Brothers v. Pacific Coast Steamship Co.

Citations

• 122 Cal. 352
• 55 P. 1
• 1898 Cal. LEXIS 584

Syllabus

<p>Water Front—Control of Piers—Power of Harbor Commissioners— Construction op Code—Delegation of Authority.—Section 2524 of the Political Code, granting power to the harbor commissioners to “set apart and assign suitable wharves, berths, and landings for the exclusive use of vessels,” is to be construed as making the assigning dr setting apart of the use of the wharves and landings “exclusive” as against other vessels, and not as including the power to lease the piers, or to give the entire control and occupancy of a pier to the assignee. The power and control over the waterfront, vested in the harbor commissioners by the statute, cannot be delegated to third parties, and it cannot enable a steamship company to grant an exclusive privilege to one transfer company to solicit, upon the pier occupied by its vessels, the carrying of the baggage of passengers therefrom.</p> <p>Id.—Rival Transfer Companies—Injunction—Findings.—In an action by a transfer company to enjoin a steamship company, having the exclusive use of certain piers as against other vessels, from interfering with its use of the piers in the interest of a rival transfer company, where the court finds from sufficient evidence that the business of the, steamship company does not demand that the plaintiff should be excluded from the piers, a judgment enjoining such interference will be affirmed upon appeal.</p> <p>Id.—Regulation by Harbor Commissioners.—The matter of granting or refusing privileges to transfer companies to conduct their business upon the piers, is with the harbor commissioners alone, and is a matter which they should control and manage by i‘easonable rules and regulations.</p>