Carhart v. Auburn Gas Light Co.
New York Supreme Court
A PPEAL by the defendants, from an order made at a special Íjl term, allowing a demurrer to the answer. The complaint stated that the plaintiffs were carpet manufacturers, and occupied premises situated on the Owasco river, in Auburn, and had the right to enjoy the advantages of the water of the river, for supplying their works with unadulterated water; yet the defendants, manufacturing gas upon and near said stream, and above the plaintiffs’ works, intending to deprive them…
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A PPEAL by the defendants, from an order made at a special Íjl term, allowing a demurrer to the answer. The complaint stated that the plaintiffs were carpet manufacturers, and occupied premises situated on the Owasco river, in Auburn, and had the right to enjoy the advantages of the water of the river, for supplying their works with unadulterated water; yet the defendants, manufacturing gas upon and near said stream, and above the plaintiffs’ works, intending to deprive them of the water in its pure state, had suffered to flow from their gas works! into said river, certain noxious and…
1Opinion of the Court
By the Court, B. Darwin Smith, J.
The legal maxim, “ sic utere tuo ut alienum non loedas,” which is but the gospel rule of morality, “ of doing to others as we would that they should do to ourselves,” lies at the basis of this action. The principle is a sound and beneficial one. The difficulty is with its application.
The principle implies what the law asserts, that equality is equity; that all men have equal rights before the law. Dominion over property, an equal right to its use and enjoyment, is common to all; and an action in respect to property will ■ only lie where one unjustly invades…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Turpin v. RemyIndiana Supreme Court · 1833
- Case of Walker's EstateSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1832
- Thomas v. BrackneyNew York Supreme Court · 1851
- Peck v. BramanIndiana Supreme Court · 1828
3Cited by18 opinions
- Corn Exchange Insurance v. BabcockNew York Court of Appeals · 1870
- Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad v. HamiltonSupreme Court of Alabama · 1893
- Gagg v. VetterIndiana Supreme Court · 1872
- Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway v. GillelandSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1868
- Fisher v. ClarkNew York Supreme Court · 1863
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