Rieman v. Baltimore Belt Railroad

Fowler, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. This is an action of ejectment. The plaintiff owns a lot on the southeast corner of Howard and German streets, in the city of Baltimore, fronting twenty-five feet on the south side of German street, with an even depth of eighty feet. The defendant was duly authorized by the Legislature and the Mayor, &c., of Baltimore, to construct a tunnel under the bed of Howard street, and as constructed in front of the plaintiff’s lot, the tunnel in no way obstructs traffic, its lowest point being sixty and its highest point, or top, fifteen feet below the surface of the street.

It also ap ⁷⁵ pears that at this place the tunnel occupies a strip of land sixteen feet and seven inches wide, east of the centre line of Howard street. The plaintiff claims that under a proper construction of his deed, he owns to the centre line of Howard street, and if he be correct in this contention, he must recover, it being conceded that the tunnel at this point extends more than sixteen feet east of the line which the plaintiffs claim as the western boundary of his lot. And the sole question, therefore, is whether the plaintiff’s lot extends to the centre of Howard street or only to the east side thereof, and the solution of this question depends upon the proper construction of one deed, namely, that of Deborah Hoffman to The Corporation for the Relief of Widows, &c., of the Clergy, &c., dated January 24, 1839, and recorded among the Land Records of Baltimore County (now city), in Liber T. K., No. 289, folio 480, &c. The description, which is the only part of the deed we are now concerned with, is as follows: “ Beginning * * * at the southeast corner or intersection of Howard and German streets, and running thence easterly, bounding on German street, twenty-five feet; then southerly, parallel with Howard street, eighty feet, to a nine-foot alley; then westerly, bounding on said alley, to Howard street, twenty-five feet; and thence northerly, bounding on Howard street, to the place of beginning.” The plaintiff offered a number of prayers, all based upon his construction of the foregoing description, that his lot extended to the middle of the street, but the learned Judge below instructed the jury that he was not entitled to recover, and the verdict and judgment being against him, he has appealed.

The case was elaborately argued, but in our opinion, the question presented has been settled by decisions of this Court in cases substantially similar to this. In the first place, we will examine the language of the deed. The beginning point of the lot conveyed is the southeast corner or intersection of Howard and German streets, and this point of inter ⁷⁶ section must be at the point where the east side of Howard street and the south side of German street intersect, for these lines, and no other, can form “the southeast corner of Howard and German streets.” The beginning point being thus clearly placed on the cast side of Howard street', the lines of the lot, according to the deed, are as follows: Easterly, bounding on German street; then by two courses to Howard street; and thence, bounding on Howard street, to the place of beginning, which place of beginning we have seen is on the east side of said last-named street. We think it is evident there was no intention manifested by the grantor in the deed under consideration to convey any portion of the bed of Howard street.

For it must be conceded that the beginning point is on the east side of Howard street, and it is also clear that the end of the fourth and last line of the lot is at the same point. And this being so, it is not reasonable to suppose that it was the intention of the grantor that the third line should run beyond the east side of Howard street to the centre, line thereof, and thence to the place of beginning. The result of this would be to convey a triangular lot or strip of land in the bed of Howard street, bounding neither on Howard street nor on the centre line thereof — which would certainly not be consistent with the description found in the deed. In the case of Sibley v. Holden, 10 Pick. 249 , in considering a case very similar to the one now before us, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts uses this language: “ The question is whether when the description returns to the road again, it shall be taken to mean the side or the centre of the road.

If construed to the centre, then the remaining line would be neither by the side of the road nor the centre, but by a diagonal line from a point in the centre to a point in the side. This would not only be obscure and inconsistent with any supposed intention of the parties, but repugnant to the last clause in the description which is ‘ by the said road/ to the place of beginning.” And continuing, the Court says, “ as one point in this line is fixed by the ⁷⁷ description to the side of the road, we are satisfied that by a just and necessary construction the other point must be taken to be at the same side of the road, and therefore the soil of the road is not included.” It is contended that the case just cited has been repudiated, even in Massachusetts, and the case of Dean v. Lowell, 135 Mass. 55 , was