Southern Rock Products Co. v. Self

• Decision Date: 31 March 1966
• Docket Number: 6 Div. 218
• Citation: 279 Ala. 488,187 So.2d 244
• Parties: SOUTHERN ROCK PRODUCTS COMPANY, Inc. v. Guy L. SELF et al.
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

Page 244

187 So.2d 244

279 Ala. 488

SOUTHERN ROCK PRODUCTS COMPANY, Inc. v. Guy L. SELF et al.

6 Div. 218.

Supreme Court of Alabama.

March 31, 1966.

Berkowitz, Lefkovits, Vann, Patrick & Smith, Birmingham, for appellant.

Bishop & Carlton, Birmingham, for appellees.

SIMPSON, Justice.

This is an appeal from the denial of a preliminary injunction sought by the appellant against the building inspector of the City of Trussville and the chief of police of the City of Trussville, and the City of Trussville, a municipal corporation.

The appellant is an Alabama corporation in the business of quarrying limestone and sought this injunction to restrain the appellees from interfering with appellant in the operation of its business. The bill alleged that appellant would suffer irreparable loss if the temporary injunction were not issued. The court denied the injunction and this appeal followed.

All of the facts are not undisputed. Basically, it appears that the appellant negotiated with one Appleton for the rights to quarry and remove limestone from Appleton's property which is situated within the police jurisdiction, but outside the city limits of the City of Trussville. Shortly after the negotiations with the landowner had been concluded and an agreement worked out, the appellant met with the members of the Planning Board of the City of Trussville and with its building inspector to discuss the proposed quarrying operation on the property involved. At the conclusion of that meeting the Planning Board voted in favor of the following motion:

'Mr. Braden moved that the Planning Board recommend that the Building Inspector be authorized to issue the necessary permits and license to get this operation underway and that we welcome them to Trussville.'

The appellant contends that following this meeting he was issued a business license. He was told that the building permit required by the ordinances of the city would be forthcoming and professes to have been assured that there would be no objection to the operation of the quarry by the City of Trussville. Following this meeting, the appellant entered into several agreements, the final agreement with the landowner to pay him $1,000 per month for not less than four years after the quarrying operations were commenced. Appellant agreed to supply customers varying amounts of limestone which it anticipated obtaining from the operation of the quarry on the property in question.

At no time was the building permit issued by the city, although the appellant made application for one. Subsequent to the meeting referred to above, the City of Trussville returned to appellant the amount it had paid for the business license. In response to appellant's application for a building permit or license, it is argued by the appellees that the City Building Inspector made a thorough investigation of the applications and concluded that

'* * * the operation proposed by Southern Rock Products Company for which they sought a permit in applications dated March 22 and April 13, 1965, would cause noise, vibration, fumes, dust and other objectionable conditions which would affect a considerable portion of Trussville.'

The property in question is classified by ordinance of the appellee City of Trussville as M--2 General Industry and the ordinance with respect thereto provides:

'USES PERMITTED: Any industrial, service or commercial use, except those which in the opinion of the Building Inspector would cause noise, smoke, gas, vibration, fumes, dust, or other objectionable conditions which would affect a considerable...