United Electric Light Co. v. East Pittsburg Borough
United Electric Light Co. v. East Pittsburg Borough
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
This is a proceeding in equity by the United Electric Light Company against the borough of East Pittsburg, Allegheny county. The complainant sought to restrain the borough from interfering with its electric light poles erected, and to be erected, along the borough streets and from interfering with the completion of its electric lighting system. From the findings of fact by the court below it appears that the plaintiff company was merged with the East Pittsburg Electric Light Company, and succeeded to all the rights, powers and privileges of that company. That by ordinance approved July 31, 1907, the borough of East Pittsburg granted to the East Pitts-burg Electric Light Company, its successors or assigns, the right to erect poles and string wires along the streets and highways of the borough for the. purpose of supplying light, heat and power to the public. The grant was made upon certain terms and conditions, among which were that the corporation should place its poles and other appliances in such- manner and location as the street committee or the borough engineer should designate; that it should compensate the borough for the occupation of its streets and pay an annual license of $1.00 per pole and $2.00 per each mile of wire; that at the time of the acceptance of the ordinance, it should file a trust
On August 13, 1907, the Electric Light Company accepted the ordinance and sent the borough a trust company bond for the amount required. The bond was not approved, and on September 5 was returned to the company. Various propositions and counterpropositions with regard to the form of the bond were submitted, but the company and the borough were never able to agree upon a form of bond mutually satisfactory, and no bond submitted by the company has as yet been approved by the borough. On May 18, 1908, the company wrote the borough that it was ready to begin the construction of its pole lines, and inclosed a certified check for $500 in payment of the amount stipulated in the ordinance to be paid before it should enter on the streets. This money was accepted, and has been retained by the borough. About May 25, upon request of the company, the street committee of the borough council went over the streets with the company’s president, and located the places for the poles. Some ten days later, the borough engineer went over the lines, set stakes and made a plan. In June the president of the company reported to some of the members of council that negotiations were in progress with another light company for the use of poles which had already been erected in the borough, which negotiations if successful would avoid the necessity of erecting additional poles in the streets. He therefore requested an extension of time for the completion of the work of construction. In response to this request, on June 8, at
The court below finds as a fact that between June 9 and August 13, there was ample time to have finished the construction of the plant, but relying on the extension of time by the borough council, the company delayed work until after the latter date. About October 25 the company began the work of erecting its poles, and was nearly through with it, when upon November 3, it was notified by the secretary of council that the poles were being illegally placed, because no bond had been filed; and notice was given to remove the poles within ten days.
Upon the facts as found by the court below an injunction, as prayed for, was awarded against the borough and its officers, restraining them from interfering with the electric light company in the erection of its poles; but requiring the complainant to execute and deliver to the borough a bond in the sum of $3,000, in accordance with the requirements of the ordinance. From this decree the borough has appealed, and its counsel has filed thirty-seven assignments of error, all of which except the last are informal in that they do not show the action of the court below upon any exceptions to its rulings. The assignments should be to the final action of the court upon exceptions to the rulings of the trial judge. Each assignment should show an exception filed, and the disposition made of it by the court. In the present case all the assignments except the thirty-seventh are to the answers and findings of the trial judge made before the filing of exceptions; and the answers thus made are not, under equity rule 67, assignable for error. The thirty-seventh assignment is however to the final decree of the court below, and under it the questions raised by this appeal may be considered.
We are satisfied from a careful examination of the evi
Prior to June 9, the president of plaintiff company re
In the present case, as we have seen, a resolution was passed by council extending the time for the completion of the work ninety days, and the company was notified by the president of council of the passage of the resolution. This extension was granted not merely to favor the company, but in the expectation that it would afford time to effect an arrangement which would avoid the necessity of placing so many poles upon the streets. Aside from the question of the effect of the resolution as an alteration of the ordinance, we regard it as an act inconsistent with the supposition that the borough council intended to hold the company to a strict compliance with the time limit fixed by the ordinance. “Where time of performance is of the essence of the contract, a party who does any act inconsistent with the supposition that he continues to hold the other party to this part of the agreement, will be taken to have waived it altogether:” 29 Am. & Eng. Ency. of Law (2d ed.), 1104. Had there been no dispute over the bond, it does not appear that the borough would have raised any question as to the time limit for the performance of the work.
As to the matter of the bond, the appellees seem to have made every reasonable effort to comply with the condition of the ordinance requiring it to furnish a “trust company bond” in the sum of $3,000. It procured and tendered such a bond to the borough. When that bond
The decree of the court below provides for the execution and delivery of a bond conditioned as required by the ordinance and its amendment. The court will see that the bond so executed is in proper form, and the rights of the appellant in this respect will be fully protected. The assignments of error are dismissed, and the decree of the court below is affirmed at the cost of appellant.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- United Electric Light Company v. East Pittsburg Borough
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Boroughs — Ordinances—Electric light company — Extending time limit fixed, by ordinance — Resolutions. 1. Where a borough by ordinance has granted to an electric light company the right to erect poles and string wires along the borough streets to be exercised within a specified time, the borough cannot subsequently extend the time limit by a mere resolution not presented to the burgess for approval, nor duly recorded and advertised. Such an extension can only be effected by an ordinance; but where the borough has in no way insisted upon a strict compliance with the ordinance as to time, but has only objected that a proper bond has not been filed, the borough will not be permitted to enforce a forfeiture of the grant by removing the poles and wires on the ground that the company failed to observe the original time limit. 2. In such a case where it appears that the electric light company had made continuous efforts in good faith to furnish a bond satisfactory to the borough, the court will restrain the borough from removing the poles and wires, but will require the company to execute and deliver within a time specified the bond required by the ordinance. Appeals — Assignments of error — Equity—Exceptions. 3. Assignments of error to the answers and findings of the trial judge in an equity suit made before the filing of exceptions are improper. Assignments in such a case should be to the final action of the court upon exceptions to the rulings of the trial judge.