Rowland v. Edmonton (City)

Rowland v. Edmonton (City)

The statutory scheme limited any surveyed highway to one chain (66 feet) and made Surveyor‑General approval and filing in the land titles office conditions precedent to transfer; because those conditions were not satisfied and the surveyor had no authority to enlarge the highway, the surplus land remained vested in the registered owner and registered subdivision plans and municipal expenditure did not estop him from reclaiming it.

Citation
(1915) 50 SCR 520
Parties
Appellant/plaintiff: Alexander Rowland; Respondents/defendants: The City of Edmonton and others
Court
Supreme Court of Canada
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
2 February 1915
Procedural Posture
Appeal / On Appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada From the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Alberta
Outcome
Appeal allowed; judgment of trial judge restored; plaintiff entitled to lands south of a line parallel to and 66 feet south of the northern limit of the surveyed trail; costs to plaintiff here and below
Legal Topics
Highway Dedication, Survey and Land Titles, Registration of Plans, Estoppel, Expenditure of Public Funds
Source Language
English
Property Law Municipal Law Administrative Law Statutory Interpretation Transportation Highway Dedication Survey and Land Titles Registration of Plans +2 more

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Parties

Alexander Rowland

Appellant/plaintiff

The City of Edmonton and others

Respondents/defendants

Procedural Posture

Appeal / On Appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada From the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Alberta

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether a Dominion land surveyor could lawfully increase the statutory width of a pre-existing trail beyond one chain (66 feet)
  2. 2 Whether approval by the Surveyor-General and filing in the land titles office were conditions precedent to transfer of the surveyed trail to the public
  3. 3 Whether registration of subdivision plans not signed by the registered owner binds that owner

Ratio Decidendi

The statutory scheme limited any surveyed highway to one chain (66 feet) and made Surveyor‑General approval and filing in the land titles office conditions precedent to transfer; because those conditions were not satisfied and the surveyor had no authority to enlarge the highway, the surplus land remained vested in the registered owner and registered subdivision plans and municipal expenditure did not estop him from reclaiming it.

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed; judgment of trial judge restored; plaintiff entitled to lands south of a line parallel to and 66 feet south of the northern limit of the surveyed trail; costs to plaintiff here and below

Orders

  • Declaration that plaintiff is entitled to the lands described (that part of the Edmonton and Fort Saskatchewan trail lying south of an imaginary line parallel to and 66 feet south of the northern limit of the trail in the westerly 25 chains of section 9, township 53, range 24 W4)
  • Order rectifying the plan of the trail by substituting for the southern boundary a line drawn parallel to and 66 feet south of the northern boundary