owners. Damages. A municipality, being itself without power to do so (Constitution 1890, see. 17), cannot authorize a railroad company to raise the grade of a street to the damage of abutting lots freed from liability to the owners of such lots.