Opinion · Supreme Court of the United States

Miller v. Mayor of New York

Miller v. Mayor of N.Y., 109 U.S. 385 (1883)

Type
Opinion
Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Jurisdiction
Federal
Date
1883-12-03
Topic
general

How later courts describe this case

  • affirming the dismissal of takings complaint for construction of bridge that prevented profit-generating, tail-mast ships from reaching plaintiffs warehouses

Citator

UpLaw has not yet analyzed Miller v. Mayor of New York. The absence of a flag is not a finding that it is good law.

Cited by
89 opinions

Headnotes

  1. Admiralty & Maritime Law — Federal Authority over Bridges A bridge erected over a navigable waterway pursuant to authority granted by both Congress and the state legislature is a lawful structure that may not be abated as a public nuisance; insofar as it obstructs navigation, it does so under the authority empowered to permit the obstruction. 109 U.S. 385 (Field, J.)
  2. Administrative Law — Delegation to Executive Officers Congress, having authorized the construction of a bridge of a given height over a navigable water within its commerce power, may make the bridge lawful upon the ascertainment of a specified condition by the Secretary of War, and may empower the Secretary to determine whether the proposed structure will seriously obstruct navigation and to require changes in the plan. 109 U.S. 385 (Field, J.)
  3. Administrative Law — Communications Through Subordinate Officers Where the head of an executive department is required by law to give information on a subject to a citizen, he may ordinarily act through subordinate officers of his department; an official communication is deemed made by the Secretary when made under his sanction and direction. 109 U.S. 385 (Field, J.)
  4. Constitutional Law — Commerce Clause The navigable waters of the United States include waters that are navigable in fact and that, by themselves or their connections with other waters, form a continuous channel for commerce with foreign countries or among the States; over such waters Congress has control under its power to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several States, including the power to determine what shall and shall not be deemed an obstruction to navigation. 109 U.S. 385 (Field, J.) (citing The Daniel Ball, 10 Wall. 557)
  5. Constitutional Law — Separation of Powers Congress does not abdicate its authority to determine what shall be deemed an obstruction to the navigation of a river by submitting that question to the Secretary of War; it may declare that, upon the establishment of a certain fact, a bridge shall be deemed a lawful structure, and it may leave the ascertainment of that contingency to such agency as it designates. 109 U.S. 385 (Field, J.)
  6. Real Property Law — Nuisance Where a bridge is constructed in accordance with federal and state legislation it is a lawful structure and cannot be treated as a public nuisance; a private party whose business is diminished by the inconvenience to commerce caused by the structure suffers only an injury common to the public, and therefore states no ground for relief in the courts. 109 U.S. 385 (Field, J.)