Mellor v. City of Philadelphia

Citations

• 160 Pa. 614
• 28 A. 991
• 1894 Pa. LEXIS 854

Syllabus

<p>Road law — Change of grade of street — Cutting off ingress and egress— Consequential damages — Constitution, art. 16, sec. 8.</p> <p>Article 16, section 8, of the constitution of 1874, which provides that compensation shall be made for property injured or destroyed by public works, is not limited merely to property fronting or abutting on the particular works, highway or improvement by the construction or enlargement of which the property is injured or destroyed, but applies to any works which are sufficiently near to the property to make the injury proximate, immediate and substantial.</p> <p>Plaintiffs’ houses fronted on a street running along the line of a railroad. Two other streets crossed at grade the railroad, and the street upon which the houses were situated. To avoid the grade crossings the city depressed the two cross streets fifteen feet, so that the streets could go-under the railroad. Access to plaintiffs’ houses by vehicles was thus entirely cut off. Held, that plaintiffs were entitled to recover damages from the city for the depreciation in the value of their houses.</p> <p>Damages — Release—Evidence.</p> <p>In the above case, where the proceedings were as to one of the streets, it was not improper upon plaintiffs’ releasing damages as to the other street in other proceedings, to admit testimony tending to show the damages resulting not merely from lowering the grade of one of the streets, but from changing the grades of both streets.</p>