New Orleans Water-Works Co. v. Rivers

Citations

• 115 U.S. 674
• 6 S. Ct. 273
• 29 L. Ed. 525
• 1885 U.S. LEXIS 1880

Syllabus

<p>A legislative grant of an exclusive right to supply water to a municipality and its inhabitants, through pipes and mains laid in the public streets, and upon condition of the performance of the service by the grantee, is a grant of a franchise vested in the State, in consideration of the performance of a public service, and, after performance by the grantee, is a contract protected by the Constitution of the United States against State legislation to impair it.</p> <p>An exclusive franchise granted to supply water to the inhabitants of a municipality by means of pipes and mains laid through the public streets is violated by a grant to an individual in the municipality of the right to supply his premises with water by means of a pipe or pipes so laid.</p>