The Corporation in the Street

Authors

Charles C. Dibble

Abstract

The modern street is not a simple roadway, but a complicated three-story structure in the use of which the general public, the city government, the abutting property owner and the licensed corporation are interested. Not often are streets so limited in capacity as the one in Frankfort, Kentucky, which was so narrow that the passage of a railroad train would have all but filled it, a condition which led the court to enjoin the construction of a track, though duly authorized. Generally there is room for all, and the use of the streets has been granted with the greatest liberality. The occupants, being numerous, have interfered with each other more or less. It is the purpose of this paper to define the rights and duties of the various co-owners and co-tenants toward each other and toward third persons. A highway may come into existence by prescription, by dedication, and by condemnation. A highway by prescription is always an easement of the extent indicated by the user (which is usually held to include a reasonable amount of land beside the track actually traveled). A highway by condemnation or dedication is such as the decree or grant describes it, with a presumption in favor of an easement.

Recommended Citation

Charles C. Dibble, The Corporation in the Street, 6 Mich. L. Rev. 624 (1908).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol6/iss8/1