Birch v. Lake Roland Elevated Railway Co.

Citations

• 83 Md. 362
• 34 A. 1013
• 1896 Md. LEXIS 66

Syllabus

<p>Injury to Property from Elevated Railway—Measure of Damages— Evidence.</p> <p>An elevated railway was constructed in the city of Baltimore under an ordinance which provided that the company should be responsible for injuries judicially ascertained to be inflicted thereby upon private ' property. In an action by the owner of land abutting upon a street • used by the elevated railway'to recover damages, held, that if plaintiff’s property was injuriously affected by the construction of the railway, he was entitled to recover, and the measure of damages is the difference between the rental or usable value of the property without the railway and said value as affected by the existence of the railway.</p> <p>, In such case, if plaintiff’s property was built for a livery stable and in its existing condition is available for that purpose only, he is entitled to recover for the diminution in the rental value of the property for the purpose of a livery stable.</p> <p>In the above action evidence is admissible on the part of the plaintiff to show that after the construction of the elevated road he had reduced the rent of the premises reserved by a lease, because he and his tenant believed that the railway would have an injurious effect upon the usable value of the property.</p>