Long v. Ragan
| Decision Date | 17 January 1902 |
| Citation | 51 A. 181,94 Md. 462 |
| Parties | LONG v. RAGAN. |
| Court | Maryland Court of Appeals |
Appeal from circuit court, Washington county, in equity; Edward Stake, Judge.
Suit by Elizabeth V.L. Ragan against Samuel H. Long. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant appeals. Affirmed.
Argued before McSHERRY, C.J., and FOWLER, BRISCOE, BOYD, PAGE PEARCE, and SCHMUCKER, JJ.
George W. Smith, Jr., for appellant.
Charles A. Little, for appellee.
The bill in this case was filed on the 19th of June, 1901, in the circuit court for Washington county, by the appellee against the appellant, for an injunction to restrain the appellant from building a house on a lot of ground on West Washington street, in Hagerstown, Md.; alleging trespass upon the adjoining lot belonging to the appellee. The bill alleges that the appellee is the owner and possessor of a lot of ground situate on the south side of West Washington street, Hagerstown, fronting 46 feet on said street, and running back 240 feet to an alley adjoining on the west property belonging to David Zeller, and on the east property belonging to the appellant, and known and designated as a portion or hall of lot No. 89 on the plan of the town of Hagerstown; that the appellant is the owner of an adjoining lot on the east side of the appellee's lot, and fronting 41 feet, more or less, on the south side of West Washington street, in Hagerstown, it being the western half or portion of lot No. 90 on the plan of the town of Hagerstown. The bill further alleges that the defendant is now engaged in erecting a new house on his lot of ground, and in the erection of this building, and in the building of the foundation walls, the defendant has, in disregard of his own deed and in violation of the plaintiff's rights, crossed the dividing line of the two lots a distance of 10 inches, and has put up the foundation walls, and is now engaged in the erection of the new house, in part, upon the plaintiff's lot and lands, thereby enlarging the frontage of the defendant's lot, and diminishing the frontage of the plaintiff's lot, on West Washington street. The bill also charges that the erection of the building, the digging of the cellar, and the construction of the foundation walls will cause irreparable damage to the rights and property of the plaintiff, and that she is without remedy, except in a court of equity. The prayer of the bill, in addition to the prayer for general relief, is for an injunction to restrain and enjoin the defendant from proceeding further in the erection of the house upon the plaintiff's lot. The defendant, in his answer, admits that the plaintiff is the owner of the lot of ground as alleged in the bill, but denies that this lot has a frontage of 46 feet on Washington street. The answer further denies that the defendant has trespassed on the plaintiff's property, or crossed the line dividing the two lots of ground, on the lot of the plaintiff, in the building of the wall, but says that he is within the lines of his own property as the same is designated on the plan of Hagerstown. It also denies that the plaintiff is entitled to the relief prayed, or any relief at all. The plaintiff obtained a preliminary injunction on the 19th of June, 1901, which was subsequently made perpetual, after a hearing of the case on a motion to dissolve, and on answer filed and proof taken; and it is from the decree thus granted that this appeal has been taken.
The main question presented on this appeal is whether the appellee has made out a case for equitable relief by writ of injunction. The law is well settled that an...
To continue reading
Request your trial