Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2010

Keywords

urban planning, natural resources, land use, development, public health, Baltimore, Maryland legal history

Abstract

Caretti v Broring Building Company was a case decided by the Court of Appeals of Maryland in 1926. Louis and Lucia Caretti sued the Broring Building Company in 1925 to enjoin them from polluting a stream that flowed through the Carettis’ property with sewage from their sewer system. The Carettis sued for an injunction to stop the operation of the sewer and further pollution of the stream. The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court ruling and decided in the Carettis’s favor, granting them an injunction against Broring.

The Carettis’ case occurred at a time when Baltimore was undergoing several reforms. At the beginning of the 20th century, Baltimore was a large city with a growing population, and public health concerns warranted the necessity of adequate disposal of waste. By the early 1900s, officials in the city had begun to implement changes in the sewer system and city planning. After the Annexation of 1918, the city needed a way to extend the municipal sewer system to the newly annexed areas of the city and to beautify the areas, including Herring Run.

These issues would all come to affect the Carettis’s case and property in some way. This paper will begin by exploring the historical context in which this case arose and how the case was affected by it.

Disciplines

Land Use Law | Law | Legal History

Download

Share

COinS