Standridge v. City of Hot Springs

George Rose Smith, Justice.

The appellants, husband and wife, owned urban property in Hot Springs, on which were situated cabins containing eleven residential rental units. The cabins were allowed to fall into such disrepair that the city, assertedly after having given lawful notice of its intentions, demolished the cabins as being substandard and unfit for human habitation. The appellants brought this action against the city to recover $40,000 as compensation “for the unlawful destruction of their property.”

At the close of all the proof the trial judge directed a verdict for the city on…