Watson v. Bioren
Watson v. Bioren
Opinion of the Court
After having stated the different deeds, proceeded as follows: — The. defendant, who is proprietor of the alley, contends, that the plaintiff has no right to the use of it, because he has parted with all the lot to which the right of way was appurtenant, except the small piece last mentioned. It may be remarked in the outset, that at all events, the plaintiff must recover in this action, because the defendant has obstructed the water course, and no argument whatever has been urged to show that the right to the water course is lost, by selling part of the lot. As to the right of way, the argument is, that the deed should be construed according to the intent of the parties, and that it must have been supposed by the grantor, that this small lot conveyed by Gordon to the plaintiff (only ten feet wide) would have been always occupied by one person; therefore the cutting it up into several parcels, and giving a right of passage to several persons, will subject the grantor, and those claiming under him, to greater inconvenience than was contemplated. But we are to judge of the intentions by the words of the deed. When land is conveyed with a right to the grantee, his heirs, and assigns, to pass over other land, the right is appurtenant to all and every -part of the land so conveyed, and consequently every person to whom any part is conveyed, is to enjoy the right of passage. It must not be supposed, that either party was ignorant, that the grantee had a right to alien a part, nor that it was the intention (unless clearly expressed) that by such alienation, the right of way should be extinguished. Now, if the defendant’s argument is just, the right of way is totally extinguished, by an alienation of part of the premises, because it cannot be said that the owner of one part has better right than the owner of the other, consequently as both cannot have the right, the whole is gone. We must decide this case on general principles; the same law that is applied to a lot of ten feet wide must be applied to one of the width of an hundred feet. And it is obvious, that such a principle cannot prevail in a-city without intolerable grievance, because it would force every person who has a right of way to
stated the several conveyances, and then proceeded By these different conveyances it is perfectly clear, that the privilege of the alley leading to Orphan's court granted to the defendant is subject to the right of passage through the same of the owners and occupiers of the adjacent lots, and consequently by the acceptance of the deeds he is estopped from denying that right to them. This is abundantly shown by the cases cited on the argument.
But further: Gordon who owned the whole of the lots to which the privilege of this alley was incident, by his deed of 18th December, 1805, conveyed a lot adjoining thereto, with the full privilege of the alley, and a water course therein, to the plaintiff Watson; and when Watson afterwards made his conveyance to the aforesaid Conyers, as I have before stated, he excepted thereout a small portion of the ground adjacent to the alley; Now the settled rule and usage of the city
Judgment for the plaintiff.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Watson against Bioren
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published