Covington County v. Kinney
Supreme Court of Alabama
Appeal from Circuit Court of Crenshaw. Tried before Hon. P. O. Harper. The complaint in this case was as follows : “Plaintiff claims of the defendant four hundred and seventy-fiye dollars, as damages for injuries sustained by him, in tlie loss of his property, by the falling in of a bridge which had been constructed by contract with the court of county commissioners of said county, known as Conecuh river [bridge], on the public highway in said county from Elba to Greenville,…
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Appeal from Circuit Court of Crenshaw. Tried before Hon. P. O. Harper. The complaint in this case was as follows : “Plaintiff claims of the defendant four hundred and seventy-fiye dollars, as damages for injuries sustained by him, in tlie loss of his property, by the falling in of a bridge which had been constructed by contract with the court of county commissioners of said county, known as Conecuh river [bridge], on the public highway in said county from Elba to Greenville, the said court of county commissioners having failed to take a guaranty by bond from the builders of said bridge, that…
1Opinion of the CourtPeters, J.
The county is a corporation, and subject to be sued as an individual would be, under the law applicable to its character as such, or under such laws as impose upon it some special duty. — Rev. Code, § 897, It can not be liable in any other way. If there is no law imposing a-certain duty upon the county, there is no liability for the injuries arising from the neglect of such a duty. A corporation is simply an artificial and ideal person, and its liabilities are to be ascertained, like those of a person. The injuries, then, which it commits, must arise from misfeasance or nonfeasance, or from a…
2Cases cited8 opinions
- Boyd's Lessee v. GravesSupreme Court of the United States · 1819
- City Council of Montgomery v. Gilmer & TaylorSupreme Court of Alabama · 1858
- Smoot v. Mayor of WetumpkaSupreme Court of Alabama · 1854
- Dargan v. Mayor of MobileSupreme Court of Alabama · 1858
- Sims v. BoyntonSupreme Court of Alabama · 1858
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3Cited by12 opinions
- Askew v. Hale CountySupreme Court of Alabama · 1875
- Templeton v. Linn CountyOregon Supreme Court · 1892
- City of Montgomery v. RossSupreme Court of Alabama · 1916
- Barbour County v. HornSupreme Court of Alabama · 1872
- Posey & Tompkins v. Mobile CountySupreme Court of Alabama · 1873
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