Jenkins v. Riggs

• Decision Date: 18 January 1905
• Citation: 59 A. 758,100 Md. 427
• Parties: JENKINS et al. v. RIGGS et al.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

59 A. 758

100 Md. 427

JENKINS et al. v. RIGGS et al.

Court of Appeals of Maryland

January 18, 1905

Appeal from Circuit Court, Baltimore County, in Equity; N. Charles Burke, Judge.

Suit for injunction by George C. Jenkins and others against T Dudley Riggs and others. From an order dissolving a preliminary injunction, complainants appeal. Affirmed.

Argued before McSHERRY, C.J., and BRISCOE, BOYD, PAGE, PEARCE SCHMUCKER, and JONES, JJ.

Oscar Wolff and W. Irvine Cross, for appellants.

David G. McIntosh and John I. Yellott, for appellees.

SCHMUCKER J.

This is an appeal from an order of the circuit court for Baltimore county dissolving a preliminary injunction which had been issued to restrain the appellee, pendente lite, from obstructing a public road which crossed his farm. The material facts of the case, as they appear from the record are as follows In the year 1900 the appellee Riggs purchased a farm, with a residence and other buildings thereon, lying along the west side of the Garrison Forest Road, in the Green Spring Valley, in Baltimore county. That road runs nearly north and south, and the farm abuts on it from the Red House Road, on the north, to Stevenson's Station, on the Northern Central Railroad, on the south. At the date of Mr. Riggs' purchase, an old and much-traveled road, known as the "Green Spring Valley Road," ran in a southeasterly direction entirely across the farm near its center, separating the residence from the barn and other buildings, and extending to the Garrison Forest Road, but no further. This old road had been used by the public for more than a century, but there is no evidence that the title to its bed had ever been acquired by the county commissioners. As the old road extended easterly only to the Garrison Forest Road, persons traveling in that direction were compelled, when they reached the latter road, to go upon it either north to the Red House Road, or south to Stevenson's Station, in order to reach another road running easterly. The old road was at that time out of repair to such an extent that the roads engineer of the county expressed the opinion that it would cost about $1,800 to put in proper condition the part of it which traversed the Riggs farm. Mr. Riggs, desiring to relieve the center of his farm and buildings from the road, and being willing to furnish the land through other portions of the farm for a road or roads to be used in substitution therefor, discussed with his neighbors owning the lands in the vicinity the project of procuring the opening and construction of a new road in lieu of the old one. His advances were met in a very friendly spirit by those whom he approached, and several schemes for the location of the proposed new road were considered by him. He at first thought of opening two new roads in straight lines diagonally across the farm from the point at which the old road entered it--one to run northeasterly to the Red House Road, and the other to run southeasterly to Stevenson station, but he abandoned the plan because he came to the conclusion that it would divide the farm to a disadvantage. Before taking any formal steps toward making the change in the road, he requested the county commissioners to visit the farm and give him their views upon the subject. They went several times to the farm, and, after examining the locality, gave expression to favorable views of the proposed change of location of the road, provided there should be no objection to it from the people of the neighborhood, but they informed Mr. Riggs that he would have to proceed by petition in the usual way to have the change made. Mr. Riggs then applied to the county roads engineer to locate the new road. The engineer did as requested, and located the two new roads--one running north, and then east to the Red House Road, and the other running south, and then east to Stevenson Station, as indicated on the following plat--and laid them down on a blue-print plat of the farm:

RPT.CC.1905016547.00010

(Image Omitted)

Mr. Riggs handed the blue print thus marked by the engineer to his counsel, and they prepared from it and had published, as required by section 206 of chapter 685, p. 1086, of the Local Acts of 1900, enacting the then road law of Baltimore county, the following notice:

"Road Notice.

"Application to close a portion of an old road and in lieu thereof to open two new roads in the Third Election District of Baltimore County. This is to give notice that after the expiration of thirty days from the first publication of this notice the undersigned will make application to the County Commissioners of Baltimore County to close a portion of an old road and in lieu thereof to open two new roads as follows:

"To close that portion of the Garrison Forest road in the neighborhood of Stevenson Station in the Third District of Baltimore County, beginning at the division line of Paul Burnett's and T.D. Riggs' land, and running east past Mr. Riggs' residence until it intersects at right angles the county road running across the Green Spring Valley to Stevenson Station, and to open in lieu thereof a road beginning at the point first mentioned and running with a northerly course about thirteen hundred feet through and across the property of the said Riggs; thence easterly about one thousand feet until it meets the road now known as 'Red House Road' at the southeast corner of Mr. Riggs' ore bank, and also a road beginning at the same point as the former one and running south on the division line between the land of S.M. Shoemaker and T.D. Riggs about eleven hundred feet until it crosses the branch; then taking an easterly course about sixteen hundred feet to Stevenson Station. T. Dudley Riggs."

A formal petition, referring to this notice, and asking for closing the old road, and opening the new ones in lieu of it, as therein mentioned, was filed in due course with the county commissioners. This petition was signed by nine residents of the vicinity of the farm, among whom were two of the present appellants and the appellee. No counter petition having been filed, opposing the proposed change of roads, the county commissioners, who had become familiar with the locus in quo during their visits to the farm, did not think it expedient to appoint examiners to view the grounds and report upon the proposed change, but determined to make it as asked for in the petition, and proceeded, in the exercise of their statutory powers, to make and enter upon their records the following agreement with Mr. Riggs as to the acquisition of the land for the new roads:

"Agreement.

"In the matter of the opening of new road in the Third District and closing old road on the application of T. Dudley Riggs et al.

"It appearing to the Board of County Commissioners of Baltimore County that the notice of application for the opening of two roads and closing part of an old road has been duly published as required by law, and that fifteen days have elapsed since the last publication of said notice, and no counter petition presented or objections filed against said application.

"It is this 11th day of September, 1901, by the Board of County Commissioners of Baltimore County agreed that upon the opening of the two new roads as applied for and upon their being constructed, graded and bridged to the satisfaction of the Roads Engineer, and upon the execution and delivery to this Board of a proper deed conveying title to the ground covered by said road for the use of the public, the said two roads described in said application shall be accepted by this Board as County roads, and the said Board agrees that within a year from the acceptance of the two said new roads they will macadamize one of the said roads; and it is further agreed that the portion of the old road set out and described in

...