Hamer v. Brown
Hamer v. Brown
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This was an action to eujoin the county commissioners of Williamsburg from carrying iuto effect certain provisions of an act of the legislature (1892, page 361), by which, it will be observed, certain additional territory in said County of Williamsburg was exempted from the operation of Chapter XXYII. of the General Statutes, relating to the general stock law, and by said injunction preventing the defendants from removing the fence around the original exemption, and'building another fence around the lines of the additional exemption, including the plaintiff’s plantation of 1,500 acres of land.- The complaint does not state that the old fence is to be removed from or the new fence placed upon any portion of plaintiff’s plantation, which lies entirely within the additional exemption, or that any of the plaintiff’s timber is to be used in the construction of the new fence, nor does the complaint ask for any injunction against the collection of any tax noio proposed to be levied. As the Circuit Judge states it: “The injuries, which the plaintiff seeks to avoid are those which grow out of the exposure of his crops to the stock roaming at large in this portion of the county, and adjoining on what, it is proposed to call, a ‘big pasture,’ unless the plaintiff shall, at very heavy expense, protect his crops by suitable fences, which are not now necessary, and also the loss from taxation, which the plaintiff and others expect hereafter to suffer, from the carrying out of the provisions of the aforesaid act,” &e. (A full copy of the complaint should appear in the report o’f the case.)
The defendants commissioners demurred, that the complaint does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action for an injunction, and the cause coming on to be heard before his honor, Judge Fraser, he decreed as follows: “The question presented to me is the constitutionality of the whole act, and to this
The plaintiff excepts to the ruling of the presiding judge: “(1) That he erred in ruling that the injuries complained of in this action do not warrant the granting of the injunction asked .for; and that the act of 1892 is constitutional. (2) That the presiding judge erred in holding that the complaint does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action.”
The judgment of this court is, that the judgment of the Circuit Court -be affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- HAMER v. BROWN
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- 1 case
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- Syllabus
- 1. Injunction — Stock Law. — An injunction to restrain the County Commissioners from carrying out so much of the provisions of a statute as authorizes the removal of a fence so as to include a larger area of land within a portion of a county exempted from the general stock law of the State, was properly refused by the Circuit Court, where the only grounds stated in the complaint for an injunction in plaintiff’s favor are that he owns valuable agricultural lands lying wholly within such enlarged exempted territory, that the stock of insolvent neighbors will destroy his crops, that he has not timber enough to fence out such stock, and that his tenants will leave him — there being no allegations that the fence about to be erected is to be removed to his land or from it, or that his timber is to be used in its construction, or that any tax is about to be levied for this purpose. 2. Appeal from Decree — Other Grounds. — On appeal from a decree dismissing a complaint because it did not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action for an injunction, this court cannot consider questions not raised or considered below. 3. Demurrer Sustained — Amendment.—But as there are other grave questions arising under this statute which may affect the rights of plaintiff, the Circuit Judge properly permitted him to amend his complaint within twenty days.