Hoy v. Sterrett
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
ERROR to the common pleas of Centre county. This was an action on the case for'a nuisance, in which Henry Hoy was plaintiff and James Sterrett defendant. The facts were, that Henry Hoy, about 1793, built a small mill upon a stream of water, and continued to occupy and use it for thirty years or more, when James Sterrett, the defendant, who was the owner of the land above on the same stream, built a larger mill and dam.
Read the full summary
ERROR to the common pleas of Centre county. This was an action on the case for'a nuisance, in which Henry Hoy was plaintiff and James Sterrett defendant. The facts were, that Henry Hoy, about 1793, built a small mill upon a stream of water, and continued to occupy and use it for thirty years or more, when James Sterrett, the defendant, who was the owner of the land above on the same stream, built a larger mill and dam. The consequence was, that in the ordinary use of this mill, owing to the size of the stream, the water was detained to the injury of Hoy’s mill below ; and the question which…
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
Rogers, J.
A person erecting a mill and dam upon a stream of *329water, does not, by the mere prior occupation, gain an exclusive right, and cannot maintain an action against a person erecting a mill and dam above his, by which the water is in part diverted, and he is in some degree injured. Platt v. Johnson, 15 Johns. Rep. 213. A contrary principle would be very pernicious, particularly in a new country; for the necessary effect will be to impair the value 'of all the land through which the stream passes. The elements being for general and public use, when…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Ingraham v. HutchinsonSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1818
- Strickler v. ToddSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1823
- Fetterman ex rel. Fetterman v. Plummer's AdministratorSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1822
3Cited by16 opinions
- Wheatley v. BaughSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1855
- Cherry v. SteinCourt of Appeals of Maryland · 1858
- Clinton v. . MyersNew York Court of Appeals · 1871
- Tinicum Fishing Co. v. CarterSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1869
- Haines v. O'ConnerSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1840
11 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.