Chester City v. Evans

Citations

• 32 Pa. Super. 641
• 1907 Pa. Super. LEXIS 65

Syllabus

<p>Road, law — Paving—Original pavement — Repair—Evidence—Burden of proof.</p> <p>Where a property owner resists payment of a municipal lien filed for paving a street with vitrified brick, on the ground of prior or original paving, the burden is upon him to show that at the time of the alleged original paving the street had been permanently improved by the city as a city street, and paved as such, and that the work had been done under the authority of those authorized to represent the city with the intention of changing the old roadway into a permanent city street.</p> <p>On a scire facias sur municipal lien for paving a street with vitrified brick, the defendant offered evidence which tended to show that the street in question some years before had been macadamized from curb to curb in such a manner as to change a clay road into a good, reasonably smooth, and substantial artificial highway. Prior to the macadamizing, the city council enacted a resolution requiring all property owners on the street to curb and pave the sidewalks in front of then-respective properties within thirty days. About six weeks afterwards the councils instructed thé street committee to advertise for proposals for macadamizing the street, and subsequently a contract was awarded, and the work of macadamizing done. The evidence showed that the council had from time to time ordered the bills to be paid to the contractor for the macadamizing, as the work progressed. Held, (1) that the evidence was sufficient to show that the macadamizing of the street had been done under the express authority and direction of the city council; (2) that the defendant was entitled to judgment on a verdict in his favor.</p>