Walrath v. Redfield.
New York Court of Appeals
Appeal from the Supreme Court. Action on the case for damages sustained by the erection of a dam below the plaintiff’s saw-mill, by means of which the water was set back upon his wheel. The defendant justified as a superintendent of repairs on the Erie canal, alleging that the acts complained of were committed by him in making a temporary appropriation of the water by turning it into the Erie canal, in pursuance of directions of the canal commissioners.
Read the full summary
Appeal from the Supreme Court. Action on the case for damages sustained by the erection of a dam below the plaintiff’s saw-mill, by means of which the water was set back upon his wheel. The defendant justified as a superintendent of repairs on the Erie canal, alleging that the acts complained of were committed by him in making a temporary appropriation of the water by turning it into the Erie canal, in pursuance of directions of the canal commissioners. There were four trials, the last of which was at the Madison Circuit, before Mr. Justice Shankland, in October, 1854. The plaintiff gave in…
1Opinion of the CourtSelden, J.
Although a greater number of exceptions were taken at the trial, yet, upon the argument in this court, three points only were raised. It is insisted : 1. That the judge erred in instructing the jury that the clause in the lease from John B. Yates to Abram and Daniel Walrath, referring to some right on the part of the State to use the waters of the creek, as a feeder to the Erie canal, did not amount to an acknowledgment that the State had such right; 2. That he erred in instructing the jury that if the defendant took the water, as he said he did, as a permanent appropriation, he could not…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Hornbeck v. WestbrookNew York Supreme Court · 1812
- Lynch v. StoneNew York Supreme Court · 1847
3Cited by26 opinions
- Wilson v. . City of TroyNew York Court of Appeals · 1892
- Atlanta & Birmingham A. L. Ry. v. BrownSupreme Court of Alabama · 1908
- Duryee v. . Mayor, Etc., of N.Y.New York Court of Appeals · 1884
- Mairs v. . Manhattan Real Estate Ass'n.New York Court of Appeals · 1882
- Vandevoort v. . GouldNew York Court of Appeals · 1867
21 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.