Ammant v. President of the New Alexandria & Pittsburg Turnpike Road
Ammant v. President of the New Alexandria & Pittsburg Turnpike Road
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
The plaintiff in error, George Ammant, having obtained a judgment against the president, managers, and company of the New Alexandria and Pittsburg turnpike road, issued a fieri facias and levied on “all the right, title, interest and claim of the defendants, of, ini and to, ten miles of the New Alexandria and Pittsburg turnpike road, lying and being, five miles east and five miles west, of the gate erected on the road adjacent to New Salem, together with the said gate, and the toll-house, erected contiguous thereto, and the lot of ground on which the said house is built, together with the appurtenances.” The question is, whether property of this kind is subject to a levy by virtue of a fieri facias.
It has been decided, that every kind of interest in land, legal or equitable, is subject to an execution in this state. But it does not appear, that the turnpike company had any estate of any kind, in the land over which this road runs. They were incorporated by the legislature for a special purpose, in which the public were much interested. They were permitted to enter on the land, and make a road, under certain regulations, and when the road was finished and approved by the governor, to take certain tolls. But there is nothing in the incorporating act, which authorizes the company"to transfer their right, to other persons; and such transfer would certainly be inconsistent with the whole design, and object of the law. It was presumed, that the right would remain in this corporation, and the act contains a complete system, providing redress in cases of delinquency, and calculated to protect the public from the consequences of such delinquency. The inconvenience would be excessive, if the right of the company could be cut up into an indefinite number of small parts, and vested in individuals. The defendants had no tangible interest, — nothing which could be delivered by the sheriff to a purchaser under the execution. There was no rent, or profit, of any kind, issuing out of land — nothing but a right to receive toll, for horses, carriages, &c. passing over the land, which would be more or less, according to the number of passengers, and that would much depend on the condition in which the road should be kept. Every kind of right, or licence granted by the act of assembly, was confined to the company. They alone were confided in. They alone were looked to fora faithful performance of the important duties incumbent on them. But it may be said to be extremely hard, that a corporation should be
Judgment affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- AMMANT against The President, Managers and Company of the New Alexandria and Pittsburg Turnpike Road
- Cited By
- 5 cases
- Status
- Published