Barnes v. Philadelphia, Newtown & New York Railroad

Citations

• 27 Pa. Super. 84
• 1905 Pa. Super. LEXIS 7

Syllabus

<p>Deed — Boundaries—Streets—Vacation of streets — Act of May 9, 1889, P. L. 173.</p> <p>Upon a conveyance of land bounded by a street, unless otherwise provided, the grantee takes to the middle of the street, if the grantor owns thus far, subject to the public easement; and when the street is vacated, this portion of it reverts to the grantee.</p> <p>The designation of a street as a boundary in a conveyance of land of the grantor, whether opened or not, is an implied covenant by the grantor that it shall be open for the use of the grantee as a public way, and as a means of access to the land conveyed; and it is also a dedication of the street to a public use. If there is no subsequent vacation of the land as a street its status as a street remains unchanged. In such a case the Act of May 9, 1889, P. L. 173, does not apply, since that act applies only in the case of a town plot or plan of lots.</p> <p>The title of that act gives no notice of an intention to take from a grantor his estate in an unopened street, and vest it in an abutting owner; and for this reason, and because it takes from the grantor his property without due process of law, the constitution denies such an effect to the act.</p>