Plymouth Township v. Chestnut Hill & Norristown Railway

Citations

• 168 Pa. 181
• 32 A. 19
• 1895 Pa. LEXIS 775

Syllabus

<p>Street railways — Municipal consent — Act of May 14, 1889 — Equity.</p> <p>The right of local authorities to give their consent or refusal to a street railway company to construct their road is derived from the constitution and not from the act of May 14, 1889, P. L. 217 ; and the railway company must take such consent upon such conditions as the local authorities may impose, or not at all.</p> <p>The provision in the act of May 14, 1889, that the company shall complete its road within two years after the consent of the local authorities, unless the time shall be extended by such authorities, does not prevent the local authorities from making it a condition of their consent that the railway shall be completed within a time less than two years.</p> <p>Where the time limit is, by express stipulation of the contract, one of the conditions on which the consent is given, time is of the essence of the contract, to protect the public in their right to the prompt enjoyment of the benefits accruing to them from the franchise. If, therefore, the railway company does not complete its railway within the time stipulated, and the local authorities revoke their consent for breach of this condition, they will have a standing in equity to prevent the company from constructing its railway.</p>