The Saint Paul globe., 1899-08-03
FIRE NOT IDENTIFIED
SUPREME COURT REVERSES A DE-
CESION INVOLVING QUESTION
OF FOREST FIRE
BRENNAN LUMBER COMPANY

Had Secured Heavy Verdict
Against the Great Northern Rail-
way Company Which the Higher
Court Decides Was Not Warrant
ed by the Facts as Presented ON
the Trial.
The supreme court yesterday reversed
the findings of the lower court in a
suit brought against the Great Northern
railroad by the Brennan Lumber COM
pany, of this city, in which a verdict
of $4,000 was entered against the rail-
road company. 1t was claimed that a
spark from one of the Great Northern
locomotives set a fire which destroyed
a large tract of the lumber company's
pine land and the damage was placed
at $13O,OOO but the jury cut it down to
$67 900.
The case rested upon two points: First,
was the Great Northern responsible for
the fire? and second, the amount of
damages. A great number of witnesses
were examined in the district court of
Pine county at Hinckley, the lumber
company being represented by Messrs.
Clapp and Mccarthy and the Great
Northern by M. D. Grover and Cyrus
Wellington. The supreme court ho,ds
that in this case the jury could not as
a legitimate inference from all the
facts in the case have rendered a verdict
against the railroad company.
The case is very important one to
railroad companies If the judgment
of ho< Ill
stand it might have opened the door to
an endless chain of suits to recover
property lost in the Hinckley fire.
The reversing opinion was written by
Judge Buck, and the syllabus is as fol-
lows
Brennan Lumber Company, respondent,
VS.. Great Northern Railway company,
appellant.
Sylabus-Evidence in thiss case consid-
cred and held that it did not sufficiently
appear that the fire which destroyed
plaintiffs property was traced or iden-
titled as having been started by the de-
fendant. Order reversed. Buck, J.
PROPERTY LINES
In a local controversy over the prop
erty lines of premises belonging to Hiram
F. Stevens, Judge Kelly, George Benz
and others, the supreme court sends the
case back to the district court with in
structiOns to proceed to establish the
property lines The court holds that the
law on the subject is not unconsttu-
tional The case involves property be-
longing to the parties named on Sher-
burne avenue. The syllabus is as fol-
lows:
George Benz, respondent, VS.. City of
st. Paul ct al, defendants, respond
ents; St. Paul Title Insurance and
Trust Co. ct al, appellants.
Syllabus-The title of chapter IS, Cen
eral Laws of 1893, reads as follows: An
act to provide for fixing and establish
ing boundary lines of lands by civil ac-
ton The law itself provides that
when the lines and boundaries of two or
more tracts of land depend upon any
common point, line or land mark the
owner or any person interested in any
of such tracts may bring an action
against the owners or persons interested
in the other tracts to have all the Doun-
dartes fixed and established, and for this
purpose the court shall try and deter
mine any actual claim in respect to any
portion of the land involved which 1t
may be necessary to determine for a
complete settlement of the boundary
lines involved.
Held that this law is not unconstitu-
tional as embracing more than one sub
ject, and this subject is expressed in its
utIe- Buck. J.