New-York tribune., 1902-04-12
CITY BEGINS BIG SUITS.
CLAIMS AGAINST STREET
RAILWAYS.
ACTIONS TO RECOVER COST OF REPAY
ING WITHIN AND ADJOINING
SURFACE LINES.

VIII lie IllVItStSu III hiloNNii4o
suits aggregating about S1,ooe.oo2 have been
- s},o,,t ia he brought by the city against
~ e+raa+ railway cornpanies for the cost OF
oirs 10 ravements within and adjoining
eject railroad tracks. This statement is rlaoe
- he authority CT George L. RiVes, corpora
+.or counsel The following correspondence Is
seIf-explanatory:
Hon. George l. Rives, Corporation Counsel Ci's 'i
Dear 8st95s me trans9Fiptd 6Sr4 date Gt an on
PnioR3 ~ PE M the as CG6pS5Gb 46 6e abi5y Of street railways
sT the cost OF repairs the pavements within ana ana
6sTteTe ana the special laws from which all OF
these companies derive Their 9oweTs- ,, companies
were responsible for the outlays made by the citS
t8ree tST te patte bills sahs twenty different street
raiiWa! corI2It0l55' 5 sr 81 1Sei We're made
oIt and forwarded to the chief clerk of the Depart
ESt ' MIN NJ st1it thereon to enforce the city's
ii having appeared several months lateT that nie jhe
and further instructions were sent February 90
inquiry was made of the Corporation CoGnsels
Office several months ago as to the status 1 2I these
Wl YOU kindly inform me whether or not these
fbaTre has %e5f and wheihr any 70 steps @ ookng toward 6e
enforcement Of the eitys claims %ere taken: II /.
your Office. ] would like your permission TO have
sGRsa ss4ian Of the bills made for the use Of nS @7"
shan be pleased to supply YOU with coplgs Q:
the abstracts from the charter and the tarious
Please, favor with early reply. Very re-
Sfe''-1-' FREDERICK E. DE BERARD.
For the Merchants Association OF NewYork-
March %. 1902
Frederick 3 De Berard: Esq, for the Merchants
Dear Sir: am in recent OF your favor Of March
sghty-tree separate bills against twenty different
tween January !, lsSS and DECEMBER 81, lSsi. Tor
the cost OF repairs to payenentS within and adjol-
cbieF clerk Of the Desrtnt IT Of Piibii Wor
LIZ ~ ie | ~ ieC M n VI ~ uo1lC m W nVnn' ,'
poratlon Counsel for the purpose of having suits
ever received by This department. You state that
no definite Information could be gained by you
ton Counsefs office the status of the matter.
uf the bills whether suits have been begun to re-
cover their amount from the railway companies. A
service Of a summons in each case, and complaints
Some OF them are now at issue and will be reached
for trial in due course A number Of other actions
D paving within nd about the tracks Of Certain fa5
aggregafe OF the Claims upon which actions either
have BEEN or are about TO be brought by the city
fpSeF na my diDe0f0n Will be in the nesh0oFhood of
1t is proper that 1 should state that recovery by
the city in every case is by means assured. not
tanning testimony essential the. ctys recovery.
but also because of questions of law which have
not as yet been settled and failure, by no, means
suthoTities to observe certain egai forTaiites in
i should be glad to receive copies of the cor
7espondence and abstracts from the charters and
rarious statutes referred to in your letter. have
copy Of the opinion Of the Corporation Counsel
March &C. 1902 '''''''''
In letter to Commissioner OF Public Works
Brookfeld dated May %, 1895, Francis NJ
Scott Corporation Counsel. wrote in acknowl-
sdging the receipt of letter from General Col
lis Deputy Commissioner of Public Works:
] have noted with interest the position taken by
General Inspector Mr.. Nicholas r. O'Connor o
the effect OF Section IS OF Chapter $50 of the Laws
am inclined to think shat Your department may
Ploperiy insist that tns very general provision OF
pilaton may be held to apply any existing
railroad on Manhattan Island. 1t is taken from
nsp{er s{e az z of & he Laws OF lS$4 known as the
act undoubtedly applied only to corporations OBJ
Tdsons sans franchises IN accordance with It's pro-
Its language has, however. been so changed by
tne legislature in cOdifying the laws relating TO
railroad corporations that it may well be that the
Intention on the part % Of the legisaSDre to do what
Is hs anat3uDtediy t within its power namely, to i'm
road companies. regardless of the time and of the
aef under which they might be organized.
Your Gepartment viii. think, be justified in in
N so%n g99n ~ h oSs to- M and i it be eRbb bo
nn6 SItUuS s. rallroad am Companies in this city may be
am yours T truly ~ "'i FRSNGfs is SY''saSerrF NJ sGoTF
Counsel to the Corporation
Frederick 3. De Berard of the Merchants
Association, in converse ton yesterday with d
tribune reporter regarding these suits, said;
These suits begun in 1896 when the
summonses were served, but the complaints
We're served only a few days ago. F. c. North,
Water PurVeyor, who has charge OF the repav-
ng Of the streets took the initiative in this
Ter in 1885, by submitting the question 10 the
Commissioner Of Public Works through the Cor
+ poralon Counsel The latter held that the COM
panles We're liable and suit begun Mr.
Aorths statement of fact. Nothing, however,
has been done from that time to shis The
eIAifhs OF the city at that time related to Man
nallan and The Bronx only, the old city of New
aoiK but now the cartracks in Brooklyn ana
nlalen Island are also considered to be liable.
The amount Of money sued for is the amount
PAID by the city to repair the damage to the
raFen'en's caused by the railroad companies
me laying OF the tracks in the streets concen-
rates the traffic in a very space which
wears out the payements very Since the
trolley cars came into operation, il has been
opseINeo that the vibration destroys the asphalt
worse than horses. The cars are heavier and
are run AT higher speed than the old horsecars
Sorporatcn Counsel Rives said to Tribune
elgr'er 'g Yesterday III regard to these suits;
ine lorce in this office is so small in com
ason "lth the work we have to do that
-. s uiliig mat can be put off is put of In
SUIT against the city the plaintiff is anxious to
- Hie sult on as soon possible. When the
Stg however Is suing the Metropolitan Street
NanMdy company, for example. the defendant
= hot n any hurry But, before the courts ad-
youfn VIII try 10 take up all cases in which
the city is plaintiff Many cases of this charac-
- CaHlol DE pushed at present, because there
aie so many cases in which the city is the de-
lehoant want the Board of Estimate To give
me more help. ] very conscious that this
business of suits in which She city is plaintiff
mas been much neglected of late years 1t is
natural that this should be So because we have
NOT The necessary force 7 have enough high
priced mea but want more juniors prepare
Eases for rial need more clerical help. We
are also tying to collect taxes the amount of
which is very much greater than the 81. 900 900
involved in these railroad suits ..