Shanner Bros. v. Village of Page
Shanner Bros. v. Village of Page
Opinion of the Court
Action by plaintiffs as residents and property owners of the village of Page to enjoin said village from per
The petition alleges in substance that plaintiffs are residents and property owners of said village, that the village is a municipal corporation organized under the laws of this state; that said village duly and regularly adopted and established a system of grades throughout said village for sidewalks; that said village is causing and permitting a certain designated sidewalk (specifically described) to be constructed without paying any regard to the established grade, over the protest and objection of plaintiffs duly made to the authorities governing said village? and that said sidewalk, so being constructed, by and with the consent of the village of Page, and the trustees thereof, does not conform to the grade established and adopted, “either with reference to its location distant from the property adjacent thereto or with the grade in elevation as adopted by said village.” It is further alleged that to permit said sidewalk to be established without regard to the grade will materially and substantially affect the rights of plaintiffs and all other citizens of said village of Page; that no action at law to recover damages for such failure would be adequate, or could be maintained by the different citizens of said village, and that to permit the said village and the trustees thereof to allow sidewalks to be built without conforming to grade would be a serious injury and detriment to the village and all citizens thereof. There was a prayer for an injunction restraining defendant from further permitting or allowing sidewalks to be built in said village unless they conform to the established grade.
At the close of plaintiffs’ evidence, on motion of defendant, the court dismissed the action at the costs of plaintiffs. The judgment of dismissal was on October 10, 1919. The transcript for appeal was filed in this court on June 21, 1920. On the day the judgment was entered,
If it were not for the allegation of the fourth paragraph of the petition there would be nothing contained in it to indicate that the village is in any way an active party to the construction of the sidewalk complained of. It is there alleged that the village is “causing and permitting” it to be done. The prayer for an injunction is that defendant be restrained “from further permitting or allowing sidewalks to be built in said village of Page unless the same conform to and are in accordance with the established grade.” There is a total lack of evidence either offered or received tending to show that the village either authorized or consented to the construction of the sidewalk - complained of, or that it in any way actively participated in, or connived at, its construction. Indeed, the plaintiffs themselves proved by the testimony of the village clerk that no action had been taken by the village board authorizing the construction of this sidewalk. The question, then, is whether a party who can show himself aggrieved by the laying of a sidewalk in a village can maintain injunction against the village without alleging and proving that the village is in some way responsible for the work being done? We think the question must be answered in the negative. If the village owes any active duty to plaintiffs in the matter the remedy is not injunction, but mandamus to compel it to perform that duty. Moores v. State, 71 Neb. 522; State v. City of Kearney, 25 Neb. 262;
We think the action of the district court in dismissing the petition was right, and the judgment is
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Shanner Brothers v. Village of Page
- Status
- Published