White v. City of New Bern
Supreme Court of North Carolina
Civil actioN, tried before Neal, Jand a jury, at May Term, 1907, of the Superior Court of Craven County. There was evidence tending to show that, on the night of 23 June, 1906, plaintiff, going along Middle Street, one of the public streets of the city of New Bern, struck his right foot against some steps which projected in front of a residence and into the sidewalk of said street.
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Civil actioN, tried before Neal, Jand a jury, at May Term, 1907, of the Superior Court of Craven County. There was evidence tending to show that, on the night of 23 June, 1906, plaintiff, going along Middle Street, one of the public streets of the city of New Bern, struck his right foot against some steps which projected in front of a residence and into the sidewalk of said street. These steps extended about four feet onto the sidewalk, leaving something like five or six feet of passway between the bottom step and the driveway of the street, and they had existed so in this and other portions…
1Opinion of the Court
HoKE, L,
after stating the case: Considering the defendant’s assignments of error in reverse order, the position taken, that the projection of the steps upon the sidewalk was sanctioned by the continuous existence of such a condition for twenty-five or more years, cannot be sustained. If this projection of the steps was such an obstruction of the street that it amounted to an actionable wrong, it cannot be rendered lawful by lapse of time, however great. As said in Elliott on Roads and Streets (2d Ed.), p. 706 : “No length of time will render a public nuisance, such as the obstruction of a…
2Cases cited7 opinions
- Fitzgerald v. Concord.Supreme Court of North Carolina · 1905
- City of Freeport v. IsbellIllinois Supreme Court · 1876
- Fisher v. New Bern.Supreme Court of North Carolina · 1906
- Macomber v. City of TauntonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1868
- Morris v. FrenchMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1871
2 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by18 opinions
- Ferguson Ex Rel. Ferguson v. City of AshevilleSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1938
- Mayor of Baltimore v. ThompsonCourt of Appeals of Maryland · 1937
- Williams v. Mayor of WashingtonSupreme Court of Georgia · 1914
- Rollins v. City of Winston-SalemSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1918
- Swinson v. Cutter Realty Co.Supreme Court of North Carolina · 1931
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