Bitner v. Strickner
Bitner v. Strickner
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The plaintiff brought an action of trespass against the defendant, alleging that the latter had obstructed a watercourse and changed the level of his lot contiguous to a lot of the plaintiff, so that water, which formerly and naturally flowed or fell on the defendant’s land, was discharged on to plaintiff’s property, and that in the course of the filling and grading of the defendant’s lot
The case was tried three times. At the first trial there was a verdict for the defendant. A new trial was granted, and at the second trial there was a verdict for $5.33 in favor of the plaintiff. Á second new trial was granted, and at the third trial a verdict for one dollar was rendered in favor of the plaintiff. The principal question presented on the appeal is, whether the court should have entered judgment for costs corresponding with the verdict as in the case of trespass quare clausum fregit. The court concluded from the amount of the verdict, as indicated in an opinion refusing a new trial, that the jury found the predecessor in title of the defendant filled up the lot and the defendant was only responsible for the change in the pavement, but that the latter work was a part of the general plan to change the grade of the lot, and therefore involved in the plaintiff’s cause of action. The position of the appellant is, “That the branch of action upon which the plaintiff was successful was in substance a form of action of trespass quare clausum fregit”; that the only injury that could result to the plaintiff was direct and immediate and not consequential.
The case must be disposed of in accordance with the pleadings and evidence, and an examination of the record leads us to the conclusion that the court was correct in holding that the alteration of the lot along the street line was a part of the change complained of in the statement of claim, and with reference to which testimony was offered. The injury alleged by the plaintiff was consequential to the change of the level of the defendant’s lot. It was alleged that by filling in the lot, the erection of the building, and the raising of the pavement the plaintiff’s property was prejudicially affected.
This injury would have been redressed in an action
We are not convinced that the learned trial judge committed any error which requires the reversal of the judgment.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.