City of Philadelphia v. Philadelphia City Passenger Railway Co.
City of Philadelphia v. Philadelphia City Passenger Railway Co.
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The plaintiff’s claim in this case is made up of two items. The larger of these is for the cost of paving done by the city upon Lancaster avenue. The other is for repairing done at the intersection of Chestnut and Broad streets and at the intersection of Walnut and Broad streets. Distinct defenses are made to each of these items; to the claim for paving done on Lancaster avenue, the defendant replies that the line of railway built upon that avenue was constructed by it as the lessee of the Phila. & Darby Ry. Co. and under the authority of its lessor’s charter, granted by the legislature in 1857, and a supplementary act passed in 1868. The supplementary act fixed the extent of the liability of the company for the repair of the streets in these words, “ The Phila. and Darby Pass. Ry. Co., shall be required to keep in repair only so much of said street as may be within their tracks.” A further supplement authorizing an extension of the railway of the Phila. & Darby Co. was passed in 1868. In January, 1870, this company was authorized to lease its road, property, corporate rights and franchises, and in the following month it executed a lease to the defendant covering its line then in operation, together with its personal property, its corporate
The second item in the plaintiff’s claim stands on wholly different ground. The city decided to pave a portion of Broad street with sheet aspbaltum. An ordinance was passed in due form authorizing and directing this work to be done. The street was already paved with stone, but the city determined to remove the stone and repave the street with an improved and a comparatively noiseless pavement. It entered upon this work in accordance with the ordinance and made a contract for it as a whole without regard to street intersections. The Belgian blocks from these intersections were used in paving elsewhere by the city, and the repairing on Broad street went forward, according to the testimony of the chief commissioner of highways, because there was a desire on the part of the public, as well as on the part of the city officers, to make of Broad street an avenue paved with the most improved sort of pavement
The effort to charge the defendant with a portion of the cost seems to have been made after the ordinance was passed and the contract made, and upon a point not contemplated by either.
The judgment is now affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- City of Philadelphia v. Philadelphia City Passenger Railway Company
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Street railways — Paving—Lease. A street railway company chartered by a special act in 1857 was required under a supplementary act passed in 1863 “ to keep in repair only so much of said street as may be within their tracks.” Prior to the adoption of the constitution of 1874, the company under the authority of an act of the legislature passed in 1870 executed a lease of its line. Eeld, (1) that the legislature by authorizing the lease enabled the lessee by necessary implication to acquire and exercise all the rights and powers possessed by the lessor; (2) that the city had no power ünder such circumstances to compel the lessee to keep in repair the portion of the street outside of the tracks. Street railways — Paving—Intersection of streets. A street railway company was required by its charter and city ordinances to keep in repair the streets on which its tracks were laid. The company occupied two streets which intersected a wide avenue at right angles. The city passed an ordinance providing for the removal of the stone pavement on the wide avenue, and for the repaving of it with asphalt. No reference was made in the ordinance to intersections, and the contract for repaving was made with the contractor as a whole without regard to street intersections. The improvement was undertaken in obedience to public opinion, and with a view to making the street a great public thoroughfare or driveway. Held, that the street railway company was not liable for the cost of the repaving so done at the intersections.