Benzinger, Police Judge v. Union Light, Etc.

Opinion op the Court by

Judge Thomas

Reversing.

Prior to the arising of the controversy resulting in this litigation, the city of Covington, Kentucky, by its legislative department, enacted an ordinance requiring certain public utilites operating within the city, employing wires in the distribution of their product, to place them under ground and to remove from the streets all poles theretofore in use and upon which their wires were strung. The plaintiff below and appellee here (Union Light, Heat and Power Company) had for sometime theretofore obtained a franchise and owned and operated an…