Seeley v. Bridges
| Decision Date | 30 December 1882 |
| Citation | 14 N.W. 524,13 Neb. 547 |
| Parties | SEELEY v. BRIDGES & JOHNSON. |
| Court | Nebraska Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Appeal from Saline county.
Marquett & Deweese, for plaintiff.
O. P. Mason, for defendant.
The defendants are the owners of a mill on the Blue river, near the city of Crete, the machinery being propelled by water. They, or at least Bridges and his then partner, Baltzly, built a mill and erected a dam across the river in 1869, the exact height of which does not appear, but in the fall of 1870 it was raised to 10 feet 2 inches. In 1879 the mill was burned and the defendants commenced the erection of a larger mill, and in 1881 sought to raise their dam to 11 feet. The plaintiff is also the owner of a mill-site on the same river, on which he has commenced to erect a mill and mill-dam above that of the defendants, and sought to enjoin them from raising their dam, alleging that by doing so the back water from the defendants' mill would render his mill-site of no value. The defendants, in their answer and cross-petition, ask for an injunction restraining the plaintiff from erecting a mill-dam at that point, alleging that it is within their mill-dam, and they will thereby be greatly injured, etc.
The court found the following facts:
“That the plaintiff, Charles Seeley, is the owner of real estate as stated in the petition, and that the defendants are the owners of real estate as set forth in their answer, and that the Big Blue river flows through both tracts of land,--first through the lands of plaintiff and then through the lands of defendants.
The court further find that one of the defendants, Bridges, with one Baltzly, purchased the lands which the defendants own at the present time in the year of 1869, and in that year built a mill and mill-dam thereon; that in the year 1875 Baltzly sold his interest in said mill property, and that in the same year the defendant Johnson, by purchase, became the owner of an undivided one-half interest in such mill, mill-dam, and mill-site, and that since that time the defendants have been the owners of said mill, mill-dam, and mill-site. The court further finds that in the fall of 1879 the mill belonging to the defendants was burned down; that said mill had cost and was worth from twelve to fifteen thousand dollars; that in August, 1880, defendants commenced to lay their plans for rebuilding a new mill on the old site, and that, up to the time the injunction in this case was served, they had expended in building the new mill, for machinery, flume, and dam upon said premises, $41,000, and they have now expended the sum of $44,000. The court further finds that the land described in the petition and upon which is situated the proposed mill-site and dam of the plaintiff, Charles Seeley, belonged to and was owned by J. C. Bickle on the twenty-fourth day of December,...
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