Ware v. Allen
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort for the obstruction of a watercourse, and thereby preventing water from flowing to the plaintiff’s pond. Trial in the Superior Court, before Pitman, J., wjio allowed a bill of exceptions, in substance as follows: The plaintiff introduced evidence tending to show that the defendant built an artificial pond in a meadow above the plaintiff’s pond, which meadow was the basin of a considerable watershed of surface water from the hills about it; that the defendant, by the…
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Tort for the obstruction of a watercourse, and thereby preventing water from flowing to the plaintiff’s pond. Trial in the Superior Court, before Pitman, J., wjio allowed a bill of exceptions, in substance as follows: The plaintiff introduced evidence tending to show that the defendant built an artificial pond in a meadow above the plaintiff’s pond, which meadow was the basin of a considerable watershed of surface water from the hills about it; that the defendant, by the erection of a dam, and the building and use of a draw-gate, obstructed and detained the water which was accustomed to flow…
1Opinion of the CourtGardner, J.
The ruling requested by the defendant excluded all reference to the supply of water to the plaintiffs pond being dependent upon the raising of the defendant’s draw-gate. It was limited to this: that, if by the defendant’s opening up new sources of supply to his pond, the overflow or amount of water that ran down to the plaintiff’s pond was equal to or larger than before, the plaintiff could not recover. The judge refused to give this instruction, but ruled that, if the defendant had wrongfully interfered to prevent the flow of a natural watercourse to the plaintiff’s pond, the jury were not…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Lund v. City of New BedfordMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1876
3Cited by8 opinions
- Clough v. WingArizona Supreme Court · 1888
- Stratton v. Mount Hermon Boys' SchoolMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1913
- Attorney General v. TarrMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1889
- Willis v. City of PerrySupreme Court of Iowa · 1894
- Commissioners v. BradfordCourt of Appeals of Maryland · 1902
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