Moser v. Philadelphia, Harrisburg & Pittsburg Railroad

Citations

• 233 Pa. 259
• 82 A. 362
• 1912 Pa. LEXIS 816

Syllabus

<p>Railroads — Sidings—Right to construct siding^-Ovmership of mills and manufactories — Discrimination—Lease.</p> <p>■ 1. The right to siding connection with a railroad as a specific privilege is purely statutory. It is not incident to adjoining ownership, but to the ownership of mills and manufactories in the vicinity of the railroad; and the right is given whenever such ownership has associated with it the right, however acquired, whether through ownership of all the.land between mill or manufactory and the railroad, or by privilege, through grant, license or otherwise of an intervening owner, to construct a siding from the mill or manufactory up to the line of the railroad.</p> <p>2. Where a railroad company leases its railroad to another railroad company, and thereafter a neighboring owner of land on which are quarries and lime kilns acquires by purchase other land lying between her land and the railroad right of way, she acquires the right to a siding at the time of the purchase of such other land, and if a siding is refused her, and such refusal involves an illegal discrimination against her, her right of action for the wrong sustained is against the lessee company, and she cannot maintain a suit therefor against the lessor company.</p> <p>Railroads — Lease—Recognition of validity of lease — Estoppel of record — Equity. ■</p> <p>3. Where an owner of land files a bill in equity against two railroad companies to compel the construction of a siding, and it appears that one of the defendant companies was the lessee of the other as to the line of railroad in question, and the suit involves an assertion by the complainant of the validity of the lease, the latter cannot in a subsequent action for damages against the lessor company for wrongful discrimination in refusing the siding, be heard to deny the validity of the lease. She is estopped of record by a previous equity suit.</p> <p>Res adjudícala — Estoppel—Equity—Railroad.</p> <p>4. The judgment of a court of con