Low v. Mumford & Mumford
New York Supreme Court
IN ERROR, on certiorari to a justice’s court. The plaintiff in error brought an action in the court below, against the defendant in error, “ for keeping up a mill-dam on the Susquehannah river, below the lands of the plaintiff, whereby the water of the river was set back, and flowed the plaintiff’s land,” &c.
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IN ERROR, on certiorari to a justice’s court. The plaintiff in error brought an action in the court below, against the defendant in error, “ for keeping up a mill-dam on the Susquehannah river, below the lands of the plaintiff, whereby the water of the river was set back, and flowed the plaintiff’s land,” &c. The defendants pleaded in abatement, that the land on which the mill-dam was erected, and the mills appurtenant thereto, were held in joint tenancy by the defendants, together with several other persons, (naming them,) who were not made parties to the suit. The plaintiff objected to the…
1Opinion of the Court
Platt J.,
delivered the opinion of the court. The general rule on this subject is, that if several persons jointly commit a v *431tort, the plaintiff has his election to sue all, or any of them, because a tort is, in its nature, a separate act of each individual, and, therefore, in actions, in form ex delicto, such as trespass, trover, or case for malfeasance, against one only, for a tort committed by several, he cannot plead the nonjoinder of the others, in abatement or in bar. (1 Chitty's Plead. 75.) There is a. distinction, however, in some cases between mere personal actions of tort, and such…
2Cited by11 opinions
- Hess v. LowreyIndiana Supreme Court · 1890
- Watson v. Milwaukee & Madison Railway Co.Wisconsin Supreme Court · 1883
- Creed v. . HartmannNew York Court of Appeals · 1864
- Fisher v. CookAppellate Court of Illinois · 1887
- Van Deusen v. YoungNew York Supreme Court · 1858
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