Simons Brick Co. v. City of Los Angeles

Plaintiffs seek to enjoin the city of Los Angeles from removing a certain industrial spur-track maintained by the plaintiff railway company as a part of its electric railway system on Santa Monica Boulevard in the city of Los Angeles. This spur-track serves the manufacturing plant of the plaintiff brick company, which is situated on property adjacent to Santa Monica Boulevard. The trial court denied plaintiffs’ application for an injunction pendente lite, set aside a temporary restraining order which had been previously granted, sustained a demurrer to the complaint without leave to amend, and entered judgment for defendant. Plaintiffs thereupon prosecuted this appeal.

Defendant seeks to support the judgment and order of the trial court upon the ground that there has at no time existed any legal authority for the building and maintenance of the spur-track in question.

The spur-track was constructed in June, 1909, in what was, at that time, unincorporated territory of the county of Los Angeles. It is claimed that the said spur-track was built pursuant to the terms of an ordinance of the Los Angeles County board of supervisors granting a franchise to the predecessor of plaintiff…