Chicago & Alton Railroad v. Maher

Citations

• 91 Ill. 312

Syllabus

<p>1. Assignment—what may not be assigned so as to pass legal title. A cause of action on a verbal contract, or for an injury to the person or property of another, is not, under our law, assignable so as to pass the right of action to the assignee.</p> <p>2. A right of action for a trespass to land, or for a wrongful act resulting in injury to land, can not be transferred to another by an instrument m writing for that purpose, or by conveying the land. Such a right of action is not appurtenant to the land, and does not, like a covenant for title, inhere to or run ivith the land. - It is a personal right, and is not transferable.</p> <p>3. Where a railroad company placed a protection to a draw-bridge in a river, whereby the approach of vessels to a dock was obstructed, and the value of the lot upon which the dock was placed was permanently depreciated, and, afterwards, the owner of the lot and dock sold the same to his wife, and conveyed the legal title to her, it was held, that she could not maintain any action against the company for placing the obstruction in front of the dock.</p> <p>4. Former, recovery—when a bar to suit for continuing injury. AVhere 'an injury to real estate is permanent in its nature, and not of a temporary character, the owner may recover not only for the present, but also for future damages, as, for the depreciation in the value of the property caused by the erection of an obstruction or nuisance, and such a recovery will be a bar to any other suits for damages growing out of the continuance of the cause of the injury.</p> <p>5. Action—when for a continuance of an injury. Where an injury is caused to real estate by a cause of a permanent character, after which the owner of the property so injured conveys the same to another, his grantee can not maintain an action for the continuance of the cause of the injury, although the former owner may not have brought any suit for the original injury.</p>