In the Matter of the Application of the City of Buffalo for the Appointment of Commissioners to Appraise Certain Lands.

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals held that the City of Buffalo's charter did not grant it express or necessarily implied authority to condemn lands already devoted to a public use for the purpose of extending a canal. Consequently, the city could not take the railroad yards, nor could it compel the railroads to bridge the canal, and the lower courts' orders were reversed.