City of Richmond v. House
| Decision Date | 20 November 1917 |
| Citation | 177 Ky. 814,198 S.W. 218 |
| Parties | CITY OF RICHMOND v. HOUSE ET AL. |
| Court | Kentucky Court of Appeals |
Appeal from Circuit Court, Madison County.
Suit by the City of Richmond to enjoin A. J. House and Ed. Million from operating a stockyards as a nuisance. Judgment for defendants, and plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.
H. C Rice, W. L. Wallace, and Chenault, Wallace & Wallace, all of Richmond, for appellant.
Stephen D. Parrish, Burnam & Burnam, and A. R. Burnam, all of Richmond, for appellees.
The city of Richmond brought this suit against A. J. House and Ed. Million, to enjoin them from operating certain stockyards or cattle pens, on the ground that they would prove a public nuisance. Being denied the relief prayed for, the city appeals.
The building where the stockyards are conducted is located on the corner of East Main street and Big Hill avenue, in the city of Richmond. Prior to its purchase by appellees, it was used as a loose-leaf tobacco warehouse. No stock of any kind was ever slaughtered on the premises, nor are the stockyards used in connection with packing and slaughter houses. The yards are not used continuously for housing cattle, but only for a day or two prior and subsequent to county court days on the first Monday in each month. The cattle are not housed in open pens, or open sheds, but in a large, substantial building entirely covered with metal. While there are a number of residences in the neighborhood of the stockyards, and while the Christain Church is located within about 20 feet of the building, the neighborhood is not exclusively a residence part of the city. The stockyards are near the freight and passenger depot of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, and not far from its loading pens. Near by is a baseball park which is frequently occupied by carnival companies, and around the depot are restaurants, coalyards, an ice factory, and other business enterprises. Within a quarter of a mile of the building in question are other stockyards. It further appears that Richmond is a great stock market, and that just prior to each court day large numbers of cattle are brought there for sale and shipment. One of appellant's witnesses testified that on a certain Sunday the noise from the stockyards was so great that the windows of the Christian Church had to be pulled down. Others who were present on that occasion say that they heard no noise. While several witnesses gave it as their opinion that the presence of the cattle in the pens would necessarily result in such loud noises and offensive odors as would seriously interfere with the comfort and health of the surrounding inhabitants, no discomfort or ill effects therefrom were shown to have existed up to the time of the trial. Indeed, the whole of the evidence bore on the probability of a nuisance being created, rather than on the fact that any nuisance then existed. The opinions of the witnesses were based on their experience with other stockyards. It was also shown by appellees that the offal from the cattle was immediately disposed of to truck gardeners, and that they had no difficulty in keeping the building clean. There was further evidence to the effect that the stockyards near by, although not so well equipped as those of appellees, had not proven a nuisance.
1. It is the well-established rule that...
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