Laney v. Jasper

Citations

• 39 Ill. 46

Syllabus

<p>1. IuJOiTOTloiir—of the remedy io prevent or abate a nuisance. A court of chancery will sometimes relieve by injunction, though a suit at law may be maintained for the injury.</p> <p>3. But to authorize the intervention of a court of chancery, by way of injunction, to prevent or abate a nuisance, as in leading the surface water upon the land of another, there must be such an injury as, from its nature, is not susceptible of being adequately compensated by damages at law, or such as, from its continuance or permanent mischief, must occasion a constantly recuring grievance, not capable of being adequately compensated in damages, and which cannot be otherwise prevented but by an injunction.</p> <p>8. Therefore, a mere diminution of the value of property j>y the nuisance, without irreparable mischief, will not furnish any foundation for equitable relief.</p> <p>4. One of the most usual cases for this remedial interposition of a court of</p> <p>equity is, the obstruction of water-courses; and another is, the diversion of streams of water from mills. w</p> <p>5. But where a person, by means of a ditch dug upon his own land, throws the surface water upon adjacent land of another, at a place other than that where it would have been carried by the natural depression in the ground, there being no natural water-course, however, which is thereby diverted, the doctrine as to injunctions in cases of obstructing water-courses has no application, the remedy for injury resulting from such diversion of the surface water being complete at law.</p> <p>6. In this case, a party, by digging a ditch upon his own land, and running furrows upon the land of an adjacent proprietor, with the consent of the latter, diverted the surface water from where it would have been carried by a natural outlet for it, and lead it from his own land upon such adjacent land, thereby forming a gully upon the latter tract, which, being arable land, there was thereby a constantly recurring obstruction to its c