Davis v. City Council
Supreme Court of Alabama
Appeal from the Circuit Court of Montgomery. Tried before the Hon. James Q. Smith. This action was brought by Mrs. Rebecca Davis, against the city of Montgomery, to recover damages for the destruction of her house, which was accidentally burned down, in April, 1870, by sparks and fire communicated frqm a steam-engine used and owned on an adjoining lot by one R. W. Sharp.
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Appeal from the Circuit Court of Montgomery. Tried before the Hon. James Q. Smith. This action was brought by Mrs. Rebecca Davis, against the city of Montgomery, to recover damages for the destruction of her house, which was accidentally burned down, in April, 1870, by sparks and fire communicated frqm a steam-engine used and owned on an adjoining lot by one R. W. Sharp. The original complaint contained but a single count, which alleged the plaintiff’s ownership of the house, and of the lot on which it was situated, with the value of the annual rent; the erection and use of the steam-engine…
1Opinion of the CourtPeters, C. J.
In the case of Smoot v. The Mayor, & c. of Wetumpka (24 Ala. 112, 120), this court, speaking through the mouth of Chief Justice Chilton, said: “It is too well settled, by an unbroken current of authorities for many years past, that an action on the case for a tort may be maintained *146against corporations as against individuals, now to be contested.” This opinion was delivered in 1854, and was pronounced in an action on the case against a municipal corporation, in which the corporation was held liable for injuries to the plaintiff, which had resulted from the failure of the city of Wetumpka to…
2Cases cited5 opinions
- Gelpcke v. DubuqueSupreme Court of the United States · 1864
- City of Detroit v. BlackebyMichigan Supreme Court · 1870
- Jewett v. City of New HavenSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1871
- Smoot v. Mayor of WetumpkaSupreme Court of Alabama · 1854
- Torbush v. City of NorwichSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1871
3Cited by16 opinions
- City of Bessemer v. WhaleySupreme Court of Alabama · 1914
- Mendel & Co. v. City of WheelingWest Virginia Supreme Court · 1886
- Jones v. City of WilliamsburgSupreme Court of Virginia · 1900
- Kiley v. City of KansasSupreme Court of Missouri · 1885
- Mayor of Dalton v. WilsonSupreme Court of Georgia · 1903
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