Downer v. Lent
California Supreme Court
Appeal from the Superior Court of the City of San Francisco. The complaint sets forth that the plaintiff was duly appointed and qualified as a Pilot for the Port of San Francisco, on June 17th, 1854. That on the 27th of July following, the defendants, who in the meantime had been appointed and qualified as the Board of Pilot Commissioners, and acting as such Board, notified plaintiff to surrender his license, and on the 8th of August following, published in a San Francisco…
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Appeal from the Superior Court of the City of San Francisco. The complaint sets forth that the plaintiff was duly appointed and qualified as a Pilot for the Port of San Francisco, on June 17th, 1854. That on the 27th of July following, the defendants, who in the meantime had been appointed and qualified as the Board of Pilot Commissioners, and acting as such Board, notified plaintiff to surrender his license, and on the 8th of August following, published in a San Francisco newspaper the following notice : “ Consignees’ Notice.—To Shipmasters and Consignees.—Notice is hereby given that Capt.…
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by Mr. Justice Heydenfeldt.
Mr. Chief Justice Murray and Mr. Justice Terry concurred.
It is beyond controversy, that the power of the Board of Pilot Commissioners is quasi judicial, and they are not civilly answerable. They are public officers to whom the law has entrusted certain duties, the performance of which requires the exercise of judgment. They are unlike a ministerial officer, whose duties are well defined, and who must fail to execute them properly at his own peril.
Whenever, from the necessity of the case, the law is obliged to trust to the sound…
2Cited by40 opinions
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- Westlake Community Hospital v. Superior CourtCalifornia Supreme Court · 1976
- Hardy v. VialCalifornia Supreme Court · 1957
- Commonwealth ex rel. Attorney General v. MathuesSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1904
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