Hawaiian Bell Telephone Co. v. Mutual Telephone Co.
Hawaii Supreme Court
Exceptions to Rulings of McCully, J. Chapter 45, Laws of 1874, allowing any company incorporated “for the transmission of intelligence by electricity ” to construct lines along the public roads, held to be broad enough to cover the erection of poles and suspension of wires by a telephone company.
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Exceptions to Rulings of McCully, J. Chapter 45, Laws of 1874, allowing any company incorporated “for the transmission of intelligence by electricity ” to construct lines along the public roads, held to be broad enough to cover the erection of poles and suspension of wires by a telephone company. The Privy Council, in granting plaintiffs’ charter, construed the Act of 1874 as applying to telephone companies: held that such construction, though not binding on this Court, is entitled to great weight, as being the contemporaneous interpretation of the law by a department of the Executive. As the…
1Opinion of the Court
Opinion of tiie Court, by
Judd, ■ C. J.
This is an action in case tried at the July Term, 1885, of this Court. The jury rendered a verdict for plaintiff, and the defendant’s exceptions, arising at the trial, were submitted on briefs by consent in vacation.
Both plaintiff and defendant are incorporated telephone companies, having lines throughout the town of Honolulu.
The plaintiff alleges that the defendant, during twelve months past, has erected poles and wires in Honolulu for the purpose of its business, but so negligently, carelessly and unskilfully, that *457they have come in contact with the…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- United States v. MooreSupreme Court of the United States · 1878
- Edward's Lessee v. DarbySupreme Court of the United States · 1827
- Brown v. United StatesSupreme Court of the United States · 1885
- United States v. PughSupreme Court of the United States · 1879
3Cited by4 opinions
- In re the Appeal of the County of HawaiiHawaii Supreme Court · 1920
- In re the Accounts of WardellDistrict Court, D. Hawaii · 1916
- Notley v. BrownHawaii Supreme Court · 1906
- President ex rel. Queen's Hospital v. CastleHawaii Supreme Court · 1894