Norwich bulletin., 1918-07-13
COURT MUST DECIDE
 WHO OWNS THE WALL
To Give Decision in Case Involving injunction Over Stead Somers Chim- ney.


 Judge c. B. Waller, judge of the court of common pleas, resumed here on Friday the hearing of the case of William A. Somers against George o. Stead and Patrick J. Morley, which came before him by adjournment from the previous Tuesday.
 On Monday of this week MT. Somers and the owners of the Chelsea lunch brought suit to the superior court at it's September term against MT. Stead and MT. Morley for $5 000 dam ages and procured an ex parte man. datory injunction to compel Stead and Morley to take out the Instructions in a chimney that had been used by the restaurant people and is in the wall between the Somers and Stead build tngS on Main street, Franklin square. The case is now before Judge Waller on a motion by MT. Stead ana Mir. Morley to have the temporary injunc- | tion against them vacated, which is opposed by MT. Somers and the own CTS of the Chelsea lunch.
 Mir. Somers is the owner of the brick 1 block on Main street that was former 1 ly owned by Robert P. Sherwood of Texas and earlier was owned by Jo- l seph R. Truman of Norwich for many ] years.
 l 1 jacent brick block west of the Stead property that many years ago was l owned by Joel W White, 6 prominent citizen of Norwich. In his day and 1 time he was president of the Mer- chants National bank also the Nor wieh and Worcester railroad, and un- der the presidency of James Buchanan held an important consular office in ] France.
 Later the White property fell to the ownership of Mrs. Elizabeth B. Lan- man of Hartford and Joseph o. Knapp l of Newburyport, Mass, who conveyed | the property to MT. Stead.
 l Patrick J. Morley is the tenant of MT. Stead, occupying a hat store in 1 the Stead building for the past II years. In 1871 the Stead land and the Semers land and also the land be-
 tween the Stead property and the Wauregan house were covered by wooden buildings occupied by various parties for stores. In that year a fire took place that destroyed all those
 wooden buildings from the Wauregan | house site east to the Somers lands
 leaving the wooden building on the
 Somers land standing. which was later
 torn down by MT. Truman. At the time of that fire the Stead property belonged to MT. Knapp and Mrs. Lan-
 man. They at once cleared up the
 ruins and constructed on the Stead
 land the present Stead building.
 The east wall of their new building was constructed on their land whicf
 at that place adjoined the present
 Somers land. For years the Stead } building was known as the Pierce l; block and that building was a sub. stantial brick building of four stories in height. In the east wall of tht
 Pierce block there were constructed
 three chimneys that on the west faced . into the interior of the block and were
 four inches inside from the outer fact l of the Pierce block
 |. It is claimed that there was nC
 opening to those chimneys from thu
 Somers or east side of the wall Int
 east wall of the Pierce block was car. , ried far above the roof of the Somer.
 block that was later built by Joseph
 B. Truman.
 In July, 1908, MT. Stead purchased . the Pierce block and is still its owner
 After the Pierce block was erected
 Joseph E. Truman constructed wha
 is now known as the Somers block
 In doing so it is said that he ploceC
 the timbers supporting his floors int
 the wall of the Pierce block Early
 in the winter of 1909 John Porter o.
 Hartford, the famous proprietor of thu
 string of Capitol. lunch restaurants il
 various cities. leased from Mir somer.
 the store asd cellar of his building fo1 a Capitol lunch restaurant. It i.
 claimed that Mr. Porter that winte
 broke on opening through the Steat wall in the cellar and into one of thu three chimneys. where he placed a pip, ] connected with his restaurant stoves l At the time this was done MT. Steaf objected, it is claimed, to that act al tbeing an infringement of his propert1
 rights. Later through the intercessiol