Demartini v. City of San Francisco

Citations

• 107 Cal. 402
• 40 P. 496
• 1895 Cal. LEXIS 767

Syllabus

<p>Streets — Opening by Street Superintendent — Injunction by Lot-owner—Evidence op Title—Possession—Burden op Proof.—In an action by a lotowner to enjoin the superintendent of streets from removing the improvements from his lot and. opening it up for a public street it is not necessary that the plaintiff, in order to maintain the action, should establish title in fee, but it is only necessary to show actual possession of the lot at the time of bringing the suit, and such possession is presumptive evidence of title, and ic is incumbent on the defendants to show a right to open up the street m order to defeat the action.</p> <p>Id.—Findings—Dedication of Land for Street—Sufficiency of Evidence..—Where the court finds that the street sought to be opened has never been more than a cul-de-sac, and never extended across the plaintiff’s lot, no part of which had ever been dedicated, accepted, or used as a public street or highwa)', and the evidence tends to show that whatever user there was of plaintiff’s lot by the public was a mere sufferance or permissive use by the owners of the fee, and there is no evidence of unequivocal intent by the owners to dedicate the land to public use, the finding will not be disturbed upon appeal.</p> <p>Id.—Effect of User—Intention to Dedicate.—While user may be sufficient to show an acceptance by the public of an offer to dedicate, it is not sufficient of itself to establish dedication by the owner, except it appear clearly that such user was with the knowledge and consent of the owner, or without his objection, and under such circumstances as fairly to give rise to the presumption that the owner intended to dedicate to such use.</p> <p>Id.—Official Maps of Oitv—Description of Street.—The fact that the street in dispute appears to have been laid down upon the engineer’s map and other official maps of the city, as a part of a street or alley, raises no conclusive presumption that the land has become a public street either by dedication or