Friedlander v. President of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Co.

Headnote

1. Basements—Reservation in Lease—Extinguishment by Merger.

Where land is leased in perpetuity to a railroad company, subject to a way, and certain covenants against building, in favor of adjoining land of the lessor, and a perpetual lease is thereafter made of this adjoining land to the same company, the easement and the benefit of the covenants is thereby extinguished, the purposes for which the land is leased being inconsistent with their continuance, and no interest in that respect passes to the assignee of the company’s lease of such adjoining land.

2. Same—Estoppel—Notice.

The railroad company is not estopped from denying its assignee’s claim to the benefit of such easement in respect of buildings erected on the assigned estate, where it did not know that he erected the buildings under claim of a right of way thereto over its land, and did not encourage or invite him to their erection.

Appeal from special term, Saratoga county.

. Action by Paulin e Friedlander against the president, managers, and company of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company. On trial by the court without a jury, the following opinion was rendered by Tapp an, J.

“The defendant is a railroad corporation, organized under the laws of this state, and is the lessee of the railroad and franchise of the Rensselaer & Sara-toga Railroad Company and the Saratoga & Schenectady Railroad Company, and is in the use and occupation of such railroad. The track of the last-named

railroad crosses a public street in the village of Saratoga Springs known as * Washington Street,’ nearly.at right angles; said street running easterly and westerly, and said railroad track northerly and southerly. The plaintiff is the owner of a lot of land, with the buildings thereon situated, on the northerly side of "the said Washington street and westerly side of said railroad. Upon said lot, on the northerly side of said street, there are six brick dwelling-houses; and on the easterly portion of said lot, adjoining said railroad track, is a wooden block containing six dwelling-houses, the southerly tenement in said block being also upon the northerly side of said street; also a wooden building occupied as a store and dwelling-house; said last-named block and building being two stories high. In the summer of 1880 the defendant erected two picket fences, one near the easterly, and the other near the westerly, side of its said lands occupied by it for railroad purposes. Said fences are 6 feet 2 inches high, built of posts set in the ground 6 inches square, set on the westerly side of the westerly fence, and on the easterly side of the easterly fence, 6 feet apart, to which rails 2 by 4 inches are attached horizontally 4 feet apart. Upon these rails pickets 2 inches wide and seven-eighths of an inch thick are nailed perpendicularly .2 inches apart. At the bottom of the pickets is a baseboard placed horizontally nailed to the posts. The said fence built by defendant on the westerly side of its tracks, from the north side of Washington street northerly towards Division street, commences at the north-east corner of the northerly gate-post at the distance of 6|- feet easterly of the westerly line of its said strip of land 60 feet wide between said streets, and runs thence northerly in a straight line 299 feet 9 inches to a point opposite the north-easterly corner of the said Barber lot, which is 6 feet 2J inches east of defendant’s westerly line. A tight board fence runs thence westerly 6 feet 2J inches to the north-easterly corner of said Barber lot; thence northerly, on the westerly line of defendant’s said strip of land, said picket fence runs to the defendant’s gate-post on the southerly side of Division street, where the southerly line of that street intersects the westerly line of defendant’s said strip of land. The said fence built by defendant on the easterly side of its tracks commences at the northerly post of its easterly gate across Washington street, and extends thence easterly along the northerly line of said street 9 feet and 9J inches; thence northerly, parallel with the westerly line of the United States Hotel property, and 6 feet 8 inches distant, and westerly therefrom to the defendant’s gate-post standing in the south line of Division street. In the summer of 1880, defendant erected two gates across Washington street,—one easterly, and t'he other westerly, of its tracks. Said gates were structures of timber, lumber, and iron rods, about 24 feet in height, and occupying the whole width of the street; each gate supported by four posts of timber about 20 feet high. The northerly of said posts is 12 inches wide east and west, and 19 inches wide north and south. The southerly of said posts are of the same dimensions. The end posts were placed outside the line of Washington street on defendant’s said land. Between the inside gate-posts the space in said street is 26 feet Sc-inches, and the space for the sidewalk between the outside and inside posts is 12 feet. The gates across the sidewalk are about 4J feet high, with two bars across, one above and one below, with pickets running from one to the other. Such pickets are about 1\ inches in diameter, and 6g inches apart. The gates across the highway between the sidewalks are made with a top and bottom rail, with upright pieces, 4 to 5 feet apart, with an iron rod J inch in diameter running across diagonally. There is a superstructure of timber, iron plates, and iron rods holding the sections together, and making them one structure, over the walks and carriage-way. At the top is arranged a covering for machinery, to be used in raising the gates. When the gates are down, the opening from the top of the same to such superstructure above is 13 feet and 3 inches. The gates are raised at will by the use of machinery, and, when raised to their usual height, go into an opening above the said space of 13 feet and

3 inches, and below the covering. The gates are balanced by weights supported upon pulleys at the top of the structure. All the gates in the structure, and at the same crossing in the two structures, are opened and closed together by one man, who operates a crank communicating motion to the gates by wheels, gears, and shafts. Such gates are ordinarily opened or closed in about five seconds. Defendants at the same time erected a similar frame and posts, gates, and superstructure from the north to the south line of Division street, embracing the easterly and westerly track of their road. The northerly of said gate-posts on the westerly side of the defendant’s tracks in Washington street is at least 3 feet east of the westerly line of .defendant’s strip of land between Washington and Division streets, and 6 feet easterly of the south house on plaintiff’s said lot. All the gate-posts are inside of defendant’s line of railroad. The inside posts are within the line of Washington street. Said last-named northerly post is 10 feet 4 inches from the corner of plaintiff’s nearest house, and stands 3 feet 6 inches northerly of the northerly line of Washington street.

“Plaintiff, in her complaint, alleges that this last-mentioned gate prevents the free and uninterrupted passage of the public, the plaintiff, and her tenants along- Washington street, and is a great hindrance in the use of the street and sidewalk, and obstructs a fair view of her said premises from the east side of defendant’s track in Washington street, and obstructs the •light from her windows in the store and dwelling on the corner westerly of said structure, and has greatly lessened the rental value of her said premises and buildings thereon. Also that the erection of the said fence westerly of defendant’s track prevents. the free and uninterrupted access of the public, said plaintiff, and her tenants to and from her said premises, enjoyed for over twenty years, and has thereby greatly lessened the saleable value thereof. Also that on the west side of defendant’s railroad track, and the easterly line of her said premises, and intersecting Washington street on the northerly side thereof, a street or way for the free and uninterrupted passage of wagons, sleighs, other vehicles, horses, teams, and pedestrians has been left open, and used by the defendant and its grantors, the plaintiff and her grantors, and the public, for the purpose of transit to and from Washington street to and along the east side of her premises, and other premises located northerly, and to defendant’s depot and Division street, for a period of over twenty years; and that such gates and structures on Washington street, and such fences, have obstructed the use of said street or way, to plaintiff’s great damage. Plaintiff prays judgment directing the removal of the said structures on Washington street, and of the said fences, and also for damages suffered .by her in the loss of rents and other use to the amount of $5,000, and for such other and further relief or judgments as seems just and equita,ble.

“If the defendant has only built a fence upon its own land, in which plaintiff had no right or title, and over which the plaintiff had no right to pass, .although its motives were bad, and plaintiff suffered injury from the act therein, he has no right to recover. Pickard v. Collins, 23 Barb. 445 ; Mahan v. Brown, 13 Wend. 261 ; Parker v. Foote, 19 Wend. 309 ; McKeon v. See, 4 Eob. (H. Y.)467; Phelps v. Wowlen, 72 3ST. Y. 39; Bridge Co. v. Paige, 83 1ST. Y. 178, 188,190; Wehle v. Conner, Id. 232, 238; Miff v. Toumans, 86 1ST. Y. 324; Moak, Underh. Torts, 455; Gallagher v. Dodge, 48 Conn. 387 , 391; .Falloon v. Schilling, 29 Kan. 292 ; Bent v. Auction Mart Co., L. B. 2 Eq. 245; Swett v. Troy, 12 Abb. Pr. (N. S.) 100; Railroad Co. v. Barnard, 9 Hun, 104 .

“A railroad company is not liable for consequential damages caused by acts authorized by the legislature, and necessary to the exercise of its franchise, the consequence of which acts lessen the value of the property of others, provided it used due care and skill in the exercise of such authority, and in the

paid by the lessee to the lessor. Soon after 1854, the said railroad company built a freight-house upon this leased land, which it continued to use as such freight-house until the assignment of such lease, as hereinafter mentioned, March 25, 1870. The particulars of such use are shown by the several findings made at the request of the parties not necessary to be referred to here. On June 13, 1860, the Saratoga & Schenectady Railroad Company leased all of its property in perpetuity to the Rensselaer & Saratoga Railroad Company. On March 25, 1870, said last-named railroad company, * in consideration of $2,000 to it in hand paid by Solomon Friedlander, granted, assigned, and set over unto him such indenture of lease of the property therein described, with its appurtenances, and all of its right, title, and estate of, in, and to the same, to have and to hold the same, with the appurtenances thereof, as therein described, unto the said Solomon, his executors, administrators, and assigns, for the residue of the term mentioned, under the yearly rent, covenants, and agreements therein reserved and contained; and under the further covenant and agreement, and this assignment is made only upon this express condition, that during the continuance of this lease there shall be no building erected on the property thereby demised to be used, or which shall be used, as a saw-mill, planing-mill, iron foundry, grist-mill, tannery, or brewery, but otherwise as fully and absolutely, and in the same manner, as the grantor hereof could be holden of the same under the said lease herein described and conveyed.’ All the rights of Solomon Friedlander in the property described in the complaint were conveyed to plaintiff, February 25, 1880.

“The defendant is correct in its construction that the lease by Freeman and Marvin of plaintiff’s lot to the said railroad company, above mentioned, was a perpetual lease, reserving a rent charge without reversion, and vested the fee in the company, with no estate in the lessors, unless they should re-enter pursuant to the provisions in that regard in the lease itself on forfeiture of such lease and the estate thereby granted. Van Rensselaer v. Hays, 19 14. Y. 68; Van Rensselaer v. Dennison, 35 14. Y. 393, 399. A portion of plaintiff’s land is part of lot 24o. 53 of the Putnam lots. On August 10, 1833, John Dusty held this lot under a durable lease of the character of the lease above referred to. He then conveyed a portion of that lot to the Saratoga & Schenectady Railroad, then and still used as land for the said road. That deed provided: ‘This conveyance, being made with the express condition that the said railroad company, their successors or assigns, are not to erect or build any buildings or other erections on the said portion of the lot hereby conveyed, so as to injure or depreciate the value of the other portion of the said lot not included in this conveyance.’ By mesne conveyances, Dusty’s title to the portion of lot 24o. 53 retained by him came to Thomas J. Marvin and Samuel Freeman, by deed from John Clark, about October 1, 1847, and before the 1st of March, 1849. On December 10, 1832, Lewis Benedict and Thomas J. Marvin conveyed to the Saratoga»& Schenectady Railroad Company a strip of land 60 feet wide, commencing at the Putnam line, and running northerly to Division street, and thence in a curve to Broadway, near the Arlington House, to be used and occupied only for the Saratoga & Schenectady Railroad Company. The grantors reserve the right to lay out and use any public street or streets which they may deem proper, crossing said main and branch railroads, or either of them; also with the condition that if any part of the premises conveyed should cease to be used and occupied by the said company for the purposes for which they were thereby conveyed, then such indenture should be void, and the said premises revert and become the sole property of the grantors, their heirs and assigns. By resolution of the board ■of directors of said last-named railroad company passed August 16, 1836, it was resolved to change the then landing place for passengers from Division street, on the branch railroad, to the main railroad; and to accomplish thia

object a certain preliminary agreement was entered into between the said railroad company and Benedict and Marvin, dated October 13, 1836, and the final arrangement was completed by deed dated October 17, Í836, from said Benedict and Marvin to the railroad company, and an agreement between said parties dated the day last named. After careful examination of these • deeds and agreements, I conclude that the failure to use the strip of land from Division street to Broadway for said railroad purposes would have caused the whole premises conveyed by said deed of December 10, 1832, to revert to Benedict and Marvin; and while the deed and agreement of October 17,1836, waived the right of such forfeiture, still the covenants in these instruments were impressed upon the land as effectually as though said deed of December 10, 1832, had not been made. Also that the only covenant that applies to the lands of Benedict and Marvin between the Putnam line and Division street is the following, in the deed of October 17, 1836: ‘ The portion of said strip of land lying south of the north side of Division street to be used and occupied only by the said railroad company for the purpose of laying platforms, rails, or tracks, and no buildings or erections to be placed upon the same. And the said parties of the first part, their heirs and assigns, to have the privilege of passing and repassing upon and over the same without obstructing the passage of the cars, upon said road.’ Also: « They, the Saratoga and Schenactady Railroad Company, agree that piazzas on the east side of the new carriage-house about to be erected by the Saratoga and Schenectady Railroad Company north of Division street may extend ten feet in width upon the west side of said new street; in consideration of -which, the said company are prohibited from laying or having any track or rail within 10 feet of the east line of the lands of the said parties of the first part west of the strip heretofore conveyed to the said party of the second part to this indenture.’ The reference to this in the agreement from the said railroad company to Benedict and Marvin of the same date of, and referred to in, said deed, is as follows: After referring to the two lots and strip of land on the north side of Division street, as having been conveyed to the said railroad company, it continues: ‘Apd also of a strip of land upon which this main railroad of the said company is now constructed, being sixty feet in width, to be used, only for the purpose of laying rails or tracks upon.the same.’ ‘ They [the said company] also covenant and agree that no rail or track shall be laid or had within-10 feet of the east line of the lands of the said parties, of the second part west of the strip conveyed to the said parties of the first part by the annexed conveyance. This covenant did not apply to the Putnam lots, part of the plaintiff’s property, which were not purchased by Benedict and Marvin until between October 1, 1847, and March 1, 1849. It could be operative only upon lot 2STo. 1 of the Benedict and Marvin,land described in the 29th finding made at plaintiff’s request, 12 feet of which was bounded on the east by the last-mentioned strip of land conveyed by Benedict and Marvin to the said railroad company. Did tire lease from Freeman and Marvin to the said railroad company, dated May 24, 1854, convey the benefit of the covenant contained in the deed from Benedict and Marvin.to the said railroad company, dated October 17, 1836, and the benefit of the covenant in the deed from John Dusty to the said railroad company, dated August 10,1833? It did not in terms, and I think it did not in fact. The lessee in such lease was the party whose land then held and used by it was bound by these, covenants when made. It needed no such covenants for the benefit of the lands to be granted and demised. The lease gave a right to use the leased land for a purpose inconsistent with the restriction to lay no track within 10 rods of west bounds of railroad land used for tracks. As soon as such land vested in it under the proposed lease, any easement for its benefit over their adjoining railroad lands, and any covenant restricting the use of such land inconsistent with the use contemplated by the lease, was extinguished. The lessee acquired nothing, and nothing was granted to it, by the lease, ex

cept the ordinary rights of a lessee of the entire lot as a whole. Stevens v. Dennett, 51 IT. H. 329. The easements were merged and extinguished by unity of estate and possession of both pieces of land in the same party,—the said railroad company. Whalley v. Tompson, 1 Bos. &P. 371; Parsons v. Johnson, 68 IT. Y. 65, 66; Pierce v. Selleck, 18 Conn. 321 .

“Whether Solomon Friedlander ever had, and the plaintiff, his successor, has, an easement of the character claimed by her over the defendant’s land, is to be determined from the assignment itself, and the situation of the property at the time it was made, irrespective of the covenants in the deeds and agreement hereinbefore referred to. James v. Plant,4AdoI. &E. 749. The phraseology of the assignment from the railroad company to Solomon Fried-lander, dated March 25, 1870, is peculiar. After reciting that it is made subject to the payment of. rent, etc., and inserting conditions about buildings, it grants, assigns, and sets over such indenture of lease of the property therein described, with its appurtenances, and then says, in substance, that the same are held ‘as fully and Absolutely, and in the same manner, as the grantor hereof [the railroad company] could be holden of the same under the said lease herein described and conveyed.’ While the said railroad company held the property, there were no easements in its favor over its land, easterly, used for its tracks; and the assignment gave to the assignee the right to hold the property only in the same manner that the said railroad company. could hold it, and did hold it. under the lease assigned. Treating the assignment as a-grant of the estate of the railroad company, no right of way of necessity passed to Friedlander.

“The leased premises had a frontage of 193J feet on Washington street, and was bounded 112 feet on the said railroad land. The freight-house, the only building upon the property when the assignment was made, fronted on Washington street, and was accessible therefrom. There was a space between the north line of the lot and the freight-house. There was access to the whole length of the freight-house along the west side thereof. It must have been in the contemplation of the parties that the freight-house would no longer be used for business connected with railroad. Under such circumstances, Friedlander could arrange his buildings as he pleased upon ins own land. Whatever he did gave him no right of access thereto or therefrom over defendant’s land. It does not appear that the railroad company was informed that Friedlander was building under claim of any right of defendant’s adjoining land, or that it in any way encouraged or invited his acts. The railroad company is not estopped from claiming that plaintiff has no right upon the lands. Snow v. Williams, 16 Hun, 468 ; Christianson v. Linford, 3 Bob. (IT. Y.) 215, 224, 19 Abb. Pr. 221 ; Corning v. Iron Co., 40 IT. Y. 191, affirming same case reported below, 22 How. Pr. 217 ; Pike v. Butler, 4 IT. Y". 360; Rice v. Dewey, 54 Barb. 456 ; Adams v. Popham, 76 IT. Y. 410, 413; Miller v. Platt, 5 Duer, 273 . The plaintiff’s complaint should be dismissed upon the merits, with costs. Ordered accordingly. ”

From the judgment for defendant entered on the foregoing decision, plaintiff appeals.