Robbins v. Town of Bridgewater
Superior Court of New Hampshire
Debt, upon a judgment of the Court of Sessions in this county, rendered against the town, at September term, 1823, in favor of the plaintiff, for $75, being the damage by him sustained, by reason of a highway laid out through his land, upon a petition to the said court. The town pleaded, among other things, nil debet, upon which, issue was joined.
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Debt, upon a judgment of the Court of Sessions in this county, rendered against the town, at September term, 1823, in favor of the plaintiff, for $75, being the damage by him sustained, by reason of a highway laid out through his land, upon a petition to the said court. The town pleaded, among other things, nil debet, upon which, issue was joined. The cause was tried at the sittings of the Common Pleas, in September, 1833, and a verdict taken for the plaintiff, subject to the opinion of this court, upon the following case. The record of the proceedings, in the Court of Sessions, was produced.…
1Opinion of the CourtRichakdsoN, C. J.
delivered the opinion of the court.*
In'order to determine the questions which this case presents for our decision, it is necessary to examine the nature of the powers exercised by the Court of Sessions, in laying out highways, and decide when its adjudications are conclusive, and when and in what manner their validity may be called in question.
The authority to lay out a highway is not necessarily judicial. Selectmen of towns have power, in certain *526cases, to lay out highways, but the power they possess on the subject, has never been considered as judicial power. If they proceed according to…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Inhabitants of Arundel v. M'CullochMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1813
- Loring v. BridgeMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1812
- Proprietors of the Third Turnpike Road v. ChampneySuperior Court of New Hampshire · 1820
3Cited by4 opinions
- Gurnsey v. EdwardsSuperior Court of New Hampshire · 1853
- State v. RichmondSuperior Court of New Hampshire · 1853
- Moore v. SandownSuperior Court of New Hampshire · 1848
- Stevens v. GoffstownSuperior Court of New Hampshire · 1850