Maccarty v. Inhabitants of Brookline
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort to recover for damages sustained by the plaintiff, by reason of a defect in Newton Street. At the trial in the. Superior Court, before Allen, J., it appeared that the plaintiff while travelling in the evening in Newton Street was thrown from his wagon and greatly injured by the wheel striking a large stone in a wheel-rut in the highway.
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Tort to recover for damages sustained by the plaintiff, by reason of a defect in Newton Street. At the trial in the. Superior Court, before Allen, J., it appeared that the plaintiff while travelling in the evening in Newton Street was thrown from his wagon and greatly injured by the wheel striking a large stone in a wheel-rut in the highway. The evidence in relation to the position of this stone, which was set forth at length in the bill of exceptions, tended to show that it had slid into the road from a steep bank, and that its position in the road had been changed after it fell. The…
1Opinion of the CourtColt, J.
The defect complained of was caused by a large stone suffered to remain upon the surface of the travelled part of the highway, against which the plaintiff’s wagon struck. There was no attempt to charge the defendants on the ground that there was reasonable notice of its existence, but the plaintiff relied on the fact that the same obstruction had been there for twenty-four hours.
There was evidence tending to show that the stone had been changed in position within that time, and by reason of its size, that it must have been moved by human agency, and the exceptions taken at the trial have…
2Cited by3 opinions
- Valvoline Oil Co. v. Inhabitants of WinthropMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1920
- Griffin v. City of BostonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1903
- Bennett v. Illinois Power & Light Corp.Appellate Court of Illinois · 1933