Opinion ID: 1531328
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: time of suit after wall built.

Text: Another of the grounds of demurrer was that the suit, as appeared from the bill, was not filed until about twenty-one months after the wall had been built. Equity has jurisdiction to restrain an encroachment ( Long v. Ragan, 94 Md. 462, 51 A. 181). The appellant does not seem to challenge this proposition here, but she cites Crise v. Slagle, 129 Md. 453, 99 A. 669, to support her contention that the fact that the work complained of had been done bars the suit. In the Crise case it was held that it would be futile to review an order refusing an injunction to prevent a sale of mortgaged premises where the sale had been made before the case came up on appeal. Here the suit was not for an injunction to prevent action already taken but for an injunction to require the action already taken to be undone. The Crise case is therefore not in point. See Phillips Roofing Co. v. Maryland Broadcasting Co., 184 Md. 187, 40 A.2d 298, where the trial court had refused an injunction to prevent interference with the performance of a contract and where by reason of the passage of time between the trial and the decision on appeal the time for performance of the contract had expired. An injunction thereafter would have been nugatory, but the case was remanded for the purpose of determining damages. See also Shipley v. Fink, 102 Md. 219, 62 A. 360. Compare Easter v. Dundalk Holding Co., 199 Md. 303, 86 A.2d 477. The appellant also relies upon Salisbury v. Camden Sewer Co., 135 Md. 563, 109 A. 333, in support of her claim that the suit is barred because it was brought too late. The facts as alleged in the bill, which were before the trial court on demurrer, included statements to the effect that when the encroachment was being made, the appellees saw it and protested, that the appellant at that time denied any encroachment, and that the appellees thereafter caused a survey to be made which showed an encroachment of 4 1/2 inches. We think that these allegations did not establish laches or acquiescence on the part of the appellees. There was nothing resembling the complete absence of objection or the standing by for a period of years, such as were two of the bases for the decision in the Salisbury case. Likewise, no municipal corporation was involved here, and there was no question here concerning the preservation of the health of the community. Going beyond the allegations of the demurrer and considering the testimony at the trial, we find no basis for imputing laches or acquiescence to the plaintiffs. The testimony at the trial differed somewhat from the allegations of the bill. At the trial the testimony of one of the appellees showed that while the construction of the wall was in progress there was a canvas covering over the work which prevented the appellees from actually seeing any encroachment until the wall was built and the covering was removed and that the work took about one or two days. When the wall was exposed to view the appellees noted the bulge and promptly protested and were then assured by the appellant or her contractor that everything was quite in order. The appellees then consulted counsel and he caused the survey to be made.