Lannen v. Albany Gas Light Co.
New York Supreme Court
THIS was an action brought to recover damages arising from an injury received by the plaintiff from an explosion of gas on the 6th of December, 1861. The plaintiff was, at the time of the injury, about seven years old, and the house in which she was, and in which the explosion took place, was then occupied by her father.
Read the full summary
THIS was an action brought to recover damages arising from an injury received by the plaintiff from an explosion of gas on the 6th of December, 1861. The plaintiff was, at the time of the injury, about seven years old, and the house in which she was, and in which the explosion took place, was then occupied by her father. The gas was put in through the cellar wall of the house, by the defendant, at the instance of the plaintiff’s father, in September, 1860. One Donnelly lived in the north part of the house. A cellar extended under the whole house, and through the center, from east to west, ran…
1Opinion of the Court
By the Court, Hogeboom, J.
The evidence of negligence on the part of the defendant was clear and decisive. The casualty was the direct and immediate consequence of the *268explosion, and this was caused by the negligent act of the defendants agent in lighting a match in the midst of a large quantity of inflammable and explosive gas. The defendant’s negligence is established by this fact, whether Smith was wholly or only in part the defendant’s agent.
But I see no reason to doubt the correctness of the judge’s holding that Smith was exclusively the defendant’s agent. He was in the defendant’s…
2Cases cited13 opinions
- Hartfield v. RoperNew York Supreme Court · 1839
- Cook v. Champlain Transportation Co.Court for the Trial of Impeachments and Correction of Errors · 1845
- Ryan v. . FowlerNew York Court of Appeals · 1862
- Benjamin v. HillardSupreme Court of the United States · 1860
- Chapman v. . New Haven Railroad CompanyNew York Court of Appeals · 1859
8 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by11 opinions
- Atlanta & Charlotte Air-Line Rwy. Co. v. GravittSupreme Court of Georgia · 1894
- New Orleans, Jackson, & Great Northern Railroad v. StathamMississippi Supreme Court · 1869
- Westbrook v. Mobile & Ohio RailroadMississippi Supreme Court · 1889
- Lucas v. Mississippi Housing Authority No. 8Mississippi Supreme Court · 1983
- Hennessey v. Brooklyn City RailroadAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York · 1896
6 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.