Dwinnels v. Parsons
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort against the town agent appointed under the Gen. Sts. c. 86, § 17, for the purchase and sale of intoxicating liquors in Georgetown.
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Tort against the town agent appointed under the Gen. Sts. c. 86, § 17, for the purchase and sale of intoxicating liquors in Georgetown. The declaration alleged that on July 5,1867, “ the defendant was acting in his said capacity of agent in said Georgetown, and the plaintiff, being then and there a resident of Georgetown, and being afflicted with a disease known as the phthisic, standing in need of a small quantity of gin as a medicine therefor, applied to the defendant to purchase the same; but the defendant wilfully, maliciously and without reasonable cause refused to sell or deliver the…
1Opinion of the CourtFoster, J.
The defendant was the duly appointed agent for the purchase and sale of intoxicating liquor in the town of Georgetown. The question raised by the demurrer is, whether he can be held liable in damages for maliciously and without reasonable cause refusing to sell gin to a resident in that town who was sick and needed it as a medicine. Such an agent is appointed by the selectmen of the town, and receives a certificate authorizing him to purchase and sell, at places designated, intoxicating liquors to be used in the arts and for medicinal, chemical and mechanical purposes only. He is paid by a…
2Cited by2 opinions
- Learock v. PutnamMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1873
- O'Hare v. JonesMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1894