659
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
-
Eionorablolured 0. Jaye
County AttC$nOy, Coamnohe County
Comdnoho,Texaa'~
Dear Sir:
Puestlng the oplulon
or thta de$artment'on therein reads, In
part, as r0u0w6:
in we r0r manyyears.,.
Court
the Compliaaloners'
tollowing order;~
hat a p&b116 mad of the
feet wide be opened aa
ing at a point on the Corn-
ordhlp road jwt East or the
af th0 ho- or N. a. m0k8,
aeterly direotion following
the meandering8 of the said South Leon
through the land of C. D. Corby to the
wed line or the P. W. LevlsaJrland'ithenoe
In a ~ortheaeterlgdfreotion through the P.
W. Lerlaay land to thq Iiorthwestoorner of
the land or l&e. Gandy. Theme in an East-
erly direotion between the kwleay land and
the Oandy .landto the Northeast oorner of
the Oandg'l&nd; thence in a northerly dlreo-
660
tlon tbrou&h the P. W. &evlsay lexidto
an intermotion with the Gomanoheend
Cloldthwaiteroad at the Junction or the
said Comanche and Coldthwzilte
road with
- the Co&&he and the Weuburg~road. Thie
mad i8 to be opened and fiinoedwithout
expenee.to.
the oounty. Thie.road la
opened aa desoribad on the agreunmnt or
all partie oonoerned that th4- gater on
l mQI@ mr hroadttioughthelande
ood of
Q. D.Goaby, 3. D. firrer end P. 1. Leri-
#ay.be opened end remain open on the
8tlpulatlonthat parties Interestedin
the we or thl8 neighborhood road r*nit?h
atook gap&or 8elf oloming gtw ae the
waw. may require.*
. .
*&e ,&boreorder doerrtit reveal the'looation
OS the.tuo roads with rererenoeto dirsotlon. I
am attaohing a plat hereto givlug In rough outltne
- tha reletlYe direOtiOn.Oreaoh road. The quse$ion
I il+re that your ?ffloe .parsupon'is thllra
I: "mOXl the Comdesioners* court 0r th18 oounty
aoted’upon a petition auly preeentsdto it ed'os-
kablg8hed~the road draignated aa the 40 ipo>~mad,
and.in the same order daorwd that anotha? road
then in use referred to In the ordir ae the
*nefghborhbod*road running through, thq Zand of
. wits named in the order be melntainedwith atook
gap@ or self oloslng gate8 - did thla order establish
the,.#04-oalled;
%efghborhooda road as,a public road
under'tha laws of this State."
btiele 6908, Vornon*s Annotated Civil Statutes, provides:
"813 pub110 road8 and highways no? dfaoon-
tinued thet'have heretoforepeon lald out and
emtabllahedagreeably to law are hereby declared
to bo publio road&”
Referring to Article 6702, suma, It Is etated in Texas
Jurisprudenoe,Vol.~Zl..pago 684:
*Thi &tuti relating to county road8 raiere
to eil public roads and highways not disoontlntied
663.
Eonorable FEed 0. Jaye.,page S
and established agreeably to law. This has
been &n&trued to mean a road establishedby
,,tha oonmiaatonera~ oourt. The dxpreaelon
*publio zoad* $n other atetutea is generally
oonatrue~~to inelude nonstatutoryas wall as
-rrta*utvpy t&a but *pub110aounty road*
d@fir’8“+ road rhioh haa~b~anmeatabllahad
by 8tathtotiy proomdln@. (5W
‘StephemolcY. St,.Louis SouthwesternEiallway
Oo"tp"p, ,164Sr W. Ugb. Nrror Reruaad.)
. I
~orallJ.apaaking, andar rtatutorydireotlon comdaaionera~
&oertr,olatiaityroada ar of tha rfrat, aaaond or third ~laaa. (Arti-
010 6704, ~erbon9a Annotated Cltil Statutes) Neighborhoodroads
air8di8ttiagari8ha& from other roads %n that thy are established
under ~petihl aadura.~ (&a Artlole 69ll, Vornon'a Annotated
Civil &atuta# p”
~..
; w^
In th8 base oi Jantason1. Erwin. County Judge. et al, 91 S.
W. (Zd) il%O, It ia stated:
*It :a well aattlad by aany deolafonaor oar
appellate oourta that a.atriot oomplianciawith
tha.statqt&ryproYfaionacentainadin OhaBtor 8,
title 116, Revlead Civil Statute8 (artlola6708,
at seq.) i8 nsoeaaary to oonrer jurisdictionon
the ~oPrmlaaio~era~oourt to lay out and eatabllab~
the pcibltoroad8 in thfa state. EaverbekkauY. Halo,
109 Tes,.1066 804 8. W. 11681 Hlllb. TayloLor-60unty.
(Teri Oiv. 4pp.J eV4 ,S.E. 8d&, ana ,authoritlea
thorn alted.,
*Phe isOt that th8 portion Of tha road manning
through the land~aorthor the Ilmnoaoa traot &d
bean in uao a8 a neighborhood ‘road for the oonven-
ienoe 0r taiti8bna0r that lmmadiatecomity ror
over 40 years, a8 found by the trial court, did
not establish its statue aa a statutorypablio
road Of the third olaaa to be auparplsedby ths
oounty oomalaaionerain aoaordanuerfth tha pro-
vtaiona or artiole 6113, Rev'.Civ. Statutes.*I**
There ie nothing in the order of the oo.zutiasionera*
oourt,
as quoted above, that would indioatethat tha road designatedas
662
liouorable Fred~ 0. Jay@, page 4
%oighborhuada road was established aa a neighborhood road under
the provisions oi Alrtiolo Wll, Vornon*a &mot&ted Ciril Statutes,
OF that auoh r~oad was deaignatad and established by the comaia-
atoners* wurt and olmaaifiad as oi the rlret, asooud or third
olaaa. gtated. another way, thsre’ is nothing In the foregoing
or,der of tU ooaw&aaionera* aaurt indicatingthat tha “neighborhoodW’
rod wati~aetabllah&d by the oommlaslonera oo& by statutory pro-
oaedluga or o.thaa~iae.
In view or the roregoing authoritlea,It is our opinion I
that tha %aighbOrhood” road la Rat a pub110 road established by
the oomufaslonora* oourt undertha provisionsot Chapter 8, Title
ll6,. Verum*a Annotated Cirll Statqtaa.
Cauarally apeakin~, it is well aatabliehad~ that to the aouuty
authorities there la raaanad the right to lay out., eatabliah.aul
mintaln publ.io roads,. notwlthataudiag there may’be publio roads
naither laid out or maintaina& by tlm oounty, ai?, for inatarioe, by
dadioatlon~ Pr ‘preaariptlvo use:.
It is. stated in the baas oi Rotfmfinv. Bgnnnt,~ 101 8. W. ted)
600:
** *. * It la the settled law of tide state that
a publis highway may be oreated by a loon& UBS by
$h8 publlo~oarried on in eooh a uanaer~and peraiete~
in ror auoh a length of bims as ta give a .right by
p??aaorlpt~on dr Liplitation. ‘Porter Y. Johuaun (Ter.
Cit; App.) 151 a. II. 6991 81 Tu. Jur. b4g1+9,~~550c
The authoritlsa reoogunize the diffioulty in anforo-
lag the law of iltaltation as it ralatea to P publio
road. See MeSkal v. DariS (Tex. Clv, ‘ARp.) 39 8. W9.
(gdj ‘llC6; 6~%r. Law Rev. SOS. Rut natwithstanding
the ditrloulty or,ita application, the pub110 oan
aoqulre a preacrlptive right to a publfo road. * * *”
Whether the ~noighborhood” road hereinvolved is a publio
road oreated by a loug use by the publlo.oarvied on in suoh a manner
and persisted in ior such a length of tL.ka -98 to gire a right by
praaorlption, dedioation OP limitation praaenta a faot question on
whloh this dopartmmt aahuot erprew any opinion.
Yours vary truly-