Sears v. City of Akron

Citations

• 246 U.S. 242
• 38 S. Ct. 245
• 62 L. Ed. 688
• 1918 U.S. LEXIS 1539

Syllabus

<p>Mere incorporation and organization under the general laws of Ohio (Gen. Code, 1910, §§ 10128-10134,) with power to construct arid operate a hydro-electric power system at places designated in the certificate and to take water rights and riparian property for that purpose, does not imply a contract between the State and the company that the supply of water available shall not be diminished. Hence, a subsequent appropriation of the water by a city, acting under state authority, which involves no t«king of property acquired by the company by purchase or condemnation under its charter, does not operate to impair the obligation of the charter.</p> <p>Even if such a contract could be implied, an act of the legislature expressly authorizing’ such appropriation by the city should be treated as an exercise of the State’s power to amend the company’s charter, reserved by Art. XIII, § 2, of the Ohio constitution, and as revoking or modifying the contract by subordinating the company’s right to the right of the city.</p> <p>A hydro-electric company, organized under the general laws of Ohio with power of condemnation, adopted, through its board of directors, a plan of development involving the acquisition of the waters of a stream, with riparian land, and began certain condemnation proceedings, but never commenced construction work, and acquired ' none of the land until after the legislature had authorized a city to appropriate the water and the city, under an ordinance, had made the appropriation and practically constructed its works for using it. Held, that whatever preference the company may have gained under the general laws of the State, as against rival corporations and municipalities, its right of appropriation, no property having been acquired under it, was subject to the State’s reserved power exerted by the act of the legislature, and that the appropriation for the city was not an unconstitutional taking of the company’s property.</p> <p>A state statute held not to