Case Name: George Benjamin MILLER, Jr. and Betty L. Miller, Husband and Wife, Appellees, v. John N. NICHOLS and Verna A. Nichols, Husband and Wife, Appellants
Court: Superior Court of Pennsylvania
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Decision Date: 1987-06-05
Citations: 363 Pa. Super. 508
Docket Number: No. 135
Parties: George Benjamin MILLER, Jr. and Betty L. Miller, Husband and Wife, Appellees, v. John N. NICHOLS and Verna A. Nichols, Husband and Wife, Appellants.
Judges: Before WIEAND, MONTEMURO and JOHNSON, JJ.
Reporter: Pennsylvania Superior Court Reports
Volume: 363
Pages: 508–516

Head Matter:
526 A.2d 794
George Benjamin MILLER, Jr. and Betty L. Miller, Husband and Wife, Appellees, v. John N. NICHOLS and Verna A. Nichols, Husband and Wife, Appellants.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania.
Argued Nov. 20, 1986.
Filed June 5, 1987.
Gregory L. Kiersz, Waynesboro, for appellants.
Edward F. Martin, Waynesboro, for appellees.
Before WIEAND, MONTEMURO and JOHNSON, JJ.

Opinion:
WIEAND, Judge:
May the owner of the fee underlying a rural, township road compel the removal of a neighbor's mailbox which has been placed within the public right of way at the request of the United States Postal Service? The trial court held that the mailbox served only private interests and, therefore, upheld the right of the landowner to maintain an action in ejectment. The court ordered removal of the mailbox. We reverse.
The residence of John and Verna Nichols is situated on the north side of Amsterdam Road in Washington Township, Franklin County. The postmaster advised the Nichols that mail would not be delivered along the north side of the township road and directed them to place their mailbox on the south side of the road. The Nichols complied with the postmaster's directive. They placed their mailbox along the south side of the township road, but within the public right of way and 1.67 feet from the edge of the paved road surface. The mailbox occupies an area of sixteen square inches. George and Betty Miller own the land which abuts the township road on the south. They object to the presence of the Nichols mailbox. When the Nichols refused a request to remove it, the Millers commenced an action in ejectment. The trial court entered judgment on the pleadings in favor of the Millers.
"Rural boxes must be placed so that they may be safely and conveniently served by carriers without leaving their conveyances, and must be located on the right-hand side of the road in the direction of travel of the carriers in all cases where traffic conditions are such that it would be dangerous for the carriers to drive to the left in order to reach the boxes, or where their doing so would constitute a violation of traffic laws and regulations____"
An owner whose property abuts a public street or road owns to the center of the road, subject to an easement of public use. 46 South 52nd Street Corp. v. Manlin, 398 Pa. 304, 157 A.2d 381 (1960); Scranton v. Peoples Coal Co., 256 Pa. 332, 100 A. 818 (1917); Lockhart v. Craig Street Railway Co., 139 Pa. 419, 21 A. 26 (1891). See also: 17 P.L.E. Highways § 11. Appellees contend that a mailbox is a private use; appellants contend that it constitutes a public use and, therefore, can be maintained within the public right of way.
Prior to 1966, the extent of a public use easement varied according to whether the street or road was located in an urban or rural area. Rural roads were held to be for public passage only; whereas, city streets were for "any public service." 46 South 52nd Street Corp. v. Manlin, supra 398 Pa. at 312, 157 A.2d at 386. See also: William Laubach & Sons v. City of Easton, 347 Pa. 542, 32 A.2d 881 (1943). In 1966, the Supreme Court discarded the distinction between city streets and rural roads and held that the rule applicable to city streets was equally applicable to rural roads. Pittsburgh National Bank v. Equitable Gas Co., 421 Pa. 468, 220 A.2d 12 (1966). The court held that a subsurface pipeline, which had been laid in the bed of a township road, did not constitute an additional burden upon the abutting land. "[A]n existing street or public road," the court said, "may be used for any public service without additional compensation due the abutting landowner." Id., 421 Pa. at 471, 220 A.2d at 14. (emphasis in original). "[W]hen any public road is established, it is clearly for the purpose of public travel and commerce." Id., 421 Pa. at 474, 220 A.2d at 16 (emphasis in original). The court reasoned:
As the means and modes of public commerce increase, what at one time would have been considered a burden on the abutting landowner is no longer so____ Evolutionary changes must be considered in determining whether a burden is imposed on the servient tenement.
Id., 421 Pa. at 474-475, 220 A.2d at 16. See also: Smith v. Adams, 362 Pa.Super. 88, 523 A.2d 788 (1987). Of course, "[i]f a use obstructs the abutting land or is of a new nature not in accord with the mainstream of today's commerce, it will still be held a violation of the landowner's rights." Pittsburgh National Bank v. Equitable Gas Co., supra 421 Pa. at 475-476 n. 2, 220 A.2d at 16 n. 2.
Our research has disclosed no reported decision in any jurisdiction where the precise issue in the instant case was considered. Still, the guidelines developed by our own Supreme Court are clear. Consistently therewith, we hold that rural mailboxes which are authorized depositories for United States mail are a part of the postal system, constitute a public use, and may be maintained within a public right of way without the consent of the owner of the underlying fee.
Commerce is "social intercourse." It consists of "dealings between individuals or groups in society" and entails an "interchange of ideas, opinions, or sentiments." Webster's Third New International Dictionary 456 (1965). Authorized mailboxes have become a recognized and accepted part of the landscape of America's commercial scene. Commerce, as residents of rural America have come to recognize, would be greatly impaired without the delivery of mail to their homes. The mail service, including rural mail boxes, is as much a part of the commercial scene as telephone service, with its poles and transmission lines above and below the surface of the road. Rural mailboxes are used to receive an infinite variety of items sent via the U.S. Postal Service, including promotional material and the delivery of merchandise. Mailboxes also facilitate the transmission of public correspondence between citizens and their local, state, and federal governments. These matters are as diverse as the taking of a census, the assessment and collection of taxes, the registration of voters, and the return of overdue library books. In short, mailboxes permit rural residents who may live miles from the nearest post office to send and receive communications in commerce, public as well as private.
The United States Postal Service is charged with providing "postal services to bind the Nation together through the . correspondence of the people." 39 U.S.C. § 101(a). It is required "to maintain an efficient system of collection, sorting, and delivery of the mail nationwide." Id. § 403(b)(1). Authorized mailboxes are an essential part of the United States Postal Service's nationwide system for the delivery and receipt of the mail. United States Postal Service v. Council of Greenburgh Civic Associations, 453 U.S. 114, 128, 101 S.Ct. 2676, 2684, 69 L.Ed.2d 517, 529 (1981). As such, they are protected by the federal criminal code. See: 18 U.S.C. § 1702, 1705, 1708.
We conclude, therefore, that authorized rural mailboxes, as part of the federal postal system and the commercial scene, serve a public purpose and may be maintained within the right of way of a township road without permission from the owner of the underlying fee. See: Black v. City of Berea, 137 Ohio St. 611, 32 N.E.2d 1 (1941) (erection and maintenance of mailboxes upon post road is public use, being for both delivery and receipt of mail). An abutting landowner, who may also own the fee underlying the public road, cannot maintain an action to compel removal of a mailbox erected within the public right of way.
Judgment reversed. Complaint dismissed.
JOHNSON, J., files a dissenting opinion.
. This was consistent with the Domestic Mail Manual § 156.54, incorporated by reference in the Code of Federal Regulations at 39 C.F.R. § 111.1, which provides in part as follows:
. Washington Township is not a party to these proceedings, and the United States Postal Service has intervened only as amicus curiae. Therefore, we do not now consider or decide the right of a municipal government to regulate the location or compel the removal of mailboxes from public rights of way.
. The United States Postal Service, as amicus curiae, tells us that there are over 17 million rural mailboxes along nearly 41 thousand rural carrier routes, spanning about 2.4 million miles.