Briscoe v. Alfrey
Supreme Court of Arkansas
Appeal from Woodruff Circuit Court. Grant Green, Jr., Judge. STATEMENT BY THE COURT. This action is to recover damages for the killing of a filly by an unaltered mule.
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Appeal from Woodruff Circuit Court. Grant Green, Jr., Judge. STATEMENT BY THE COURT. This action is to recover damages for the killing of a filly by an unaltered mule. It was brought under section 7301, Sand. &. H. Dig., which is as follows: “If any seed horse or any unaltered mule or jack, over the age of two years, be found running at large, the owner shall be fined, for the first offense, three dollars, and for every subsequent offense not exceeding ten dollars, to be recovered by civil action in the name of any person who shall sue therefor, one-half to his own use and the other to the…
1Opinion of the Court
Wood, J.,
(after stating the facts.) The statute does not place owners of the animals named beyond the protection of that universal rule which exempts men from liability for inevitable accidents. This is plain when all the provisions of the section quoted are considered together. It is not to be supposed that the legislature demanded an impossibility, and imposed a penalty for inability to avoid the inevitable. No human prescience could forestall the various contingencies of escape to which such animals are liable. Yet if the unfortunate owner is to be held responsible at all hazards, the…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Klenberg v. RussellIndiana Supreme Court · 1890
- Leavenworth, Topeka & Southwestern Railway Co. v. ForbesSupreme Court of Kansas · 1887
- McBride v. HicklinIndiana Supreme Court · 1890
3Cited by7 opinions
- Hansen v. KemmishSupreme Court of Iowa · 1926
- Stewart v. WildSupreme Court of Iowa · 1923
- Poole v. GillisonDistrict Court, E.D. Arkansas · 1953
- Ellis v. LewisCourt of Appeals of Texas · 1940
- Favre v. MedlockSupreme Court of Arkansas · 1948
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