Northern Pac. R. v. Barnesville & M. R.
Northern Pac. R. v. Barnesville & M. R.
Opinion of the Court
It is not clear to my mind that the complainant can maintain this suit in which an injunction is prayed. The Northern Pacific Eailroad Company was chartered to construct and operate a railroad from Lake Superior to the Pacific ocean. The authority to build a road between these two points, thus giving almost a continuous route of transportation east and west across the continent, gave the 'chief value to its franchises. The road was not to be built for the purpose of securing the trade upon the navigable waters it crossed on its route, although the navigation of these waters might increase its revenues, and I am not fully satisfied that this navigation is so important that the value of the railroad would be seriously injured by anything that obstructed it. But, concede that an obstruction to the navigation of the Eed river of the north, a navigable river which it crosses, would seriously impair the value of the road and affect, injuriously the private interests of the company so that it could enjoin such obstruction, the question is then presented, will the contemplated bridge, to be erected by the said defendants, be an obstruction and a nuisance ?
If it will be a nuisance to the company, no legislative ■authority for its construction by the state of Minnesota would j ustify its erection, and no authority from the legislature of
Motion for injunction denied.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.