Easton City v. Hughes
Easton City v. Hughes
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
“The first paving, which exempts abutting property owners from any liability for any subsequent improvement is one that is put down originally, or adopted or acquiesced in subsequently by the municipal authority for the purpose and with the intent of changing an ordinary road into a street. Two elements are necessary to evidence this fact: the character of the construction and the intention of the municipality to convert a common road into a permanently improved street. The controlling consideration, however, is affirmative municipal intention.......Adoption or acquiescence, as showing municipal intention,- must be limited and confined to acts which deal with the highway as an improved street, and consists of such acts which recognize the construction employed and the results obtained as being sufficient to stamp upon the particular highway the fact of a permanently improved street as such term is usually known”: Pottsville v. Jones, 63 Pa. Superior Ct. 180-186.
We do not think the evidence was adequate to show an intention to convert Front street, in the City of Easton, into a permanently improved street. This street was one of the original streets of the borough. It lies in a closely built-up portion of the city, incorporated as. such in 1887, and from that time houses have been built along the street close together. Prior to the work now claimed as a permanent improvement, it was graded, curbed and guttered with sidewalks under municipal authority and direction. The macadamizing now claimed
■ The court below, in a part of its charge, seventh assignment, seemed to regard the report of the engineer as being enough. This was error. We learn from the argument that there are a number of cases depending on the result of this appeal. We do not feel, when there are other cases in litigation, which embrace the same subject-matter, that the appellant Should be estopped from raising the question of the sufficiency of the evidence in this appeal, though it was through his objection that such evidence was not admitted. But that the appellant may not profit by his groundless objection, we will direct that the seventh assignment of error be sustained, the judgment reversed, a venire facias de novo awarded, and the costs of this appeal to be paid by the appellant,
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- Road law — Original paving of street — Municipal intention— Adoption of pavement — Macadamized pavement. The first paving, which exempts abutting property owners from any liability for any subsequent improvement is one that is put down originally, or adopted or acquiesced in subsequently by the municipal authority for the purpose and with the. intent of changing an ordinary road into a street. Two elements are necessary to evidence this fact; the character of the construction and the intenti'on of the municipality to convert, a common road-into a permanently improved street. 'The controlling consideration, however, is affirmative municipal intention. , While due effect must be given to the character of the work done in determining municipal intention, when that work is macadamizing, without other ample evidence, it will not be sufficient to show municipal intention. There must be additional evidence of this fact. Where a municipal ordinance provided for an appropriation for ordinary repairs to streets, and a portion of a street particularly mentioned in the ordinance was macadamized, and about a year afterwards an ordinance was passed appropriating money to be used for permanent improvements including the macadamizing of the street in question, the latter ordinance together with evidence as to the work done on the street, is sufficient to sustain a finding of an adoption of the macadamizing done under the first ordinance as a permanent improvement. Where such evidence is excluded on the objection of the city, and the court erroneously charges that the jury may find for the defendant on certain other evidence, and it appears that other cases depend on the result of the appeal, the appellate court will reverse the judgment but at the cost of the city appellant.