Southwest Pennsylvania Pipe Lines v. Rodgers Sand Co.

Citations

• 43 Pa. Super. 524
• 1910 Pa. Super. LEXIS 85

Syllabus

<p>Waters — Rivers—Rights of riparian owners — Evidence—Expert.</p> <p>1. The rights of riparian owners under the common law in England do not apply to the principal rivers of Pennsylvania. The owners cannot occupy them to the prejudice of navigation.</p> <p>2. Navigable rivers are subject to the control and regulation of the secretary of war.</p> <p>3. Where the secretary of war issues a permit to a pipe line company to lay its pipes under and across a navigable river, and he also issues a permit to another company for dredging sand and gravel in the same river, and the pipe line company charges the dredging company with injuring its pipe line, and the evidence is conflicting as to the negligence of both companies in the exercise of the permissions to use the river under their respective permits, the question of negligence is for the jury.</p> <p>4. Where in such a case a witness for the pipe line company testifies as to a long continued experience in repairing bréales in pipe lines, he may be permitted to express an opinion as to what caused the particular break in question.</p> <p>5. Where a question to a witness is objected to and in part sustained, and exception noted, and thereafter another question is asked the witness, which ho answers without objection, the second question and answer cannot be used as a basis for an assignment of error inasmuch as no exception was taken to it.</p>