Wilkins v. Earle
The Superior Court of New York City
This was an action brought by William T. Wilkins against William P. Earle and William A. Earle, to recover a sum of money which the plaintiff, when a guest in the defendants’ hotel, had deposited in their safe, and which had been embezzled by their clerk.
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This was an action brought by William T. Wilkins against William P. Earle and William A. Earle, to recover a sum of money which the plaintiff, when a guest in the defendants’ hotel, had deposited in their safe, and which had been embezzled by their clerk. The facts appeared to be as follows: On the 20th of April, 1863, Mr. Wilkins, the plaintiff, came to this city and went to Earle’s Hotel; he registered his name and asked for a room, and was told that the house was-crowded, and that he could get a bed, but not a single room, and he was assigned to room No. 124; in the room was the following…
1Opinion of the Court
By the Court.*—Robertson, Ch. J.
The liability of keepers of inns for property, which travellers, who are guests therein, bring with them, is as old as the existence of inns in England. (Hollingshed’s Chronicle, cited in Edw. on Bailment, App., 620.) The whole doctrine in relation thereto is summarily stated in the recital of an ancient original writ, entered in the Register of Writs (f. 105), among writs of trespass (on the case), and set out at length in Fitzherbert’s Natura Brevium (94 a. b.). Such writ forms the groundwork of the early decision in Calye’s case (8 Rep., 32), in which the…
2Cases cited15 opinions
- Orange County Bank v. BrownNew York Supreme Court · 1832
- Cole v. Goodwin & StoryNew York Supreme Court · 1838
- Powell v. MyersNew York Supreme Court · 1841
- Piper v. MannyNew York Supreme Court · 1839
- Purvis v. . Coleman StetsonNew York Court of Appeals · 1860
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3Cited by2 opinions
- Alleman v. BergeronSupreme Court of Louisiana · 1861
- Ramaley v. LelandThe Superior Court of New York City · 1868