Hawkins v. Sanders

Campbell, J. Hawkins who owns a hotel building in Ypsilanti, filed his bill to restrain defendant, who owns a neighboring store building, from maintaining a wooden awning in front of his premises. The complainant’s theory seems to be that this is a public nuisance, which injuriously affects him specially. The awning is, so far as we can see, no more of a nuisance than it would have been if made of any other material, and it was not, as shown from the evidence, such a structure as any court would regard as a public injury or grievance. It was such as was used habitually in other parts of Ypsilanti as well as elsewhere, and was recognized by the city ordinances as not objectionable. It was therefore no more than a lawful use of defendant’s own property. The special grievance complained of is simply that it obstructs the view of the sidewalk and a portion of the street. The testimony does not indicate that there was any very well-founded objection in fact to the awning, and there is no legal objection to it. The bill was properly dismissed. The other Justices concurred.