Nanticoke Suburban Street Railway Co. v. People's Street Railway Co.

Citations

• 212 Pa. 395
• 61 A. 997
• 1905 Pa. LEXIS 627

Syllabus

<p>Street railways—Municipal consent—Reasonable time—Act of June 7, 1901, sec. 1, P. L. 514.</p> <p>Under the Act of June 7, 1901, sec. 1, P. L. 514, which requires that “the consent of the local authorities shall be promptly applied for, and shall have been obtained within three years from the date of the charter,” the question as to what is a reasonable time always depends upon the circumstances. The statute fixes two years as reasonable time for obtaining consent, and prima facie any application long enough beforehand to afford fair opportunity to the municipality to consider and act upon it within the two years would comply with the statutory requirement. But on the other hand, the intent of the statute is to push forward the work, not to hold it in abeyance, and the courts are at liberty at all times to inquire into the delay for the purpose of ascertaining whether the intention is to make an effort in good faith to get consent, or merely to shut out rival competitors as long as possible.</p> <p>If municipal consent has been promptly applied for, the want of it cannot be taken advantage of in any way to the prejudice of the company until the two years’ limit has expired; and the company notwithstanding a refusal of the municipality, is entitled to the full period to overcome objections.</p> <p>Where a street railway company has within a reasonable time applied for municipal consent, but such consent has not been given, and another company has filed extensions over the route of the first company, such company has the right, if the first company fails to obtain the municipal consent within two years from the date of its charter, to step into its place, and maintain the extensions.</p>