National Exchange Bank v. Cunningham
National Exchange Bank v. Cunningham
Opinion of the Court
The only question raised upon the record, is whether the facts found by the circuit court are sufficient to warrant the judgment it rendered. The case made by those facts is. in substance, that in the plan and construction of the building erected by the bank, which covered the entire lot owned by it, a stairway, leading from Washington street to the second story of the building, was constructed in the corner
The general rule, that easements appurtenant, pass with the grant of the dominant estate, is not controverted; but the principal claim of the plaintiff in error is, that inasmuch as the conveyance was made to Grapes immediately after the completion of the buildiug, and, at that time no use had been made of the stairway as a means of access to the hall and rooms above, the right to such use was not an appurtenance to the premises conveyed, and did not, therefore, pass by the grant. It is evident however, that at the time of the conveyance, the arrangement and construction of the building were such as to plainly indicate, that the stairway must have been intended as a permanent and continuous way of reaching the hall, and the rooms connecting with it, on the second floor. Those rooms were constructed for use, and no
It is a well settled doctrine of the law of easements, that where there are no restrictive words in the grant, the conveyance of the land, will pass to the grantee, all those apparent and continuous easements which have been used, and are at the time of the grant used by the owner of the entirety for the benefit of the parcel granted; and also, all that appear to belong to it, as between it, and the property which the vendor retains ; and hence, when the owner of an entire estate, makes one part of it visibly dependent for the means of access, upon another, and creates a way for its benefit over the other, and then grants the dependent part, the other part becomes subservient thereto, and the way constitutes an easement appurtenant to the estate granted, and passes to the grantee, as accessorial to the beneficial use and enjoyment of the land. “ It can not be denied,” said Pollock, C. B., in Glave v. Harding, "that if a man build a house and there is actually a way used, or obviously and manifestly intended to be used, by the occupier of the house, the mere lease of the house would carry with it the right to use the way as forming part of its construction.” ' 2 L. J. (N. S.) C. L. R. 292. And " Where the
So long as the bank continued to own the entire premises, there could, of course, be no easement in favor of one part, or servitude upon another, for, it might- make any use it chose, of every part. But when it conveyed the part now owned by the plaintiff, the purchaser took it with all the incidents and benefits which at the time appeared to belong to it, as between it and that part retained by the bank. The stairway being at that time, the means provided by the vendor for access to a part of the premises sold, and the only means of such access then existing, and being then and now, as found by the circuit court, necessary to the proper use and occupation of the premises sold, the right to its use, passed by the conveyance to the purchaser, and the bank can not be allowed now to derogate from its grant, by depriving the plaintiff of that use.
„It seems to be supposed by the counsel for plaintiff in error, that the judgment of the circuit court requires the bank to keep the stairway in repair, and rebuild it in case of its destruction by -fire or other casualty. If such were the scope of the judgment, the plaintiff in error would have just ground of complaint; for it is undoubtedly the rule, that
The payment made by the plaintiff to the bank on account of the insurance, is quite unimportant. It appears to have been nothing more than a voluntary contribution, without agreement, or obligation, toward the paymeut of the increased rate of insurance exacted-in consequence of the opening made in the wall, in the construction of the hall referred to, and is not incompatible with the existence of the easement. How it would have affected the rights of the parties, if the payment had been made as a compensation for the use of the stairway, we need not determine.
Upon the facts found by the circuit court, its judgment, we think, is correct and must be affirmed.
Judgment accordingly.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.