Carter v. Towne
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort. The declaration alleged that “ the defendants carelessly and unlawfully sold and delivered to the plaintiff two pounds of gunpowder, the plaintiff then being a minor of the age of eight years, and having neither experience nor knowledge in the use of gunpowder, and being an unfit person to be intrusted with the same, all which the defendants knew;” and that “ the plaintiff, in ignorance of its effects, and using that care of which he was capable, exploded said…
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Tort. The declaration alleged that “ the defendants carelessly and unlawfully sold and delivered to the plaintiff two pounds of gunpowder, the plaintiff then being a minor of the age of eight years, and having neither experience nor knowledge in the use of gunpowder, and being an unfit person to be intrusted with the same, all which the defendants knew;” and that “ the plaintiff, in ignorance of its effects, and using that care of which he was capable, exploded said gunpowder, and by such explosion was severely and dangerously burned.” The defendants demurred on the ground that the…
1Opinion of the CourtGray, J.
By the well settled rule of the common law, a person who negligently uses a dangerous instrument or article, or causes or authorizes its use by another person, in such a manner or under such circumstances that he has reason to know that it is likely to produce injury, is responsible for the natural and probable consequences of his act to any person injured, who is not himself in fault. The liability does not rest on privity of contract between the parties to the action, but on the duty of every man so to use his own property as not to injure the persons or property of others. The principle…
2Cited by59 opinions
- Carter v. Yardley & Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1946
- Guinan v. Famous Players-Lasky Corp.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1929
- Wellington v. Downer Kerosene Oil Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1870
- Binford v. JohnstonIndiana Supreme Court · 1882
- Indianapolis, Peru & Chicago Railway Co. v. PitzerIndiana Supreme Court · 1886
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