Detroit v. Detroit Citizens' Street Railway Co.

Citations

• 184 U.S. 368
• 22 S. Ct. 410
• 46 L. Ed. 592
• 1902 U.S. LEXIS 2279

Syllabus

<p>The Detroit Citizens’ Street Railway Company, at the time this action was commenced, was operating upwards of one hundred and thirty-five miles of street railways in Detroit, under grants and permissions made by the city government of Detroit, and by the statutes of Michigan set forth in . the statement of facts and in the opinion of the court in this case. This litigation arises out of the differ'entYonstructions placed by the parties upon the statutes of Michigan, called respectively the Tram-railway Act, and the Street-railway Act, both m force when said company acquired its 'powers. The provisions made by those statutes are summed up in the statement of facts. Held:</p> <p>(1) That this Was not such a case as on its face equity could have no juris- ' diction over, and that, considering the public interests involved, a case is made oüt for following the general rule that a defence of want of equity jurisdiction will not be recognized where it has not been taken by answer, or in any other manner, and is not insisted upon on the hearing before the court;</p> <p>(2) That there can be no question in this court as to the competency of a state legislature, unless prohibited by constitutional provisions, to authorize a municipal corporation to contract with a street railway company as to the rate of fares, and so to bind, during the specified period, <iny future common council from altering or in any way interfering with such contract;</p> <p>(3) That such a contract having once been made, the power of the city over the subject, so far as altering the rates of fare or other matters properly involved in and being a part of the contract, is suspended for the period of the running of the contract;</p> <p>(4) That binding agreements had been made and entered into, between the city on the one side and the companies on the other, relating to rates of fare, and such agreements could not be altered without the consent of both sides;</p> <p>(5) That those binding agreements c