Penniman v. Hoffman

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Penniman v. Hoffman, 262 Pa. 100 (Pa. 1918)
104 A. 892; 1918 Pa. LEXIS 597
Brown, Frazer, Moschzisker, Walling

Penniman v. Hoffman

Opinion of the Court

Per Curiam,

The final decree in the proceedings instituted against the appellees enjoined them from using, or permitting any one to use, any buildings on the lots described in the bill “for the purpose of a public garage or storagehouse for automobiles,” and the mandatory order asked for by appellants was properly refused for the following reason given by the learned court below: “Between the time of the grant of the preliminary injunction and the final hearing, the defendants had proceeded with the erection of the building substantially without change from the one originally projected. It bears all the appearance of a building erected for use as a public garage. The plaintiffs have requested the court to conclude as a matter of law that, the buildings having been erected in violation of the terms of the injunction, the court should now require the same to be removed. With this view we *103cannot concur. The character of the architecture of the building erected upon the tract of ground is one over which this court may not exercise supervision. It is only when the use to which the building is put becomes offensive that this court may act.”

Decree affirmed at appellants’ costs.

Reference

Cited By
3 cases
Status
Published
Syllabus
Equity — Building restrictions — Garage—Residential district— Decree. Where in a suit in equity to enjoin defendants, from erecting a garage in alleged violation of a building restriction providing that “no......livery stable or other building for offensive occupation shall at any time hereafter be erected or used upon any part of the aforesaid lot of ground,” a preliminary injunction was granted, prohibiting defendants from using or permitting the use of any of the buildings described in the bill for the purpose of a public garage or storage house for automobiles; and thereafter defendants continued the erection of the buildings complained of, the court made no error on final hearing in refusing to decree the removal of the buildings, as the character of the architecture of the building erected upon the land was one over which the court could not exercise supervision; it could only act when the use to which the building was put became offensive.