State v. Inhabitants of Fryeburg
Supreme Judicial Court of Maine
Exceptions from the Court of Common Pleas, Whitman C. J. presiding. The indictment for neglecting to keep a road in repair, was found January Term, 1837. At the trial, which took place at the November Term, of the Court of Common Pleas, the defendants offered to prove, that prior to the finding of the bill, they had been indicted in the Supreme Judicial Court, for neglecting to open the same road, and make it safe, passable, and convenient; that a fine had been put on them,…
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Exceptions from the Court of Common Pleas, Whitman C. J. presiding. The indictment for neglecting to keep a road in repair, was found January Term, 1837. At the trial, which took place at the November Term, of the Court of Common Pleas, the defendants offered to prove, that prior to the finding of the bill, they had been indicted in the Supreme Judicial Court, for neglecting to open the same road, and make it safe, passable, and convenient; that a fine had been put on them, and a superintendant appointed to expend the fine upon the road, and to make return into that Court at the term next…
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was prepared by
Weston C. J.
The law imposes upon towns the duty of keeping the highways in a state of repair, so as to be safe and^convenient for travellers, with their horses, teams, carts and carriages *407at all seasons of the year. From the pressure of this duty, there must be, by necessary implication, some exceptions. As where a road has sustained an injury, by the operation of causes, over which the town has no control, reasonable time must be afforded to put it in a convenient and safe condition. So if it is rendered impassable while a bridge is rebuilding, or…
2Cited by1 opinion
- Palmer v. City of PortsmouthSupreme Court of New Hampshire · 1861