Walls v. Smith & Co.
Supreme Court of Alabama
Appeal from Bessemer City Court. Heard before Hon. William Jackson. Action by O. C. Walls and others against C. D. Smith & Co., and others for damages. Judgment for {defendants, and plaintiffs appeal.
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Appeal from Bessemer City Court. Heard before Hon. William Jackson. Action by O. C. Walls and others against C. D. Smith & Co., and others for damages. Judgment for {defendants, and plaintiffs appeal. The counts as finally amended are as follows: “(1) Plaintiffs claim of defendants the sum of $5,-000 damages, and allege: That, on, to wit, May, 1907, the defendants, in the construction of a roadbed or railway line through Reeder’s Gap into the city of Bessemer, Jefferson county, Alabama, and across the public road known as the Eastern Valley public road, graded, filled, and excavated said…
1Opinion of the CourtSayre, J.
The text-books and adjudicated cases are agreed that for an obstruction of a public- and common right of way no private action will lie, unless it be alleged 'and shown that the plaintiff has thereby suffered injury peculiar to himself; that is, different in kind and degree from that suffered by the public. The reason for this rule, accepted from the beginning as sufficient, is that the offender should be punished by indictment as for the maintenance of a common nuisance, or the nuisance be abated by bill in equity in the name of the state; for otherwise suits would be multiplied intolerably.…
2Cases cited13 opinions
- Smith v. McDowellIllinois Supreme Court · 1893
- First National Bank v. TysonSupreme Court of Alabama · 1901
- Houck v. WachterCourt of Appeals of Maryland · 1871
- Blackwell v. Old Colony RailroadMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1877
- McCowan v. WhitesidesIndiana Supreme Court · 1869
8 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by19 opinions
- Forsyth v. Central Foundry Co.Supreme Court of Alabama · 1940
- Ayers v. StidhamSupreme Court of Alabama · 1954
- United States v. Olin Corp.District Court, N.D. Alabama · 1985
- Scruggs v. BeasonSupreme Court of Alabama · 1945
- W. B. Davis Son v. RupleSupreme Court of Alabama · 1930
14 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.