Los Angeles herald., 1891-05-26
THE COURTS.
AN IMPORTANT DECISION MADE BY
JUDGE VAN DYKE.
The Cemetsry Association VS.. the City.
Aaron Abbott on TRIAL for Perjury.
Pouyfourcat VS.. Nordholt.

Judge Van Dyke yesterday handed
down an important decision in the case
of the Los Angeles Cemetery association
vs. the City of Los Angeles. with judg-
ment and findings in favor of the de-
fendant. The case involves new point
of law in regard to the dedication of
land to public uses, and the suit has
been followed with such general inter-
est that the decision is given in full, as
follows:
"The law as applicable to the ques-
tion involved is not disputed by the
counsel, to-wit: The vital principle of
the dedication is the intention to dedi-
cate and whenever this is unequivocal-
ly manifested the dedication, SO far as
the owner of the soil is concerned, has
been made Time, therefore, though
otter material ingredient in the evil
dence, is not an indispensable Ingredient
in the act of dedication. If accepted
and used by the public in the manner
intended, the dedication is complete.
(Harding vs.. Josher, IA Cal. 643.)
''The plaintiff is corporation, and its
intentions can only be gathered from its
acts, and both adjoining property-hold-
ers and the public have construed it's
acts to mean an intention to dedicate
the strip in question for public street
purposes. Soon after acquiring its land
the plaintiff made and fled map
on which were delineated the us
ual avenues and plats OF cemetery
grounds. Along the southerly and
westerly sides were left blank colored
strips; that on the southerly side be-
ing in and now forming part of First
street. Following the inner or easterly
line of the 40 foot westerly strip-being
the land in ontroversy--trees were
planted to form hedge, and in 1885 the
plaintiff moved back its fence, which
had stood nearer to or on the westerly
or inner line. In the meantime the
| lands to the west had been laid out into
blocks and lots, with spaces between the
ran from First street to Brooklyn ave-
nue., along the westerly line of the strip
in controversy, 20 feet wide. which, to-
gether with said strip, formed street
60 feet wide called Cemetery avenue.
Parallel with First and Brooklyn
avenue anG midway between them is a
space known and used as Michigan ave-
nue.. This latter terminates on Ceme-
terry avenue opposite the carriage en-
trance to the cemetery grounds and is
used as a public way. Lots front on
Cemetery avenue on the westerly side,
many of which have been sold and are
occupied and improved. Since the
plaintiff moved its fence back the
strip called Cemetery avenue has
been used by the public as street and
has been travelled more than most OF the
cross streets in that section. To now
close it would be to shut off the occu-
pants of the lots in question from a
| street or limit them to a 20-foot alley,
and there would be no public road to the
cemetery gate.
~ think the only fair and reasonable
inference to be drawn from the acts OF
the plaintiff. under all the circumstan-
ces, is that it intended the strip of land
| in question should become, as it has by
use become, a public street, and that
dedication is therefore complete. Find
| ings and judgment are therefore ordered
| for defendant. VAN DYKE, T."
The Cemetery association sued to
| quiet their title to strip of land forty
feet wide in Cemetery avenue, one Of
the streets bounding the graveyard.
ON TRIAL FOR PERJURY.
| The trial OF Aaron Abbott on charge
of perjury, alleged to have been COM
mitted in the police court in the latter
part Of February, when Abbott was on
trial for vagrancy, was commenced yes
terday in department one Of the superior
court before Judge Smith. The alleged
perjury consisted of Abbott's swearing
on the stand in the Justices court that
he visited the house OF Lottie Miller, an
Alameda-street prostitute, only two
times between February 10Th and March
I'd Of this year, and on those two
occasions he went to- the house in the
capacity Of paperhanger, and for that