Lake Roland Elevated Railway Co. v. Hibernian Society

Bryan, J., delivei'ed the opinion of the Court. The Hibernian Society of Baltimox'e, a body coipox-ate and politic, brought suit against the Lake Roland Elevated Railway Company for damages alleged to have been caused to its lot of ground and improvements by the elevated structux-e of the defendant. The suit was tried on the plea of non cut. ⁴³¹ The plaintiff offered evidence tending to show that this structure had caused damage to its property, which was variously estimated from five thousand to ten thousand dollars. The defendant offered testimony tending to prove that the building and maintenance of the structure had increased the market value of the property.

This question was fairly submitted to the jury and decided by them. The defendant, however, contends that the plaintiff was barred by an estoppel from maintaining this suit. It offered evidence that a gentleman, who was president of the Hibernian Society, and several of its members, had signed a paper heartily approving of the elevated road, and expressing the hope that the Legislature would ratify the ordinance of the Mayor and City Council, which authorized its construction. It also offered in evidence the minutes of the society and certain of its by-laws.

There is no evidence whatever that the signers of this petition had any authority to represent the society, or that they assumed to have any such authority, or that the society in any way recognized, approved or adopted their action. The gentleman who was president at the time when the memorial was signed died in August, 1892. The names of twenty-two persons are appended to the printed copy of the memorial which was offered in evidence. Sixteen of them were examined in behalf of the defendant.

Some of them deny having signed and some do not remember whether they signed or not. But not one of them, according to his testimony, represented, or professed to represent, the Hibernian Society. The by-laws offered in evidence show that neither the president nor any of them had any such authority. The minutes of the society show no action authorizing or ratifying the memorial, and it is shown that the subject of the railway had never been brought to its attention at any meeting until December 1st, 1892, when the masonry of the elevated structure was two feet high, and that a committee appointed at that meeting called, on the following day, on the counsellor of the society and instructed him to institute legal proceedings ⁴³² to stop the work.

The evidence offered by the defendant was admitted, subject to exception. It utterly fails to impose on the Hibernian Society any responsibility whatever for the memorial. On the motion of the plaintiff’s counsel, the Court excluded it from the consideration of the jury. There was then no question founded on it for the jury, and those prayers of the defendant were properly rejected which maintained that it