Charles Eels, Respondent v. the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, Appellant

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment for the fee owner, holding that a telegraph or telephone company may not permanently appropriate a portion of a rural public highway for its poles and wires without the owner's consent or compensation. The court found that the statutes authorizing such construction do not create a right beyond the public easement of passage, and the takings clause requires compensation for any additional burden.