Cole Drug Co. of Massachusetts v. Boston

The plaintiff drug company sues in tort for damage to personal property negligently caused by water escaping from the defendant’s main as the result of a break or separation at the junction of a lateral supply pipe and the pot or base of a fire hydrant. There was a finding in a substantial amount for the plaintiff, the Appellate Division dismissed a report, and the defendant appealed.

There was evidencé tending to show these facts. The plaintiff conducted a drug store in the Dorchester district of Boston. The hydrant was fifteen inches in from the curb in the sidewalk in front of adjacent…