Norris v. Pittsburgh, Bessemer & Lake Erie R. R.

Citations

• 278 Pa. 549
• 123 A. 483
• 1924 Pa. LEXIS 442

Syllabus

<p>Railroads — Eminent domain — Widening track — Taking of dwelling house — Equity—Acts of March 17, 1869, P. L. 12, and June 19, 1871, P. L. 1860 — Inquiry by Commonwealth — Courts—Jurisdiction,</p> <p>1. Where a railroad company has condemned a strip of land under the Act of March 17, 1869, P. L'. 12, for the purpose of widening its tracks, the owner cannot, under the Act of June 19, 1871, P. L. 1360, maintain a bill in equity to restrain such taking, on the ground that it will render her dwelling uninhabitable, destroy a spring, and cut off access to a public road, or on the ground that the land taken was not necessary or not intended for corporate use.</p> <p>2. The Act of 1869 extended the power of railroad companies to condemn dwelling houses for widening purposes.</p> <p>3. The fact that a railroad company is condemning land for other than corporate purposes, can only be inquired into by the Commonwealth; the Act of June 19, 1871, P. L. 1360, confers no such power on the courts in a suit by an individual.</p>