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Property Keyed to Merrill
Evans v. Merriweather
Citation:
4 Ill. 492, 38 Am. Dec. 106Facts
The plaintiff, Merriweather, lived in the parcel directly downstream and adjacent to the defendant, Evans. Both Merriweather and Evans used their properties and the stream running through them to operate mills and supply their wells. Typically, the stream running through the properties provided an abundance of water for both mills. However, one year a drought resulted in the stream not affording sufficient water to run the upper mill continuously. One of Evans’s employees then dammed the stream obstructing all flow onto Merriweather’s land, and the water was subsequently diverted to Evans’s mill. Evans’s did not order the employee to take this action, but testimony tended to demonstrate he was aware of it. Merriweather sued.
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