Cummins v. City of West Linn

Plaintiff charged negligence on the part of the city (1) in maintaining an inadequate sewer system; (2) in failing to install equipment that would check sewage backflow; and (3) in failing to warn that defendant’s sewer system was inadequate. The city made a general denial and affirmative defense that plaintiff had illegally attached roof drains to his sewer outflow. For want of other evidence of negligence, plaintiff urged the theory of res ipsa loquitur. Plaintiff appeals from judgment of involuntary non-suit and the denial of his motion for new trial. We reverse.

The plaintiff’s proof was…