Buford v. Houtz

• Citation: 10 S.Ct. 305,33 L.Ed. 618,133 U.S. 320
• Parties: BUFORD et al. v. HOUTZ et al. 1
• Decision Date: 03 February 1890
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

133 U.S. 320

10 S.Ct. 305

33 L.Ed. 618

BUFORD et al. v. HOUTZ et al.¹

February 3, 1890.

M. Kirkpatrick, for appellants.

Jos. L. Rawlins, for appellees.

MILLER, J.

This is an appeal from the supreme court of the territory of Utah. The bill was originally filed by the appellants in the third judicial district court of Utah territory in and for Salt Lake county; and in that court a demurrer was filed setting forth two grounds of objection to the bill—First, that it does not state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action; and, second, that several causes of action have been improperly united, in this: that said complaint states a separate cause of action against each individual defendant, and nowhere states or attempts to state a cause of action against all of the defendants. This demurrer was sustained, and a decree rendered dismissing the bill at the costs of plaintiffs, and on appeal to the supreme court of the territory that decree was affirmed. The case is here on an appeal from that judgment. The complainants were M. B. Buford, J. W. Taylor, Charles Crocker, and George Crocker, copartners under the firm name and style of the Promontory Stock-Ranch Company. The defendants were John S. Houtz and Henry and Edward Conant, under the firm name and style of Houtz & Conant, the Box-Elder Stock & Mercantile Company, a corporation, and 20 individuals whose names are given in the bill. The plaintiffs allege that they are the owners of certain sections and parts of sections of land in the territory of Utah, which they describe specifically by the numbers and the style of their congressional subdivisions, very much of which is derived from the Central Pacific Railroad Company, to which they were granted by the congress of the United States. These lands were alternate sections of odd numbers according to the congressional grant to the railroad company, and they, with the other tracts mentioned in the plaintiffs' bill, are said to amount to over 350,000 acres, 'and extend over an area of forty miles in a northerly and a southerly direction, by about thirty-six miles in an easterly and westerly direction.' The allegation is that these lands are very valuable for pasturage and the grazing of stock, and are of little or no value for any other purpose, and were held by the plaintiffs, and are now held by them, for that purpose solely. That, owing to their character, the scarcity of water, and the aridity of the climate where these lands are situated, they can never be subjected to any beneficial use other than the grazing of stock. That plaintiffs own and are possessed of large numbers of horned cattle, to-wit, 20,000 head, of the value of $100,000, and are engaged in the sole business of stock-raising. That for a long time they have had, and now have, all said cattle running and grazing upon these lands. That all the even-numbered sections in each and all of the townships and fractional townships above mentioned belong to and are part of the public domain of the United States. That the defendants have not, nor has either of them, any right, title, interest, or possession, or right of possession, of or to any of the lands embraced in any of the townships or fractional townships above mentioned, nor have they ever had any such right, title, interest, or possession. That none of the lands included within said townships or fractional townships are fenced or inclosed, except a small portion owned by plaintiffs, which they have heretofore inclosed with fences for use as corrals, within which to gather from time to time their cattle in order to brand the young thereof. They allege that for various reasons they cannot fence and inclose their lands without inclosing large portions of the lands of the United States, and without rendering large and valuable portions of their own of no value, by reason of the shutting off and preventing their own cattle from obtaining necessary water. That the defendants Houtz & Conant, now and for a long time past, have owned a large number, to-wit, 15,000 head, of sheep, and each of the other defendants to this action is now and for a long time past has been the owner of a large flock or herd of sheep. The smallest number owned by any one party exceeds, as plaintiff believes 5,000, and the aggregate number of sheep so held exceeds 200,000. It is then alleged that the official survey of the United States has been extended over all land within the townships and fractional townships mentioned in the bill, and that there are seven well-defined and well-known traveled highways over those lands, four of which run in a northerly and southerly direction, and three in an easterly and westerly direction, entirely across the lands embraced in said townships and fractional townships, along which the sheep of the defendants may be driven without injury to plaintiffs' lands, notwithstanding which each of siad defendants claims and asserts that he has the lawful right and is entitled to drive all sheep owned by him over and across any of said lands of these plaintiffs, and to pasture and graze his sheep thereon whenever and wherever he may desire so to do. That all of said defendants respectively rely upon and set up a common, though not a joint, pretended right to drive, graze, and pasture their sheep thereon, and each of said defendants bases his pretended right to drive, graze, and pasture his sheep upon the lands of the plaintiffs upon precisely the same state of facts as that relied upon by each of the other defendants. That is to say, each of said defendants claims that, all the even-numbered sections in each of said townships and fractional townships being unoccupied public domain of the United States, he has an implied license from the government of the United States to drive, graze, and pasture his sheep thereon, and that he cannot do this without having them run, graze, and pasture upon the lands of the plaintiffs. Therefore each of said defendants claims and asserts that he is entitled to have his said sheep run, graze, and pasture upon the lands of the plaintiffs as aforesaid; and that during the year past each of said defendants did repeatedly drive large bands and herds of sheep over, upon, and across the lands of these plaintiffs, and graze and pasture the same thereon, to the great injury and damage of the said plaintiffs, and that they and each of them threaten to continue to do this, and will do it unless restrained by order of the court. It is then alleged that the sheep, in grazing upon the lands do it a permanent injury, and drive away the cattle from such lands, whereby, if the defendants are permitted to drive and pasture their sheep on the lands of the plaintiffs, those lands will be greatly damaged, and, for a long period of time in the future, rendered valueless for the purpose of grazing and pasturing their cattle. They then allege that they have no adequate way of estimating the damage which they will suffer should defendants, or either of them, do as they have threatened to do, as herein stated, for the reason, among others, that the destruction of the food, grasses, and herbage on plaintiffs' lands will result in depriving plaintiffs' cattle of necessary food, thereby causing great deterioration in flesh and consequent value, which loss and deterioration cannot be adequately determined by witnesses; which will result in the destruction of plaintiffs' business, will waste and impair their freehold, and obstruct them and each of them in the use of their said property. They allege, therefore, that they have no plain, adequate, and speedy remedy at law, and that it will be impossible to establish the amount of damages which said plaintiffs will suffer by the wrong or trespass of any particular one of said defendants. The prayer of the plaintiffs is for a judgment and decree of the court: (1) That said defendants have not, nor has either of them, any right of way for any of his or their sheep over said lands of plaintiffs, or any part thereof, except over and along the highways aforesaid; that they have not, nor has either of them, any right to graze or pasture any of his or their sheep thereon, or on any part thereof. (2) That, pending this action, said defendants and each of them, their and each of their agents, servants, and employes, be enjoined from driving any of his or their sheep upon any of said lands, except over and along said highways, or permitting any of them to go, graze, or pasture thereon, and that upon the final decree herein said injunction be made perpetual. (3) For such other and further relief as may be just and equitable, together with their costs in this behalf incurred.

The supreme court of the territory, in affirming the judg- ment of the court of the third judicial district, did not consider the question of the misjoinder of defendants, but rested its judgment upon the want of equity in the bill. It might be difficult to sustain a bill which, like this, united 15 or 20 different defendants, to restrain them from committing a trespass, where, if the parties are guilty or should attempt to commit the trespass, they do it without concert of action, at different times, in different parts of a large district of country such as here described, and each in his own way, and by his own action, or that of his servants. But, waiving this question, we are of opinion that the bill has no equity in it. The appellants being stock-raisers, like the defendants, whose stock are raised and fattened on the unoccupied lands of...